From the PR: “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…”

I’m not sure you could find a more fitting title for a book to review in light of current events… but this is not a virus-related story 😀

Let’s start by saying this: Vanda Symon really knows how to hook a reader. 2018’s Overkill had one of the most gripping and devastatingly affective cold openers I’ve ever read. Last year’s The Ringmaster barrelled along at an addictive pace and Containment, the third in the Sam Shepard series, throws in enough twists and layers of intrigue to keep your fingers glued to the cover. It’s one of those “just one more chapter” books that can cost you sleep.

The notion of a grounded container ship is one that’s always fascinated me – Symon does a great job of summing up just how bloody weird and wrong the thing looks – and makes for a great kick off and centre point for the plot. Nothing good comes from looting, folks. Everything – from international drug trafficking, murder and a very unexpected motive – starts here with this unlikely of scenes and combining it with Shephard’s physical and emotional disorientation makes for a great read.

Containment is a brilliantly paced novel with plenty of unexpected plot curves and bags of humour too. I think what I enjoy most about this series is the manner in which all the seemingly unrelated threads gradually come together and you realise – a few cracking red herrings aside – you’re building to something special by way of a reveal – and as for the ending? I’m not gonna give away any spoilers but: holy shit what a punch in the gut. Vanda Symon just keeps ratcheting up the ante with every chapter. Can’t wait to see what’s next in this series because there’s no way that’s an ending as much as a ‘to be continued…’

I thoroughly enjoyed and recommend Containment – my thanks to Karen at Orenda for my copy and to Anne for inviting to take part in this blog tour (I think this might be my first since June) check out the other stops as below.