Local and international crime featured in the New Zealand Listener's 100 Best Books of 2011

Last year, you might recall, I was very pleased to see several crime novels make the annual 100 Best Books list put out by the New Zealand Listener magazine (especially as the list the year before had had a distinct lack of crime, mystery or thriller fiction titles, New Zealand or international). The New Zealand Listener has long been considered one of our premier magazines. It is a weekly current affairs and entertainment magazine, renowned for having one of the best books sections around.

Near the end of each year the Listener has a “100 Best Books of the Year” issue, where its reviewers, with help from nominations from booksellers and others, compile their list of best novels, short stories, poetry, biography, memoir, and other non-fiction (eg history, science, journalism and essays, art, and food and drink) books of the year.

The 100 Best Books issue (see cover image above right) for 2011 has now hit newstands etc, and I am very pleased to share that it too includes several crime, mystery or thriller titles on the latest list:

• BEFORE I GO TO SLEEP by SJ Watson
• BOUND by Vanda Symon
• DEATH COMES TO PEMBERLEY by PD James
• FEAST DAY OF FOOLS by James Lee Burke
• LUTHER: THE CALLING by Neil Cross
• AN UNCERTAIN PLACE by Fred Vargas
• THE WRECKAGE by Michael Robotham

So a nice mix of UK, US, New Zealand, Australian, and continental European authors, and a variety of different 'types' of crime or thriller fiction there, which is cool to see. Some cracking books there, and hopefully more Kiwi readers might give some of them a go, after reading about them in this week's issue of the Listener. Congratulations to the Kiwi crime writers who made the list.

Have you read any of the crime novels mentioned? If so, what did you think? If not, which ones catch your eye? Thoughts and comments welcome.

RWC Quarterfinal 4: Argentina vs New Zealand (Martinez vs Symon)

For the fourth and final instalment in my quarterfinal round of rugby-themed international crime fiction posts, we have Argentina vs New Zealand. In rugby terms, this is being picked as the least-close of the quarterfinal match-ups, the only one that shouldn't be able to go either way (1 vs 8, in effect), but you never know. The ball can bounce in funny ways...

As for the crime fiction, well, let's take a look at a book from each country that I've read and/or purchased in the past year or so.

Representing Argentina: THE BOOK OF MURDER by Guillermo Martinez
I saw this book in the Brisbane airport bookshop when I was travelling a few months ago, and grabbed it. Unfortunately I haven't yet got around to reading it, but I will endeavour to do so soon. I understand that Martinez's novels are of the psychological suspense and literary thriller variety; this one certainly looks intriguing.

The narrator is an up-and-coming young writer who has little in common with Kloster — a literary giant whose disturbing crime novels dominate the bestseller lists. However, they have both, at one time, employed the secretarial services of the alluring Luciana B. Out of the past, Luciana makes a desperate plea to the young writer. She thinks that Kloster is slowly killing off everyone close to her — can he help before her grandmother and younger sister are murdered?

While the narrator suspects her misfortunes have driven her mad, Kloster has a powerful motive; and eerie parallels surface between the murders in Kloster’s books and the real-life deaths surrounding Luciana. As the body count multiplies, the question arises: Can words really kill?

 Representing New Zealand: BOUND by Vanda Symon
Symon's fourth and latest novel starring Dunedin police detective Sam Shephard is in my opinion her best yet. And the others have all been good to great, too. I read and really, really enjoyed BOUND earlier this year.

Symon kick-starts her latest thrilling tale with a brutal home invasion; a businessman is killed with a shot gun; his wife, who watched him die, nearly chokes to death, gagged and tied to a chair. As Shephard and her CID colleagues investigate, it becomes clear that the businessman's succes might not have been all that legitimate, leading the police eventually to a couple of lowlifes suspected of an earlier cop killing. But while Shephard's colleagues are happy they might be able to kill two birds with one stone, she's uneasy, and keeps investigating - much to the chagrin of her police peers.

BOUND is top notch crime fiction; excellent storytelling with real verve and energy, starring one of the most enjoyably readable heroines on the crime fiction scene.

Result: As I haven't read THE BOOK OF MURDER yet, it would be unfair for me to speculate whether this contest will go the same way as the rugby (ie, a likely New Zealand victory). All I will say is that, like the All Blacks, Symon's BOUND is a very strong contender that would take a heck of a performance from the Argentinians to overcome.

Comments welcome.

Kiwi crime writers discuss top agent secrets: who leads the way, writers or agents?

Recently, three New Zealand-based crime writers discussed the role of agents in publishing at an event at the Dunedin Public Library. Contemporary Kiwi crime queen Vanda Symon, along with police officer turned writer Bill O'Brien, and US immigrant Lee Wood, were on the panel for the event. You can watch the video of the discussion above.

Symon is of course the author of the acclaimed Sam Shephard series of Southland/Otago-set mysteries (the latest being #1 bestseller BOUND). Next year she will release her first standalone thriller.

O'Brien writes fiction and non-fiction for children and adults. He is perhaps best known for his book ARAMOANA: 22 HOURS OF TERROR, which was the basis for the intriguing Kiwi film Out of the Blue. You can read more about the Aramoana incident here.

