The heart-stoppingly tense next instalment in the richly atmospheric, bestselling Sam Shephard series ... for fans of The Dry

`Vanda Symon is part of a new wave of Kiwi crime writers ... her talent for creating well-rounded characters permeates throughout' Crimewatch

`It is Symon's copper Sam, self-deprecating and very human, who represents the writer's real achievement' Barry Forshaw, The Guardian

Death is stalking the South Island of New Zealand

Marginalised by previous antics, Sam Shephard, is on the bottom rung of detective training in Dunedin, and her boss makes sure she knows it. She gets involved in her first homicide investigation, when a university student is murdered in the Botanic Gardens, and Sam soon discovers this is not an isolated incident. There is a chilling prospect of a predator loose in Dunedin, and a very strong possibility that the deaths are linked to a visiting circus...

Determined to find out who's running the show, and to prove herself, Sam throws herself into an investigation that can have only one ending...

Rich with atmosphere, humour and a dark, shocking plot, The Ringmaster marks the return of passionate, headstrong police officer, Sam Shephard, in the next instalment of Vanda Symon's bestselling series.

`MUST HAVE'Daily Express

`A sassy heroine, fabulous sense of place, and rip-roaring stories with a twist' Kate Mosse

`Finally, UK readers get to discover New Zealand's own Queen of Crime. Vanda Symon is a big talent and everything she writes is fast, intelligent and utterly gripping. In Sam Shephard, Symon has created a compelling series lead, and her treatment of small-town New Zealand is superbly atmospheric. This one's a cracker' Liam McIlvanney

`Antipodean-set crime is riding high thanks to the likes of Jane Harper and fans of The Dry will also like Vanda Symons' Red Magazine Online

`One of the best in this genre that I&#