On her first day back from maternity leave, Detective Sam Shephard is thrown straight into a cold-case investigation – the unsolved murder of a highly respected Anglican Priest in Dunedin.
The case has been a thorn in the side of the Police hierarchy, and for her boss it’s personal.
With all the witness testimony painting a picture of a dedicated church and family man, what possible motive could there have been for his murder?
But when Sam starts digging deeper into the case, it becomes apparent someone wants the sins of the past to remain hidden. And when a new potential witness to the crime is found brutally murdered, there is pressure from all quarters to solve the case before anyone else falls prey.
But is it already too late…?
I am delighted to be hosting the blog tour for Prey by Vanda Symon today. Many thanks to Anne Cater from Random Things Tours and Orenda Books for inviting me and for sending me an advance copy of the book.
It is always such a treat to read a Detective Sam Shephard book – this is a series which is reliably excellent and with the previous novel, Expectant having deservedly been shortlisted for the Ngaio Marsh Award for Best Novel, my expectations were high for Prey. Vanda Symon's protagonist is one of my favourites in crime fiction; Sam is everything you'd want in a murder detective – resolute, principled and intuitive – but she is also so utterly normal. She looks forward to nothing more than sharing a cup of tea and a biscuit with her partner, Paul at the end of the day, and the engaging, relatable first person narrative, allows us to understand what makes her tick. She is kind and deeply empathetic but has a quick temper when riled and her sarcastic, straight-talking wit can cut through any nonsense that she has to deal with.
She's been through a lot in the past and has particularly suffered at the hands of her boss, DI Johns. His arrogant misogyny means any woman who has the misfortune to work for him is likely to see her career stall but he is particularly vitriolic towards Sam. She is stunned, therefore when he hands her a cold case on her return to work after maternity leave. He wants her to reopen the investigation into the murder of Reverend Mark Freeman, whose body was discovered lying at the steps of St Paul's Cathedral in Dunedin in 1999. Trying to determine the facts behind a 25-year-old mystery would be a tough assignment for anyone but Sam feels set up for failure when she learns that the victim was DI Johns' father-in-law.
The resulting imbalance of power which develops as Sam questions the key witnesses – most of whom are members of Mark Freeman's immediate family – adds a fascinating dimension to the story. Long-time fans of the series will naturally feel antipathetic towards 'The Boss' but even new readers will quickly understand just how unpleasant he is. However, it's hard not to feel some sympathy for him here, especially after he realises he has lost the ability to control a case he was responsible for reopening. Meanwhile, Sam not only has to cope with risking his wrath while untangling the secrets and lies surrounding the case, she also has to negotiate all the changes which come from being a working parent.
Throughout the series, Vanda Symon has depicted Sam's life and her interactions with her family with warm realism; we shared her grief at the loss of her beloved father, understand her complicated relationship with her critical mother, adore the friendship with her best friend, Maggie and have watched her relationship grow with Paul, from its first tentative steps to their becoming parents of their daughter, Amelia. It's worth saying at this point that I really would recommend reading the previous books if you can, the mystery in Prey is a standalone but this series is so much more than a murder investigation. Although Sam's love for Amelia is absolute, Vanda Symon portrays life with a baby with her customary wit and truthfulness. Whether dealing with a nappy explosion, navigating two careers with nursery hours or coping with expressing at work, anybody who has spent time with an infant will recognise many of the joys and tribulations Sam and Paul face here. We learn a little more about Sam's past too, in a scene which is initially upsetting, then infuriating before turning into something unexpectedly moving.
The case itself is a complex one and not just because of the time elapsed since Mark Freeman was murdered or the links to DI Johns. The murder of one of the key witnesses, somebody who was also a potential suspect, complicates things still further. It seems obvious that past and present have collided but who has the most to hide? Long-held secrets are revealed amidst recent, shocking behaviour and it becomes intriguingly evident that Sam will have to work out who can really be trusted, when everyone appears to be lying, whether blatantly or through omission.
Right from the opaqueness of the prologue, Prey delights in its misdirections and revelations and just as I thought I had figured out the truth, I was proven to be wrong. However, beyond the tension and suspicion engendered, Vanda Symon elicits genuine sympathy for her characters. A murder, by its very nature, is a tragedy but this particular investigation is notably emotional.
From the compassionate authenticity of her characters, to the rich sense of place, to the poignant intricacies of the investigation, Prey is Vanda Symon at her compulsive best. Very highly recommended.
Prey will be published in paperback by Orenda Books on 29th August and is available in ebook now. It can be ordered directly from their website or futher purchasing links can be found here.
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Thanks for the blog tour support x
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