Wood is the author of the Inspector Keen Dunliffe series (KINGDOM OF LIES (2005), KINGDOM OF SILENCE(2009)), which is set in the UK, although Wood is of US origin, and now lives in New Zealand. She had previously written science fiction novels, including LOOKING FOR THE MAHDI (1995).

The issue of agents is an interesting one within the New Zealand books community. While agents are commonplace overseas, New Zealand is somewhat unique in the fact that many writers don't start with agents, and publishers here may accordingly consider unsolicited manuscripts more than their overseas counterparts, rather than filtering things through agents first. However, having said that, the chances are still slim for any budding New Zealand writer to get published - whether they are able to go direct to the publishers here or not. Symon, O'Brien, and Wood all have agents (UK-based, NZ-based, and US-based respectively), so are in a good position to give insights about the benefits and challengings of gaining, and having, and agent, as a writer.

Whanganui Literary Festival embraces Kiwi crime fiction

Anyone who's a regular reader of this blog will be aware that one of my pet peeves is the way that some people within the New Zealand books community seem to overlook the quality crime writers we have. We have some fantastic crime writers here that can stand alongside their peers from overseas, but for some reason we have been a little reticent when it comes to buying their books (even if they do well overseas, ala Paul Cleave) - although this has improved recently, along with better media coverage - or including them in book festival line-ups and other celebrations of all things reading. The latter is particularly galling.

For the past three years I have been back in New Zealand, the Auckland Writers Festival has included only one crime fiction event - one event in three festivals that have included hundreds of writers and events. That was a 'special event' with Michael Connelly earlier this year (outside of the festival proper). That was a terrific event that drew a sold-out crowd, and I commend the organisers, but gee, it would be great to see more crime writers, and particularly more local crime writers, featured in the various books, writing, and arts festivals that are regularly held throughout the country. If we don't promote our own quality writers, then how can we expect overseas writers festivals to invite them, or overseas readers to learn about them?

The team at the Christchurch Writers Festival (and this year, the Christchurch Arts Festival), have of course embraced crime fiction, which can only be a good thing, and hopefully other festivals around the country will start to follow their lead. As such, I'm very pleased to see that the Whanganui Literary Festival, which will be held from 16 to 18 September, has included one of our great Kiwi crime writers in this year's line-up.

Dunedin author Vanda Symon, who's fourth Sam Shephard novel, BOUND, was published to good reviews earlier this year, will be headlining an event on the Sunday of the festival. Here are the details:

Whanganui Literary Festival 2011 — Whodunit?
Spend an hour with New Zealand writer Vanda Symon as she talks crime fiction during Whanganui Literary Festival 2011.

Sunday 18 September, 2011, 11.30am – 12.30pm

Vanda Symon is a rising star of New Zealand crime fiction. Her first novel, Overkill, published in 2007, introduced the series heroine, Sam Shephard. Since then she has written three more gripping novels and has gained international success with a German translation. Vanda also features on Radio New Zealand National as a literary critic. In this session, Vanda sheds some light on exactly whodunit…

Booking essential. Tickets $10. Tickets are available from the Royal Wanganui Opera House.

You can read more about the Whanganui Literary Festival here.

Do you enjoy going to author events? Do you go to literary festivals? How important do you think it is for New Zealand festivals to embrace New Zealand writers, including crime writers? Comments welcome.

Breaking news: It's goodbye Sam Shephard, for now...

Many Crime Watch readers will be familiar (or at least have heard or read about) Dunedin author Vanda Symon's impressive Sam Shephard series. Symon introduced her sassy heroine as a sole-charge rural cop in OVERKILL, before moving Sam to the big smoke of Dunedin, where Sam has found herself on the lower rungs of the detective ladder with the local CID, battling all sorts of criminals and personal issues over the course of three more very good books.

Symon was a finalist for the inaugural Ngaio Marsh Award last year, for her third Sam Shephard book, CONTAINMENT, which international judges said had "an attractive series heroine (feisty but vulnerable)" and started with a "superb" opening scene that by itself would make them "want to read more Vanda Symon". Earlier this year Symon's fourth Sam Shephard book, BOUND, debuted at #1 on the NZ Adult Fiction Bestseller charts, and got great reviews. For me, BOUND is Symon's best book yet, and one of my top books of the year, so far - and I'm sure it will be a strong contender for the 2012 Ngaio Marsh Award.

However, like many other crime top writers who pen terrific continuing characters, Symon has also been interested in writing a standalone story; something a little different, perhaps darker. So her next book will not star Sam Shephard. While this will no doubt be disappointing to many people who've come to see Shephard as one of the best new crime fiction protagonists around, it is also exciting to see what Symon will come up with in her new novel, completely unrestricted from continuing characters and familiar settings etc.

Symon has announced today announced on her personal blog that she has finished the manuscript for THE FACELESS, her first standalone thriller. It is likely to be released in early 2012. Earlier this year when I interviewed Symon for an article in the Weekend Herald (read here), we also discussed stepping away from Sam with a darker standalone thriller, which she was in the "early days" of working on at the time.

I can reveal that Symon told me that THE FACELESS  is "set in Auckland... it's crime fiction, but not a detective story in the police procedural sense... it's a bit darker". The story revolves around a kidnapping, and is told from the perspectives of three people, the victim, the kidnapper, and a witness who ends up investigating what has happened. "It's fun to be writing from different perspectives," said Symon. "I love writing about Sam, but it's nice to have a wee break."

