Expectant by Vanda Symon

I am delighted to share my review of Expectant by Vanda Simon as part of the blog tour. This is the latest entry, the first for 12 years, in the Sam Shephard series, . Many thanks to Anne Cater at Random Things Tours for the invitation and to Orenda Books for my review copy.

The Blurb

The shocking murder of a heavily pregnant woman throws the New Zealand city of Dunedin into a tailspin, and the devastating crime feels uncomfortably close to home for Detective Sam Shephard as she counts down the days to her own maternity leave.

Confined to a desk job in the department, Sam must find the missing link between this brutal crime and a string of cases involving mothers and children in the past. As the pieces start to come together and the realisation dawns that the killer’s actions are escalating, drastic measures must be taken to prevent more tragedy.

For Sam, the case becomes personal, when it becomes increasingly clear that she is no longer safe, and the clock is ticking…

Expectant is published by Orenda Books and came out on 16th February 2023.

My Review

Although this is the first Sam Shepherd for a while, here in the UK we've only had to wait a couple of years since the release of Bound, the fourth in the series. I haven't read that one but I had read the previous three, 
Overkill, The Ringmaster, Containment, and Vanda's standalone novel Faceless. With a series, I always feel you get a richer reading experience when you start at the beginning and read in order. However, I didn't feel having missed the previous book impaired my enjoyment of this one, and it works perfectly as a standalone as anything you need to know is there,or you pick it up on the way. So you'll be fine if this is your first Bands Simon read. 

In a previous review for this series I quoted Shakespeare (that doesn't happen often, I tell ya!) - 'Though she be but little, she is fierce.' This quote always comes to mind when I read Sam Shephard. She's a little pocket rocket, and doesn't let anyone walk over her. Here we find her a good bit bigger, a rocket running rather slower, as she is heavily pregnant and stuck behind a desk. But she can't help being affected by, and getting involved in, the current case, the murder of a heavily pregnant woman. Whilst not overly graphic, the murder scene is horrific and shocking. My heart was in the pit of my stomach. I think it probably shocks everyone who reads it but for mothers, of which I am one, it hits particularly hard. And for Sam too, who can't help but worry for her own bump. But it doesn't stop her getting stuck in to the case, investigating previous cases involving pregnant women, new mothers and newborn babies. Some of these are heartbreakingly tragic. With no real clues to work from this is solid police work, with a bit of (clearly well researched) science thrown in. But as progress is finally made, things take a turn for the dangerous...

I love Sam. She's real and relatable, here affected by raging pregnancy hormones. But it's admirable that she doesn't let that affect her police work, often heaping extra worry on fellow team member Paul, her partner and father of her baby. I loved her conversation with Maggie, her best friend and biggest cheerleader, where she airs all her worries  and Maggie responds to them all methodically and with well reasoned arguments. And as someone who has been pregnant twice (with problematic births) I so understood those worries! Other stand out characters for me were Timi, a young man who did the right thing even though he knew it would probably get him in to trouble, and DI Johns, for all the wrong reasons! Goodness me, that man is an ass! I understood one of his decisions but none of the others. 

This is a slow burner, focusing on police work, team work, and methodically working through evidence. But that doesn't mean it's not gripping or horrific because it is that too. But this is full of humanity. There is one moment of joy for Sam and the team (soured only by DI  Johns, of course) and I cheered out loud at that moment. And the denouement, when it comes, is terrifying, but it's hard not to have some compassion for the perpetrator. 

Expectant is a fabulous police procedural full of excitement, ups and downs and imbued with heart and humanity. There is a strong sense of place, I could picture the bars, streets and alleyways of Dunedin clearly. The denouement will break your heart then mend it again. I loved it and am off to find a copy of Bound to fill my missing gap in Sam's story. Please, do check this series out. 

The Author

Vanda Symon lives in Dunedin, New Zealand. As well as being a crime writer, she has a PhD in science communication and is a researcher at the Centre for Pacific Health at the University of Otago. Overkill was shortlisted for the 2019 CWA John Creasey Debut Dagger Award and she is a four-time finalist for the Ngaio Marsh Award for Best Crime Novel for her critically acclaimed Sam Shephard series. The fourth in the series, Bound, was shortlisted for a Barry Award. Vanda produces and hosts Write On, a monthly radio show focusing on the world of books at Otago Access Radio.When she isn’t working or writing, Vanda can be found in the garden, or on the business end of a fencing foil.