The Ringmaster

The heartstoppingly tense next instalment in the richly atmospheric, bestselling Sam Shephard series … for fans of The Dry. ‘Vanda Symon is part of a new wave of Kiwi crime writers … her talent for creating well-rounded characters permeates throughout’ Crimewatch, ‘It is Symon’s copper Sam, self-deprecating and very human, who represents the writer’s real achievement. Barry Forshaw, The Guardian. Death is stalking the southern 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.