It will be interesting to see how readers and the media respond. Hopefully THE FACELESS might do for Symon what darker standalone thrillers have done for some other terrific authors who'd got good reviews, perhaps been shortlisted for or won awards, and were seen as top quality writers for their recurring character novels, but then saw their popularity and wide appeal really take a massive jump on the back of such a book (eg THE POET for Michael Connelly, NO TIME FOR GOODBYE for Linwood Barclay, TELL NO ONE for Harlan Coben). Particularly in the case of Connelly and Coben, readers have flocked to their earlier books (starring Harry Bosch and Myron Bolitar, respectively) and then the ongoing series, after first coming across the author due to their darker standalones. Hopefully something of the same may happen for Symon, who I believe is a world-class crime writer deserving to be read widely beyond New Zealand shores.

What do you think of Symon writing a darker standalone novel - that's not set in Dunedin? Have you read her Sam Shephard books? What do you think of Sam as a character? Comments welcome.

V is for Vanda Symon's BOUND (Crime Fiction Alphabet)

I just realised that I missed a post or two for the Crime Fiction Alphabet in the past few weeks - one when I was just back from Turkey, and another that just slipped through the cracks a couple of weeks ago. Oops. As I've said before, for this version of the Crime Fiction Alphabet (a great series run by Kerrie of Mysteries in Paradise), I've given myself the added restriction of only covering New Zealand books and authors. Tricky.

Fortunately, 'V' is quite an easy letter when it comes to New Zealand crime writing lately, as anyone familiar with this blog will realise. So for my 'V' post, I am of course highlighting one of the books from excellent Dunedin-based crime writer Vanda Symon; BOUND, her fourth and latest crime novel to star spark-plug Dunedin CID detective Sam Shephard. One release, BOUND hit #1 on the NZ Adult Fiction bestseller charts earlier this year, which was great to see. In my opinion Symon is a world-class crime writer, and hopefully more and more readers, here and overseas, will give her books a go in the future.

Here's the backcover blurb:

"A brutal home invasion shocks the nation. A man is murdered, his wife bound, gagged and left to watch.

But when Detective Sam Shephard scratches the surface, the victim, a successful businessman, is not all he seems to be. And when the evidence points to two of Dunedin's most hated criminals, the case seems cut and dried... until the body count starts to rise.

Meanwhile, Sam is in big trouble again…"

You can read an extract of BOUND at the Penguin NZ website, click here.

I thought the first three books in the Sam Shephard series were good to great, but for me, BOUND surpasses them all and is the best in the series. Symon really seems to have found her groove as a high-quality crime writer. And it's a great groove too. Here's what I had to say in a mini-review for the Herald on Sunday:

"A leading light amongst the recent surge in quality Kiwi crime fiction, Vanda Symon kick-starts her latest thrilling tale with a brutal home invasion; a dodgy businessman is shot gunned, his wife nearly chokes to death on a gag. Feisty heroine Sam Shephard’s Dunedin CID colleagues zero in on two lowlifes suspected of an earlier cop killing, but she’s uneasy, and keeps investigating. Excellent storytelling with real verve and energy, starring one of the most enjoyably readable heroines on the crime fiction scene."

You can read some other reviews of BOUND at the following websites:

• Radio New Zealand (audio);
• Mysteries in Paradise;
• Reactions to Reading;
• The Southland Times newspaper;
• Bookie Monster;
• JTWebster Books;

Have you read BOUND? Or any of Vanda Symon's other Sam Shephard tales? Are you taking part in the Crime Fiction Alphabet? Comments welcome.

Kiwi crime queen Vanda Symon tours the West Coast

As I noted several days ago, acclaimed Kiwi crime queen Vanda Symon was heading this past week to the wild West Coast for several New Zealand Book Month events at libraries and schools in Hokitika, Greymouth, and Westport. It's great to see local crime writers getting out and about for events like this, and meeting readers.

Symon reports on her West Coast tour at her blog, Overkill, here. Symon's latest Sam Shephard tale, BOUND, debuted at the #1 spot earlier this year, and has remained on the NZ bestseller list since, which is great news. It's good to see Kiwi readers giving tales from our own crime writers a go. Hopefully more and more people will continue to discover Symon and her terrific heroine Sam Shephard. I'm sure they won't be disappointed.

BOUND was one of my 'crime picks' in February for my regular column in the Herald on Sunday. Here's what I had to say:

"A leading light amongst the recent surge in quality Kiwi crime fiction, Vanda Symon kick-starts her latest thrilling tale with a brutal home invasion; a dodgy businessman is shot gunned, his wife nearly chokes to death on a gag. Feisty heroine Sam Shephard’s Dunedin CID colleagues zero in on two lowlifes suspected of an earlier cop killing, but she’s uneasy, and keeps investigating. Excellent storytelling with real verve and energy, starring one of the most enjoyably readable heroines on the crime fiction scene."

Weeks later, I still stand by that final comment. I can think of very few crime fiction heroines that I enjoy reading, book-in, book-out, more than Sam Shephard. Symon is a world class crime writer that the wider world just hasn't found out about yet.

Vanda Symon tours the West Coast next week

As part of the New Zealand Book Month celebrations, acclaimed Kiwi crime queen Vanda Symon (whose latest Sam Shephard tale, BOUND, debuted at the #1 spot earlier this year, and has remained on the NZ bestseller list since) will be touring the West Coast next week.

