I’m learning new stuff and the reader actually feels they are immersed in the plot, also thanks to the excellent writing! So well done Orenda for letting that shine through.

However, these books are the opposite - local references, dialect is used, cultural references (one day I will try a Tim Tam!) and this gives them an air of authenticity and a freshness somehow. Sometimes when you read books set in other countries they are toned down in order not to alienate the reader. One of the things about Vanda’s books is their instant association with New Zealand. I am really interested to see how she develops in the next book! There is going to be another book isn’t there…… Especially when there is conflicting emotions running through in the background. There are not many people who would have taken the information she is given in this book and run with it. I want a best friend like Maggie! Plus, she is funny and so kind to people she meets through her work. I think Sam is one of my favourite characters in modern crime fiction! She has this core inside of her which knows what is right and wrong and she never takes the easy option if it means not finding out the truth. It may look to be cut and dry case but Sam starts to have doubts and although she doesn’t have the support of her colleagues she carries on investigating her theories! In her private life her dad is at the end of his life due to cancer and her relationship with Paul has it’s good and bad points. It turns out that the victim has some dodgy pals and his business might not be as clean cut as appearances seem. On this outing, Sam Shepard finds herself investigating a home invasion where a local business man was killed, his wife tied up and unfortunately his son is the one to find him.

When I return to Sam’s Dunedin, it always makes me want to visit, as Vanda’s writing makes it sound amazing. Not so much because you need to but because you will love them! However, this can be read as a stand-alone quite easily.

‘Bound’ by Vanda Symon is a captivating and enthralling book that took my attention from the off! Her characters are spot-on, well polished but with spunk and humanity! This is the fourth book in the series and I would recommend reading the first three.

Bound by Vanda Symon