Today is my stop on the blog tour for Containment, the third Sam Shephard novel from Vanda Symon and I'm delighted to share my review below (click through to see my reviews of the first two books, Overkill and The Ringmaster). Huge thanks as always to Anne Cater for inviting me and to Karen Sullivan at Orenda for my review copy.
The Blurb:
Chaos reigns in the sleepy village of Aramoana on the New
Zealand coast, when a series of shipping containers wash up on the beach and
looting begins. Detective Constable Sam Shephard experiences the desperation of
the scavengers first-hand, and ends up in an ambulance, nursing her wounds and
puzzling over an assault that left her assailant for dead. What appears to be a
clear-cut case of a cargo ship running aground soon takes a more sinister turn
when a skull is found in the sand, and the body of a diver is pulled from the
sea ... a diver who didn't die of drowning...
As first officer at the scene, Sam is handed the case, much
to the displeasure of her superiors, and she must put together an increasingly
confusing series of clues to get to the bottom of a mystery that may still have
more victims...
Containment was published by Orenda Books as an eBook on 5th January 2020 and in paperback on 5th March 2020. It is available from the publisher and all usual retailers. In these difficult times, please do try to support independent bookshops if you can. Check out if your local one can deliver to you or send in the post. Or online you could try Hive (which will link to the nearest participating indie bookshop).
My Review:
'Though she be but little, she is fierce.'
It's not often that I quote William Shakespeare in my reviews, but this particular quote came to mind when I was thinking about Sam Shephard.
Containment is the third Sam Shephard novel, but can easily be enjoyed as a standalone. A quiet weekend of dog sitting for Sam turns into something quite different when a cargo ship runs aground and the inhabitants of coastal village Aramoana, and beyond, start looting the containers washed ashore. Sam gets into the middle of a fight between two men and ends up in hospital for her trouble. Her assailant, however, comes off worse. Returning to work after her recovery, she is sent to recover a body drowned at sea, except it turns out he didn't drown after all...
A brilliant cast of characters help bring this story to life. It was hard not to laugh at the description of Frog, whose real name was even funnier, and I had a perfect (to me) idea of the man with the walrus moustache. And Spaz, with his very unPC nickname, was my absolute favourite here. He's cheeky, funny and capable. It was great to see Symon show a disabled character with so much respect, using humour but never mocking or belittling, instead showing his abilities.
Of course at the centre of the story is Sam. I have followed her career over the last two books and was delighted to see her back. To go back to my quote at the beginning, she's a little powerhouse. She's not always taken seriously by some colleagues who don't consider she's earned her place in the team, and is frequently put down by her boss DI Johns (oh, I so wanted to punch him), often publicly, but constantly strives to prove herself. She is supported and encouraged by partner Smithy, colleague Reihana and one or two others, and she is determined to show she is up to the job. Outside of work she has best friend Maggie, who is the kind of friend everyone needs, and Paul, although she seems determined to stuff things up with him. She is strong, but not as strong as she likes to make out, and we often see her emotional side, and that just made me warm to her more. Everyone is so well described that I have full pictures of them in my mind.
The story is actually made up of two or three different strands all cleverly woven together, and what begins as a fairly pedestrian police investigation soon ramps up into something more urgent, as more discoveries are made. There are red herrings aplenty too. A real sense of place added to my enjoyment - I loved The Mole, the breakwater at Aramoana. Actually, I think I would like Aramoana, it sounds beautiful. There is humour sprinkled throughout, often between Sam and her work colleagues, but her conversation with Crystal the spider had me crying with laughter (there were drugs involved)!
I really didn't see where the story was going, and the ending had my heart in my mouth. It was very tense and unexpectedly emotional. Not everything was tied up, and there were some changes afoot both at home and work for Sam, so I'm really hoping she'll be back.
Funny, touching, tense, well paced, clearly well researched (there are one or two icky bits) and full of brilliant characters, I loved this. Sam may be little, but she's certainly fierce and fabulous, and I can't wait to join her for her next adventure.
'Though she be but little, she is fierce.'
It's not often that I quote William Shakespeare in my reviews, but this particular quote came to mind when I was thinking about Sam Shephard.
Containment is the third Sam Shephard novel, but can easily be enjoyed as a standalone. A quiet weekend of dog sitting for Sam turns into something quite different when a cargo ship runs aground and the inhabitants of coastal village Aramoana, and beyond, start looting the containers washed ashore. Sam gets into the middle of a fight between two men and ends up in hospital for her trouble. Her assailant, however, comes off worse. Returning to work after her recovery, she is sent to recover a body drowned at sea, except it turns out he didn't drown after all...
A brilliant cast of characters help bring this story to life. It was hard not to laugh at the description of Frog, whose real name was even funnier, and I had a perfect (to me) idea of the man with the walrus moustache. And Spaz, with his very unPC nickname, was my absolute favourite here. He's cheeky, funny and capable. It was great to see Symon show a disabled character with so much respect, using humour but never mocking or belittling, instead showing his abilities.
Of course at the centre of the story is Sam. I have followed her career over the last two books and was delighted to see her back. To go back to my quote at the beginning, she's a little powerhouse. She's not always taken seriously by some colleagues who don't consider she's earned her place in the team, and is frequently put down by her boss DI Johns (oh, I so wanted to punch him), often publicly, but constantly strives to prove herself. She is supported and encouraged by partner Smithy, colleague Reihana and one or two others, and she is determined to show she is up to the job. Outside of work she has best friend Maggie, who is the kind of friend everyone needs, and Paul, although she seems determined to stuff things up with him. She is strong, but not as strong as she likes to make out, and we often see her emotional side, and that just made me warm to her more. Everyone is so well described that I have full pictures of them in my mind.
The story is actually made up of two or three different strands all cleverly woven together, and what begins as a fairly pedestrian police investigation soon ramps up into something more urgent, as more discoveries are made. There are red herrings aplenty too. A real sense of place added to my enjoyment - I loved The Mole, the breakwater at Aramoana. Actually, I think I would like Aramoana, it sounds beautiful. There is humour sprinkled throughout, often between Sam and her work colleagues, but her conversation with Crystal the spider had me crying with laughter (there were drugs involved)!
I really didn't see where the story was going, and the ending had my heart in my mouth. It was very tense and unexpectedly emotional. Not everything was tied up, and there were some changes afoot both at home and work for Sam, so I'm really hoping she'll be back.
Funny, touching, tense, well paced, clearly well researched (there are one or two icky bits) and full of brilliant characters, I loved this. Sam may be little, but she's certainly fierce and fabulous, and I can't wait to join her for her next adventure.
The Author:
Vanda Symon is a crime writer, TV presenter and radio host from Dunedin, New Zealand, and the chair of the Otago Southland branch of the New Zealand Society of Authors. The Sam Shephard series has climbed to number on the New Zealand bestseller list and also been shortlisted for Ngaio Marsh Award for best crime novel. She currently lives in Dunedin, with her husband and two sons.
Thanks Suze xx
ReplyDeleteAlways a pleasure. x
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