Symon will be giving a series of author talks at local libraries.

It's great to see our local crime writers getting out and talking directly with readers, and I'm sure that those who head along to any of Symon's events will have a terrific time - as all of us who attended last year's Whodunnit and Whowunnit event in Christchurch (where Symon, along with Paul Cleave and Neil Cross, spoke) did.

Here are the event details for Symon's West Coast tour:

VENUE: Westland District Library, Hokitika.
DATE: 28th March
TIME: 5.45pm - 6.45pm

VENUE: Grey District Library, Greymouth
DATE: 29th March
TIME: 3.00pm - 4.00pm

VENUE: Buller District Library, Westport
DATE: 30th March
TIME: 1.00pm - 2.00pm

You can read my recent feature article on Vanda Symon for the Weekend Herald here, and Symon's 9mm interview with Crime Watch here.

My monthly crime picks for the Herald on Sunday

As I said last month, this year I've been asked to provide a monthly crime fiction round-up for the Herald on Sunday, one of New Zealand's most well-read newspapers. It's terrific to see some of New Zealand's larger media (big newspapers, magazines, TV shows etc) starting to include a little bit more crime fiction in their review pages. I'm very pleased to be able to contribute in my small way as well.

My second 'column', so to speak, was published on Sunday 26 February - see above - in the 'Detours' lifestyle magazine, and now I can share it here with you. Each month I will pick 2-3 books that I have read in the past month (usually new or recent releases, but not always), and talk a little about them. Due to space constraints I don't have a lot of words to play with, but I'll be doing my best to highlight some good and great crime fiction, that could be enjoyable for some of the Herald on Sunday readers to try, as best I can.

Here's the second instalment of the monthly series (note - the HOS subeditors made a couple of minor tweaks/word count cuts to my submission, so I’ve republishing here what was actually printed in the HOS, rather than my slightly longer draft, with one exception - they changed ‘caper-esque’ in the Wambaugh review to Capraesque - not at all what I meant, so I’ve corrected it back to caper here):

Still Missing
By Chevy Stevens (Allen & Unwin, $39.99)
A searing debut from Canadian writer Stevens, Still Missing consists of a series of sessions Annie O’Sullivan has with her psychiatrist, during which she reveals what happened during the year she spent imprisoned in a remote mountain cabin, and in the aftermath, while she struggles to piece her life back together and uncover the truth behind her abduction. It’s a flashback structure that could backfire, but Stevens utilises it with aplomb, ratcheting up the tension, and building empathy for O’Sullivan as the horror of what she went through is revealed.

Bound
By Vanda Symon (Penguin, $30.00)
A leading light amongst the recent surge in quality Kiwi crime fiction, Vanda Symon kick-starts her latest thrilling tale with a brutal home invasion; a dodgy businessman is shot gunned, his wife nearly chokes to death on a gag. Feisty heroine Sam Shephard’s Dunedin CID colleagues zero in on two lowlifes suspected of an earlier cop killing, but she’s uneasy, and keeps investigating. Excellent storytelling with real verve and energy, starring one of the most enjoyably readable heroines on the crime fiction scene.

Hollywood Hills
By Joseph Wambaugh (Corvus, $39.99)
An influential icon of the ‘police procedural’ sub-genre, former LAPD detective Wambaugh returns with another raucous ensemble tale, filled with a cast of memorable characters, layered with caper-esque plotlines and quirky vignettes of Hollywood life. A veteran cop and wannabe actor agrees to watch a B-list director’s home, an art dealer has an audacious plan to overcome his financial struggles, and a couple of junkies dream of the big score. There’s no central hero or singular investigation to power the plot, but it comes together to make an enjoyable read.

Craig Sisterson was one of the judges of the inaugural Ngaio Marsh Award for Best Crime Novel last year. He blogs about crime and thriller fiction at http://goldenglobenominees.blogspot.com//

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This column was first published in the Sunday 26 February 2011 issue of the Herald on Sunday, and is reprinted here with permission.

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What do you think of my mini-reviews? Of having such a regular column in one of New Zealand's major newspapers? Have you read (or do you intend to) any of these titles? What are some of the upcoming titles I should definitely include in future columns? What should I review for March? Comments welcome.

Kiwi readers starting to catch on to local crime wave?

In some more fantastic news on the New Zealand crime fiction front, the weekly bestseller lists published today have seen Vanda Symon's latest Sam Shephard novel, BOUND, deservedly debut at the #1 position on the New Zealand Adult Fiction bestseller list!

I'm very pleased for Symon, who has been writing terrific crime novels for several years. Hopefully this is a sign that her audience is growing, as I'm sure that many more readers would really enjoy her Sam Shephard tales, and become hooked on the series, if they just gave them a go.

On a wider New Zealand crime fiction front, it's also another push in what is hopefully a growing wave, in terms of recognition for our own good and great indigenous crime storytellers. After local crime fiction being overlooked for far too long, in recent times we've seen Lindy Kelly, Paddy Richardson, Ben Sanders, and now Vanda Symon all top the New Zealand Adult Fiction bestseller list, along with others like Paul Cleave and Paul Thomas make the top 5. I'm sure that the more New Zealand readers give New Zealand crime fiction a go, the more things will progress for our local authors. Their stories sure are good enough - they just need the readers to overcome any residual cultural cringe, give them a chance, and find out for themselves. In my experience, they won't be disappointed.

