The Ringmaster

Overview

The second installment in the New Zealand-set Sam Shephard mystery series

 The heart-stoppingly tense next instalment in the richly atmospheric, page-turning and international bestselling Sam Shephard series Death is stalking the South Island of New Zealand Marginalised by previous antics, Sam Shephard, is on the bottom rung of detective training in Dunedin, and her boss makes sure she knows it. She gets involved in her first homicide investigation, when a university student is murdered in the Botanic Gardens, and Sam soon discovers this is not an isolated incident. There is a chilling prospect of a predator loose in Dunedin, and a very strong possibility that the deaths are linked to a visiting circus… Determined to find out who's running the show, and to prove herself, Sam throws herself into an investigation that can have only one ending…Rich with atmosphere, humour and a dark, shocking plot, The Ringmaster marks the return of passionate, headstrong police officer, Sam Shephard, in the next instalment of Vanda Symon's bestselling series.

Reviews

"Lively evocation of small-town life, with a plot that grabs the reader's attention with a heart-stopping opening and doesn't let go." —Times

"We could have a new genre: Southern Cross noir. And a prime example is Overkill. . . . The tensions within a tightknit village, along with various aspects of Kiwi society, are laid out with real authority, but it is Symon's copper Sam, self-deprecating and very human, who represents the writer's real achievement." —Guardian .

"Vanda Symon is part of a new wave of Kiwi crime writers . . . her talent for creating well-rounded characters permeates throughout." —Crimewatch

"A sassy heroine, fabulous sense of place, and rip-roaring stories with a twist." —Kate Mosse, author, Languedoc Trilogy

"Finally, UK readers get to discover New Zealand's own Queen of Crime. Vanda Symon is a big talent and everything she writes is fast, intelligent and utterly gripping. In Sam Shephard, Symon has created a compelling series lead, and her treatment of small-town New Zealand is superbly atmospheric. This one's a cracker." —Liam McIlvanney, author, Conway Trilogy

"One of the best in this genre that I've read in years." —Waikato Times

"A rollicking good read." —Sunday Star Times

"Atmospheric, emotional, and gripping, The Ringmaster proves that Sam Shephard will continue to be a force to be reckoned with." — Foreword Reviews

Author Biography

Vanda Symon is a crime writer, TV presenter, and radio host, and the chair of the Otago Southland branch of the New Zealand Society of Authors. The Sam Shephard series has been shortlisted for the Ngaio Marsh Award for best crime novel.