A commonly made criticism of crime fiction is that murders take place in relatively small areas that 
you would normally expect to experience a violent crime, say, once every five years. You could make this argument in relation to murders set in sleepy villages, universities, multi-national corporations and so on. Although as crime fiction readers, we are usually happy to put aside such practical considerations it is nice to read a book where the focus of a crime scene seems absolutely right for the small community.
Containment by Vanda Symon begins with a shipload of containers being washed up on a beach in Dunedin, New Zealand. Locals scramble to plunder what goods are available, but this is no benign Whisky Galore plot. Instead, while trying to contain the volume of the thefts, Detective Constable Sam Shepherd is knocked unconscious by one of the looters.
After a dramatic start, the book then slows the pace as Sam’s injuries are revealed and she saves the life of her assailant when he stops breathing in the ambulance. We get to see the tensions in Sam’s personal life, including her relationship with Paul her police officer boyfriend, who drops the bombshell that he intends to transfer to Dunedin. Sam has a wonderful narrative voice, pure New Zealand with many of the characteristics we would expect of a female police officer, without the clichés.
The narrative picks up pace again when the body of a diver is pulled from the sea. The description of the decaying body is stomach-churningly gruesome and links start to appear with the contents of the containers that washed up on the beach.
This was an excellent read from a new (to me) author. It wasn’t just the setting that made the book stand out. Symon is wonderful at characterisation, and the supporting characters spring to life from the page, including the stoned Jase, the disabled Spaz (there is an explanation for his non-pc moniker in the book) and the violent Felix Ford. In the end, there does turn out to be murder and mayhem in this small community but the scale of it, even as it ratchets up, feels absolutely right. Let’s hope that more books by this excellent author are published in the UK soon.
Thanks to Maxine at Petrona for my copy.
Other reviews can be found at Reactions to Reading and Mysteries in Paradise. The New Zealand crime fiction website Crime Watch has a good summary of the books written by Symon although not all of them are available in the US/Europe.
The author’s website is here.
Great review, Sarah. You clearly enjoyed this book which comes through in your review. It is nice to be able to read a decent crime novel set in an authentic NZ setting, I agree.
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Thanks Maxine and thanks for the recommendation/book.
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Sarah – Oh, I’m so glad you liked this one. I like the Sam Shepherd character a lot and I agree that Vanda Symon does a terrific job of creating interesting supporting characters too. And I can’t help it – I’m a sucker for the NZ setting 🙂
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I agree Margot, Sam is a great character and I absolutely loved the supporting cast.
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Sounds intriguing, Sarah. A convincing setting can lift even the most mediocre of plots – not that I’m saying that this is the case here. I’m curious – is there much of a mystery element to the proceedings?
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There is a slight mystery here, but not of the traditional type. My post today will be of more interest to you – I picked up some great books at the week-end. Classic crime – but I don’t know where to start.
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Ah, the perennial problem. I’ve begun to consider throwing a dart at the bookshelf…
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I love murder and mayhem in New Zealand, as dramatized by Vanda Symon. And Sam Shepherd is a terrific character, feisty, independent, brave, not afraid to speak her mind to her male colleagues and the brass. All good.
This book was good. My only problem is that the library here does not have any of Sam’s other exploits, so I’m (im)patiently waiting.
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Thanks Kathy. I really admire how much you support your local library and I try to do the same too. If you don’t lose it, in the case of the UK, you can end up losing it.
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Sarah, there are constant struggles to keep the library system. Every time the city budget has cutbacks, there is a campaign to keep the libraries open, with staff, children’s and seniors’ programs, new acquisitions. We’ve all stopped some of the cutbacks. But the current cut is horrific. But lots of opposition to it is going on around the city.
I’ve signed lots of petitions and letters and so have many in my city.
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