BOUND has been receiving many great reviews (I will post some links in the near future), so hopefully it will continue to sell well. Congratulations to Vanda Symon on her #1 bestseller - hopefully it's just the start of many more great things to come.

NB: For those in New Zealand, you should be able to pick up your own copy of BOUND from any good bookstore. You can also purchase it online at the likes of Mighty Ape, who are offering it at a special price at the moment (see here).

Have you read BOUND? Do you intend to? Do you buy New Zealand novels, crime or otherwise? Should NZ readers support NZ writers more? Comments welcome.

The joy of hassling her own heroine: my Weekend Herald feature interview with Vanda Symon

The joy of hassling her own heroine
Kiwi crime queen Vanda Symon talks to CRAIG SISTERSON about accidental heroines and playing with swords

IN REAL life everything that happens to us has an effect on how we behave and how we act, so the same should hold true for literary characters, especially those who often populate the world of detective fiction, says Vanda Symon.

Symon, who was a finalist for the inaugural Ngaio Marsh Award for Best Crime Fiction in November, has certainly seen her own headstrong heroine, Sam Shephard, evolve professionally - from sole-charge Mataura police officer to young Dunedin detective - and personally over the course of her acclaimed series.

“Right from the outset I wanted to have a character who wasn’t static, and who was affected by the events that happen in each book,” says Symon, whose fourth novel, Bound, was launched this week.

In Bound, Shephard and her colleagues are investigating a brutal home invasion that left a dodgy businessman dead, and his wife hospitalised - she nearly choked to death after being tied to a chair, gagged, and left to watch his blood pool on the floor. When the evidence starts pointing to a couple of high-profile lowlifes, both prime suspects in an unsolved cop killing, many of Shephard’s colleagues are ecstatic.

But she’s not so sure, and decides to investigate further - much to their chagrin - while at the same time dealing with a dying father, ongoing family issues, and the stresses of a relationship. “I love writing about Sam, doing mean and nasty things to her,” laughs Symon. “She’s great to hassle.”

Talking to Symon, a former pharmacist and now “domestic goddess” and fulltime writer, is in many ways like reading one of her novels - there’s a real sense of fun, even when the subject matter might be serious, a southern sassiness amongst the dark deeds.

Unsurprisingly, Symon’s recurring protagonist likewise has plenty of personality. Detective Shephard is a heroine you want to follow - feisty, passionate, flawed. The latter is particularly important to Symon, who believes the best characters in crime fiction, such as Michael Connelly’s Harry Bosch, aren’t always right. “They make mistakes, they get themselves into the poo,” she says. “And I wanted that, I wanted Sam to be human.”

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'When you're a terribly polite person and you don't swear much, you can have a character who lets rip every now and then and does things you wouldn't.'

Vanda Symon

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Another “lovely thing about writing fiction”, she adds, is being able to create main characters who, although they may have something of the author in them, are also “people who are the things you’re not”.

While Shephard shares her creator’s love of life and can-do attitude, the slightly younger, occasionally less-wise heroine is also a little blunter, a trait Symon enjoys writing. “When you’re a terribly polite person and you don’t swear much, you can have a character that lets rip every now and then, and does things that you wouldn’t do.”

Surprisingly, given that the character of Shephard (along with well-drawn southern settings, snappy repartee between characters, touches of humour, and visual storytelling) is a key part of what makes Symon’s writing stand out, the stroppy heroine wasn’t originally slated to be the star.

Symon says she originally envisaged a male detective hero when she started writing her 2007 debut, Overkill, until a real-life realisation changed things.

“I can’t even remember exactly what it was, but my husband did something completely daft, and I went ‘oh my God, I can’t even understand my own husband, how could I get into the head of a male’, so I changed it,” she laughs. “And the moment I changed it to a female, Sam Shephard stepped up fully-formed as a character, and it was like she attituded her way into my life.”

Symon’s life was already full. She was a busy young mother to two preschoolers, but decided it was time to kick-start her lifelong writing dream.

“Working in pharmacy you have to concentrate all day, because let’s face it if you make a mistake, you can kill someone,” she says. “I was just absolutely mentally shattered by the end of the night, so I didn’t actually get the opportunity to write until I had children.”

Not that it was easy. As many stay-at-home parents would understand, any fantasies of uninterrupted writing time quickly evaporated.

Symon began penning Overkill by snatching writing time in amongst a hectic maternal schedule.: “You know, you’re sitting at the dining table, wiping, feeding a child here, wandering over and playing LEGO there... having a discussion with your mother-in-law, making cups of tea for anyone who visits, all the while writing a novel at the same time,” she laughs. The result, Overkill, took four-and-a-half years to write and have published.

Now her children are older and at school, Symon admits she has a more settled writing schedule, and treats crime writing as her “day job”. She aims to write a novel every year, and is working on a “darker” standalone thriller set in Auckland, revolving around a brutal kidnapping, scheduled for release next year.

She also produces and hosts “Write On”, a monthly books show on Radio Toroa, is working towards a PhD in Pharmacy (focused on poisons used by Dame Ngaio Marsh in her best-selling crime novels), wanders Dunedin scoping “good places to hide dead bodies”, and crosses swords with other members of her classic fencing club. She loves the strategy that combines with physical skill in fencing.

