‘Bound’ by Vanda Symon | @vandasymon @OrendaBooks

Author : Vanda Symon
Title : Bound
Series : Sam Shephard #4
Pages : 320
Publisher : Orenda Books
Publication date : January 11, 2021 (ebook)

| ABOUT THE BOOK |

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.

| MY THOUGHTS |

Bound is the fourth instalment in the Detective Sam Shephard series and here once again, is a series that is going from strength to strength. Should you have read the other books in the series? Well, yes. Of course. Because they’re good. But it’s not a necessary requirement. I’m sure you’d be able to get away with reading this as a stand-alone. I just don’t think you should. You’d most definitely get a better feel of the kind of character Sam is.

A respectable local businessman is murdered in cold blood. There are things about his death that don’t seem to quite add up, though. By all accounts he was well liked and respected so why would anyone want him dead? Was he involved in things he shouldn’t have been? Not as squeaky clean as people believed him to be? Or was there something else going on? The investigation seems to lead firmly into a given direction but newly promoted Detective Sam Shephard isn’t entirely convinced it’s the right direction.

Bound is the perfect example of why I love a stonking good prologue. This one is particularly chilling and horrifying in the best way possible. I was immediately intrigued and ready to find out more. As far as an introduction to a story goes, you really can’t ask for much more than this! But I wasn’t at all prepared for where things would end up. Plenty of twists and turns kept me guessing until the final reveal. And as always, the balance Vanda Symon achieves between Sam’s personal and professional life easily held my attention throughout.

It seems to me that Bound is quite a bit more emotionally charged than its predecessors. There is quite a lot going on in Sam’s personal life, all of it utterly relatable. I’m not one to get emotional easily, not the kind of person who tends to use the “I was peeling onions” excuse but I must admit that Bound left me with a lump in my throat and a tear in my eye at one point. Luckily the chuckles are never too far away in these books and Sam remains the utterly kick-ass character she’s always been.

In my most humble opinion, Vanda Symon took this series to a whole new level with Bound and I would definitely say it’s the best one. Clever plot, engaging cast of characters, compelling investigation and a fabulous setting in Dunedin, New Zealand. I was also left with an extremely bad feeling in my stomach throughout this storyline. Obviously it’s not something I can talk about because it would be a huge spoiler but between that particular thing and a few others, well, let’s just say I’d quite like some more of this series, please.

My thanks to Karen at Orenda for the review copy! Bound is available in ebook format. The UK paperback will be published in March.

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