Book Synopsis:
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.
The Ringmaster is available in ebook and paperback now. You can purchase a copy of both using the link below.
My Review:
The Ringmaster is another fantastic installment in the Sam Shepherd series and was a hugely enjoyable read. From the chilling, intriguing prologue I found myself firmly absorbed in the story and wanting to keep reading to find out what would happen next.
Sam Shepherd once again proves to be a fantastic character that was very easy to get behind and feel sympathy with. Yes she is very capable, independent and headstrong but she’s also a very real character that’s likely to make mistakes and wears her heart on her sleeve which makes it very easy to like her. We get to see more of Sam’s work outside of her detective role in this book which helps the reader get to know Sam a little better and understand what makes her tick.
The setting for this book is very vivid and the author describes it very vividly so it’s easy to picture in your mind. The author also cleverly uses it to help increase the tension and suspense in the book as the small town has a slightly dark, lawless edge to it which makes the reader feel that anything could be hiding just around the corner.
The ending was very shocking and completely unexpected! I had lots of theories about who the murderer was and what was happening but none of them proved to be corrected. I’m not sure I would have guessed even if I tried which is always a sign of a great read. My only slight niggle is I felt that the book ended a little abruptly after the suspect is revealed but hopefully this is just paving the way for another fantastic sequel!
Huge thanks to Anne Cater for inviting me onto the blog tour and to the lovely Karen from Orenda books for my copy of this book which I received in exchange for an honest review. If you like dark, twisty thrillers then you’ll enjoy this book!
About The Author:
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.
Over The Rainbow Blog 
Thanks so much for the blog tour support Jo x
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