“There’s also something terribly romantic about a sport that involves swords,” she says, laughing. “I feel like d’Artagnan.”

Dumas’s famous character was a hot-headed if talented youth who evolves into a beloved hero. Sort of like Sam Shephard.

Bound (Penguin, $30)

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This feature interview was first published in the Saturday 5 February 2011 issue of the Weekend Herald, and is reprinted here with the kind permission of Books Editor Linda Herrick.

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I don't usually buy the Women's Weekly, but...

Some say that it's good to try to do something new every day - well, today I've definitely done that. For the first time in my 32 and a bit years on the planet, I've walked into a store, and bought a copy of the Australian Women's Weekly (New Zealand edition).

And it was even for myself, and not part of some prank or dare. That's not to say I've never browsed the magazine before, in doctor and dentist offices, or some of Mum's copies when I was growing up (I remember a pretty cool recipe book they put out that was in our Nelson home too). Just that I'm not really the Weekly's regular target readership; that is the 1 in 4 New Zealand women who apparently read it every month, and the 1 in 2 New Zealand women that read at least one copy each year. I'm not sure how that compares to other local publications, but given that annual readership would entail at least 1 million unique New Zealand women, that's a pretty impressive reach, and must make the AWW (NZ ed) close to the most well-read publication on sale here.

So why did I 'try something new' and buy the February issue (pictured above, with newsreader Wendy Petrie on the cover). Well, my sources told me there might be an article I'd be very interested in, within its pages this month. And sure enough, flicking through to the books and review section (page 163-164 in particular), I found it: an interesting two-page interview with our own crime queen Vanda Symon, listed as the Weekly's 'Author of the Month'.

Symon is interviewed by Weekly staffer Sarah Lynch about her new book BOUND, her fascinating heroine Sam Shephard, research and writing, her family life, finding inspiration, and future plans, amongst other things. Interestingly, Lynch also asked Symon whether she saw herself "as part of a golden age of New Zealand thriller writing" - perhaps further recognition that the 'big media' in New Zealand is picking up more and more on the (small but growing) wave of top quality Kiwi crime writers we have now.

Symon said: "Now is a very exciting time to be writing crime fiction in New Zealand, with a strong core of successful crime writers and lots of emerging ones. And now we have the Ngaio Marsh Award for Best Crime Novel, which is fantastic as it finaly rewards and gives recognition to great New Zealand crime writing."

Hear hear!

Both Symon's BOUND and Stuart MacBride's SHATTER THE BONES are also reviewed in this issue of the Weekly (along with several non-crime books). Unfortunately the interview and reviews are not available online - however given the ubiquitous nature of the Weekly, local readers of Crime Watch should have no problem going and picking themselves up a copy this month.

After all, if I can, you can....

Vanda Symon's fourth Sam Shephard book launched this week (plus some thoughts on it)

Well, on Wednesday night those in the south of the South Island were able to head along to the UBS Bookstore in Dunedin to share in the launch of Vanda Symon's fourth Sam Shephard novel, BOUND. Being at the other end of New Zealand, I was unfortunately unable to make what sounds like was a great soiree. You can see a photo of Vanda from the book launch, right (photo from Vanda's blog).

However, I was fortunate enough to get an advance review copy of BOUND a couple of weeks ago. Mark Broatch of the Sunday Star-Times had earlier this year singled out the BOUND as a 'book to read' in 2011, and as Sam Shephard has become one of my favourite crime fiction protagonists over the first three books of the series, I was certainly looking forward to the read myself. And it did not disappoint. Not one iota. It's a terrific crime novel, full of verve, energy and life (even amongst the loss of it, so to speak).

Here's the publisher's blurb: "A brutal home invasion shocks the nation. A man is murdered, his wife bound, gagged and left to watch.

But when Detective Sam Shephard scratches the surface, the victim, a successful businessman, is not all he seems to be. And when the evidence points to two of Dunedin's most hated criminals, the case seems cut and dried... until the body count starts to rise.

Meanwhile, Sam is in big trouble again…"

You can read an extract of BOUND here,

Symon maintains the high standards of the overall series - the personality-packed characters and narrative, the visual storytelling and nice touches of humour amidst the mystery - while at the same time bringing a few surprises to the reader, in both character and plot. I found it a compelling, riveting read. Excuse the cliches - but they're appropriate here. It was a one-sitting book for me - with the only disappointment being that I'd now have to wait many months for a new Vanda Symon tale. As an author she's raised her already high standards, and I can't wait to see what she comes up with next. I understand she is now working on a "darker" standalone thriller, taking a (hopefully short) break from Sam and her Dunedin adventures.

I will hopefully write a full review of BOUND at some stage soon, and share it with you all here on Crime Watch, if possible. But in the meantime take my word for it - find a way to buy yourself a copy of BOUND, you won't regret it if you like lively and well-written detective fiction. Or if you want a second opinion, here's that of my fellow book blogger and Ngaio Marsh Award judge Graham Beattie, who said on his blog earlier this week: "I read a lot of crime fiction and I really rate Symon as up there among the best with this latest novel..."

