Review: Expectant, by Vanda Symon

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…

My Review

Thanks to Karen at Orenda for sending me a copy of this novel and to Anne for organising the blog tour. Vanda, as always, it’s a pleasure.

A new Sam Shepard novel is always a treat. This is the first new new book in the series for 12 years. The first four books were published in New Zealand between 2008 and 2011, and the Orenda editions published in the UK over the last few years. You’ll find reviews for books three and four, plus the stand alone novel The Faceless here, and I have the first two books on my TBR pile. I promise I’ll read them eventually!

I believe the first four books had a little bit of a make over and re-edit between their original publication dates and their Orenda publications. Things change in a decade. Phones and computers are constantly changing. Science updates regularly. This book is the first to be completely written in the 2020s, I believe, and it’s tone is ever so slightly different from those of the 00s and early 10s. There is more overt use of the internet, smart phones and smart watches play an important part in the plot, and there’s a definite sense that Symon is doing science communication in her crime writing. Given that’s the subject of her PhD, I’m not surprised.

Yes, I checked her blog. Vanda Symon is a really interesting person. And I’m sure I recognise that dress she’s wearing in the photo with Karen, at the Harrogate Crime Writing Festival.

Back to the review. I found the science and medical stuff interesting, but might have been a touch much for some readers. The change is of overall tone was unexpected but not bad and once I got into the book I didn’t notice it. Sam was doing her thing, the story rolled along like the storm going on outside, it was all good. There were highs and lows, family and work drama, lots of tea, and graphic depictions of the joys of pregnancy. I am so glad that’s not a thing I’ve ever thought about doing, it’s sounds uncomfortable.

I started reading this book then stopped because brain weasels, then read the remaining 200 pages in one evening. In the end it took about three and a half hours. I couldn’t put it down, other than to get more snacks halfway through. Sam is not the only one with sweet cravings!

Most of the novel is set in the police station or in various cafes and parks around it, since Sam is not allowed on active duty, being heavily pregnant. She’s forced to do desk jobs and feels compelled to solve the case. She ends up having a pivotal role in discovering the why, how and who, although the who is a shock to everyone. Nice red herrings, by the way, had me right up until the reveal.

The constraint of Sam being pregnant means that a lot of the action is off page, until the dramatic ending. Reading it, I could feel Sam’s frustration at being desk bound, and with her superior’s misogyny. The loneliness of being left behind and feeling left out. She does use her contacts and skills to puzzle things out when everyone else is off doing other stuff, pounding the pavement.

As a swimmer, I’m pleased she managed to get a dinner break session in. I use swimming for thinking as well, and the description of the water, as ‘velvet’ is brilliant. That soft warmth and the weightlessness of being in the water is expertly described. Although I can’t swim freestyle and if I try to alternate strokes I forget how to do either and half drown. It’s highly amusing to other people.

A major theme in this novel is the lengths parents will go to, to help or protect their children. How far are people prepared to go to save a life? Can you put yourself in the shoes of a terrified teenage girl who accidentally got pregnant, in the shoes of a grandmother who’s daughter was murdered and who now has to raise the grandchildren, in the shoes of a mother facing the death of her young child from a genetic disorder? The actions of the murderer are awful, but the reason is entirely understandable, although the course of action taken is deplorable. Sam is faced with the consequences of those actions and makes a hard decision. There is not straightforward bad person on this novel, it’s very grey. I enjoyed the moral ambiguity that developed across the course if the novel.

There’s a lot of difficult emotions in this book. I felt her distress at the change in her living arrangements and especially her fears about her friendship with Maggie. Her grief for her dad and her difficult relationship with her mum. Towards the end I thought I saw a glimpse of an improvement in their relationship. Vanda Symon writes difficult emotions and relationships really well.

I cried at the end, it was very moving. I’m pretty certain the whole point of the novel is to wind me up until the tears burst in a flood. I’m not good at painful emotions, stop making me feel them, Vanda!

Overall, a great addition to the series, that tackles some difficult subjects and kept me reading to the end.

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ABOUT VANDA SYMON
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.