I am delighted to feature another great Orenda crime thriller. Prey by Vanda Symon is published today in paperback on 29th August. Here is an extract from the novel to whet your appetite.
I also have a great giveaway and the chance for you to win a print copy of Prey. Details on how to enter are at the foot of this post.
On
her first day back from maternity leave, Detective Sam Shephard is
thrown straight into a cold-case investigation - the unsolved murder of a
highly respected Anglican priest in Dunedin. The case has been a thorn
in the side of the police hierarchy, and for her boss it's personal.
With
all the witness testimony painting a picture of a dedicated church and
family man, what possible motive could there have been for his murder?
But when Sam starts digging deeper, it becomes apparent someone wants
the sins of the past to remain hidden. And when a new potential witness
to the crime is found brutally murdered, there is pressure from all
quarters to find the killer before anyone else falls prey. But is it
already too late . . . ?
Extract
CHAPTER 8
The Johns’ family home wasn’t quite what I’d expected. In my
mind I’d assumed a high-powered man with the degree of privilege and
entitlement Johns exuded would own a swanky home in one of the posher suburbs,
like Roslyn or Māori Hill, so I was a tad surprised when the address I was
given was for the not-so-swanky Musselburgh. But when I pulled up outside it
became clear their house wasn’t quite as humble as others in the street. One of
the welcome quirks of Dunedin was the way you could have a million-dollar
newbuild next to a student hovel next to a grand villa next to a seventies
brick eyesore. La Casa Johns was a sizeable two-storey red-brick Edwardian
dwelling surrounded by an established and well-tended garden. Despite its size,
it sat comfortably with its bungalow neighbours. The front porch was softened
by a jasmine vine that had woven itself erratically between the trios of
pillars set on plinths that surrounded the portico. A set of shaggy and
in-need-of-ahaircut ball topiaries bordered the footpath. It was a grand
entrance that exuded warmth and charm. Unlike its owner.
I tugged my top down and brushed my pants flat before
reaching up to press the doorbell. Despite being the one whose finger hit the
buzzer, I was still startled by the clamour of its ring. It was symptomatic of
my nervousness about having to interview The Boss’s wife. I had seen her from
afar on the odd occasion when she’d come into the station, but had never been
formally introduced. Considering the rather fraught working relationship I had
with her husband, I couldn’t help but wonder if he had moaned to her about me
as much as I had whinged to Paul about him. Or to anyone else who would listen
for that matter. If so, I wasn’t exactly sure what kind of a reception I’d get.
An approaching silhouette appeared in the frosted-glass door
panel, slowly expanding to fill the pane. The ghostly figure was accompanied by
the tell-tale yapping of a small dog. The door began to swing inward, and a
white, furry Westie bullet-shot out before it had a chance to finish opening.
The yapping bullet circled around my legs a few times before shooting back
inside and taking position at the feet of its owner.
‘Oh, take no mind of Gemma. She gets a little excitable with
visitors, but you don’t need to worry, she’s very old and very sweet, and is
more likely to lick you to death than nip you.’
‘She certainly is very cute,’ I said. I’d always envisaged
DI Johns as a big-dog kind of a guy – German Shepherd, Rottweiler, mastiff,
something of that ilk – not a yappy ankle biter. ‘You must be Felicity Johns.
I’m Detective Sam Shephard. Thank you for agreeing to meet with me at such
short notice, and the invitation to talk at your home.’
‘That’s quite okay, Detective,’ she said as she extended her
hand. I reached out and took it and was pleased to encounter a warm and firm
shake. There was nothing worse than a limp fish. ‘I have seen you before at the
station, but I don’t believe we’ve had the opportunity to be properly
introduced.’
Felicity Johns was a striking-looking woman with a set of
cheekbones that stood out like small apples. She had closely cropped brown
hair, and with her bright-blue eyes the effect was like looking at a pixie. She
was tall for a pixie though, towering over me by close to a foot. Not that it
was hard, considering I scraped in at just over five foot. Her rich, contralto
voice also contrasted with the elfin effect. She was comfortably dressed in
jeans and a hoodie, albeit a designer one. Overall, Felicity Johns came across
as relaxed and not the tightly wound, prim and proper wife of a superior
arsehole that I’d pictured. The butterflies that had been dancing a small
fandango in my stomach started to settle down. Even from this brief doorstep
encounter I could sense no animosity or guardedness. Maybe she was oblivious to
the workplace tension and The Boss hadn’t slagged me off as I had imagined.#
About the Author
Vanda Symon is a crime writer, TV presenter and radio host
from
Dunedin, New Zealand, and the chair of the Otago Southland branch of the
New Zealand Society of Authors. The Sam Shephard series has climbed to number
one on the New Zealand bestseller list, and also been shortlisted for the Ngaio
Marsh Award for best crime novel. She currently lives in Dunedin, with her
husband and two sons.
You can read my review of Overkill here
Thanks to Vanda Symon, and Anne Cater of Orenda Books for an extract and a place on the tour.
Check out these great bloggers!
Giveaway (UK only)
To win a print copy of Prey just Follow and Retweet the pinned tweet at @bookslifethings
Closing Date is 4th September 2024 and there is one winner. Good luck!
*Terms and Conditions – UK only. The winner will be selected at
random via a random retweet selector from all valid entries and will be notified by X (Twitter)
and/or email. If no response is received within 7 days then I reserve the right
to select an alternative winner. Open to all entrants aged 18 or over. Any personal data given as part of the
competition entry is used for this purpose only and will not be shared with
third parties, with the exception of the winners’ information. This will passed
to the giveaway organiser and used only for fulfilment of the prize. I am not
responsible for despatch or delivery of the prize.
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