You can read Beattie's full comments here, and Vanda Symon's own thoughts on her book launch here. It's great to see New Zealand crime fiction kick off so strongly in 2011. Hopefully there is plenty more to come.

Those in the upper North Island should also grab a copy of tomorrow's Weekend Herald, and take a squiz at the books section of the Canvas magazine, where you can get a Vanda Symon fix to ameliorate missing the book launch. My first author feature article for the Weekend Herald this year is on our very own modern-day Queen of Kiwi crime. So make sure you grab a copy.

Comments welcome.

Crime Fiction in the news and on the 'Net: Weekly Round-up

There have been some more great crime fiction stories on the Web this past week - from newspapers, magazines, and fellow bloggers. Hopefully you will all find an interesting article or two linked here, that you enjoy reading.

Just a quick reminder for those readers in the south of the South Island that this coming week Vanda Symon's excellent fourth Sam Shephard novel, BOUND, will be launched at the University Book Shop in Dunedin. All Crime Watch readers are invited to the event, which will be held at 6pm on Wednesday 2 February 2011 at the UBS store, which is located at 378 King Street, Dunedin. RSVP to bronwynw@unibooks.co.nz.

Onto the round-up.

Crime Watch Weekly Round-Up: In the News and on the 'Net

• Speaking at the Jaipur Literature Festival this past week, Swedish crime writing superstar Henning Mankell discussed the end of Kurt Wallander, that he is inspired by Greek Tragedy, and that Shakespeare's MacBeth is the "best crime story" that he's ever read.
• Deadline Hollywood reports that ABC has greenlit a pilot for "Poe", a new crime prodcedural that would see author Edgar Allan Poe as a detective using unconventional methods to investigate dark mysteries in 1840s Boston.
• On the Books South Africa website, acclaimed South African crime writer Margie Orford discusses the desire to write 'a proper book', the flexibility of crime writing, and the trope of feminity and death. In another post Orford discusses the "devilish details" so vital for good crime writing.
• The Waikato Times interviews local short story writer Stephen Ross, who has been shortlisted for a prestigious Edgar Award, a rare feat for a New Zealand writer.
• Jeff Pierce, editor of the excellent website The Rap Sheet, is on the lookout for "any authors or critics out there would like to contribute an essay to The Rap Sheet’s regular 'forgotten books' series" - see here for more details.
• The Parkridge Herald-Advocate takes a look at the upcoming "Love is Murder Mystery Conference," the premiere Midwest gathering of mystery authors, readers, publishers, and agents which returns this year on 4-6 February after a hiatus in 2010 (this is the thirteenth instalment in 14 years).
• Scott Eyman of the Palm Beach Post grabs a few moments with a very busy Robert Crais, currently touring in support of his latest novel THE SENTRY, for an interesting Q&A.
• Star News Online reports that wo mystery writers, Judy Nichols and Joyce Lavene, have helped revive the defunct and once-popular Cape Fear Crime Festival, which ran in Wilmington, North Carolina from 2001 to 2007. You can read the news story about the new festival, which will be on Saturday 5 February, here, and check out the festival website here.
• Ngaio Marsh Award judge and acclaimed book blogger Graham Beattie comments on the latest thrillers from British author Robert Goddard and Norwegian Ann Holt here.
• The Kansas City Star reviews MR HOOLIGAN, a crime novel by Florida journalist Ian Vasquez set in his native Belize (perhaps a good option for some of the readers undertaking Dorte Jakobsen's excellent 2011 Global Reading Challenge).

What are the roots of crime fiction - do you agree that Greek tragedies and Shakespearean plays are also crime fiction, at least in part? Does the modern focus on 'detective fiction' unnecessarily constrain many critics from realising crime fiction is much wider and longstanding than that? Do you like attending crime fiction festivals and meeting authors? Are you taking part in the 2011 Global Reading Challenge? Comments welcome.

Author event: launch of BOUND, Vanda Symon's new Sam Shephard book

Last week I was fortunate enough to get an advance review copy of a terrific new book that comes out in a couple of weeks; BOUND by Vanda Symon. Now, since I stumbled over THE RINGMASTER in the Papatoetoe Library in late 2008, I've been a fan of Symon's Sam Shephard novels. However, that wouldn't stop be saying if I didn't think the latest was up to scratch (eg I liked CONTAINMENT, the third in the series, and thought it was a very good novel that lots of people would enjoy, but for me I didn't think it was quite as good as OVERKILL and THE RINGMASTER, which were excellent).

So, I was curious to see how I would feel about BOUND: would it maintain the high standards of the overall series - the personality-packed characters and narrative, the visual storytelling and nice touches of humour amidst the mystery - or like some other ongoing series that started so well (cough, Patricia Cornwell, Linda Fairstein, Kathy Reichs) would it show signs of beginning to fall into a bit of a ho-hum pattern where what made the series special is worn away over time and some reader start bandying about words like 'formulaic'?

I can't say too much here, as I will be writing a newspaper/magazine review and feature about Symon and BOUND in the very near future (which will of course be shared with you all here on Crime Watch) - but I will say that I read the book in a little over 24 hours, that I was hooked and completely engaged by the characters and the storyline the whole way through, and that in my opinion, as good as I thought OVERKILL and THE RINGMASTER were, BOUND is the best book in the series thusfar.

