When the official investigation into the murder of a respectable local businessman fails to add up, and personal problems start to play havoc with her state of mind, New Zealand's favourite young detective Sam Shephard turns vigilante...

'Fast-moving New Zealand procedural ... the Edinburgh of the south has never been more deadly' Ian Rankin

‘New Zealand's answer to Siobhan Clarke’ The Times

'A sassy heroine, fabulous sense of place, and rip-roaring stories with a twist. Perfect curl-up-on-the-sofa reading' Kate Mosse

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The New Zealand city of Dunedin is rocked when a wealthy and apparently respectable businessman is murdered in his luxurious home while his wife is bound and gagged, and forced to watch. But when Detective Sam Shephard and her team start investigating the case, they discover that the victim had links with some dubious characters.

The case seems cut and dried, but Sam has other ideas. Weighed down by her dad's terminal cancer diagnosis, and by complications in her relationship with Paul, she needs a distraction, and launches her own investigation.

And when another murder throws the official case into chaos, it's up to Sam to prove that the killer is someone no one could ever suspect.

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Praise for the Sam Shephard series

‘A really strong mystery with a twist that works very nicely … The family dynamic and Sam’s dealing with the trauma are brilliantly observed’ NB Magazine

'If you like taut, pacy thrillers with a wonderful sense of place, this is the book for you' Liam McIlvanney

'Vanda Symon's work resembles Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum series she knows how to tell a good story and the NZ setting adds spice' The Times

'Atmospheric, emotional and gripping' Foreword Reviews

'A plot that grabs the reader's attention with a heart-stopping opening and doesn't let go' Sunday Times

'Powerful, coolly assured, and an absolute belter of a read' LoveReading

'It is Symon's copper Sam, self-deprecating and very human, who represents the writer's real achievement' Guardian

'Fans of The Dry will love Vanda Symon' Red Magazine

'With a twisty plot, a protagonist who shines and beautifully written observations of the cruellest things this is crime fiction at its best' Kiwi Crime

'Reads like the polished effort of a genre veteran. More, please' Booklist

'Atmospheric, gripping and incredibly satisfying' Anne Cater, Random Things through My Letterbox