My advice? Go and buy this book. If you've already tried the Sam Shephard series, I'd be astonished if you didn't love BOUND. If you haven't yet had the pleasure, then now's a great time to start.

And for those of you living in or visiting the lower part of the South Island, Vanda Symon, her publishers Penguin, and the University Book Shop have invited all Crime Watch readers to the official launch party for BOUND, at 6pm on Wednesday 2 February 2011. See the image for further details. RSVP to bronwynw@unibooks.co.nz.

Comments welcome.

Currently reading: FOLLOW THE MONEY by Peter Corris

After a very US-centric start to my 2011 reading (my first five novels read were all set in the United States, although one was by a British author), I'm now on an antipodean trend - this week I've read A POLITICAL AFFAIR by Andrew Porteous (short but enjoyable), just finished an advance copy of BOUND by Vanda Symon (wow - go and buy this book, a step up in an already-excellent series), and now I'm starting on Australian 'godfather' of crime fiction Peter Corris's latest Cliff Hardy tale, FOLLOW THE MONEY.

Here's the blurb: "Battle-scarred but indefatigable PI Cliff Hardy has lost all his dough to an unscrupulous financial advisor. He's got to follow the money trail deep into Sydney's underbelly into the territory of big money and bent deals to get himself back in the black. Cliff Hardy may still have the moves but he's in trouble. The economy's tanking and he's been conned by an unscrupulous financial advisor and lost everything he's got. Cliff only knows one way and that's forward so he's following the money trail. WC It's a twisted road that leads him down deep into Sydney's underbelly into the territory of big money bent deals big yachts and bad people. Cliff's in greater danger than ever before but he's as tenacious as a dog with a bone."

I'm looking forward to the read, my first Australian crime novel of 2011, and one from a master.

Don't worry about comments today - just go and pre-order BOUND from your local bookstore or online retailer. Seriously. I had high expectations, but they were surpassed.

Vanda Symon's BOUND a book to read in 2011, says Sunday Star-Times

In this week's issue of the Sunday Star-Times, one of New Zealand's biggest and most influential newspapers, Books Editor Mark Broatch (who wrote an excellent feature on the rise of New Zealand crime fiction last year) looked ahead to some of the books he thinks will be well worth reading in the coming year.

Along with a list of bestselling international crime fiction authors that Broatch notes will have new books available in 2010, he also singles out modern day Kiwi crime queen Vanda Symon's upcoming fourth Sam Shephard tale, BOUND. You can read the Sunday Star-Times article here.

BOUND is also one of my 'most anticipated' crime fiction releases of 2011. Sam Shephard has become one of my favourite protagonists over the first three books of the series, and I think Vanda Symon has a great writing style. You can read my review of THE RINGMASTER here, listen to Graham Beattie's review of CONTAINMENT here, and read my review of the first Sam Shephard tale, OVERKILL, here.

I'll be trying to get my hands on a copy of BOUND as soon as I can this year, that's for sure.

Here's the publisher's blurb: "A brutal home invasion shocks the nation. A man is murdered, his wife bound, gagged and left to watch.

But when Detective Sam Shephard scratches the surface, the victim, a successful businessman, is not all he seems to be. And when the evidence points to two of Dunedin's most hated criminals, the case seems cut and dried... until the body count starts to rise.

Meanwhile, Sam is in big trouble again…"

You can read an extract of BOUND here, or by clicking on the book cover above. The book is due for release in New Zealand and Australia on 31 January.

Have you read any of Vanda Symon's crime novels? Are you looking forward to BOUND? What do you think of Sam Shephard as a character? Of Dunedin as a crime fiction setting? Thoughts and comments appreciated.

Upcoming Kiwi crime fiction: BOUND by Vanda Symon

As we hurtle towards the end of what has been a frantic 2010, it's only natural that we not only take time to reflect and look back on the year that's passed, and look ahead to what's on the horizon in 2011. When it comes to crime fiction, there are a few upcoming books that I am already really looking forward to reading in the new year.

One of those books is BOUND, the fourth Sam Shephard tale by Dunedin-based crime writer Vanda Symon. Our own modern Kiwi crime queen, and part of a growing Otago cadre of crime writers (alongside Paddy Richardson, Liam McIlvanney, and now Andrew Porteous), Symon looks to have put Shephard in all sorts of strife once again. And I can't wait to read it.

The cover for BOUND was publicised by Symon and Graham Beattie recently, and I've got to say that in my opinion it's one of the very best book covers for a New Zealand crime novel I've seen; striking, eye-catching, and evocative. While we've had some very talented writers here for a while, some of our New Zealand crime novel covers have been a little, well, 'blah', which is a shame. Not that you should judge a book by its cover, of course.

Here's the back-cover blurb:

"A brutal home invasion shocks the nation. A man is murdered, his wife bound, gagged and left to watch.

But when Detective Sam Shephard scratches the surface, the victim, a successful businessman, is not all he seems to be. And when the evidence points to two of Dunedin's most hated criminals, the case seems cut and dried... until the body count starts to rise.

Meanwhile, Sam is in big trouble again…"

You can read an extract of BOUND here, or by clicking on the book cover above. The book is due for release in New Zealand and Australia on 31 January.

Have you read any of Vanda Symon's crime novels? Are you looking forward to BOUND? What do you think of Sam Shephard as a character? Of Dunedin as a setting? Thoughts and comments appreciated.