Today I'm delighted to welcome
VANDA SYMON
for her Overkill blog tour
to share her BEST OF CRIME ...
... AUTHORS
Gah, this is a hard question. There are so many I love, and I am such a fickle beast that most of the time my favourite crime author is the one I’m currently reading. I know, I know – it’s a cop-out answer, but it’s the honest one!
... FILMS/MOVIES
This one is easy. The Silence of the Lambs. This was the first real psychological thriller I ever saw and boy, did it make an impression. Oh my God, the tension, the cinematography, the unfolding, oh lordy, look out, look out Clarice!
... TV DRAMAS
I seem to have a thing for retro, I have always had a soft spot for Midsomer Murders, and I have binge watched Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries more times than I would care to admit – What’s not to love about Miss Fisher, and don’t get me started on the vintage fashion, and the shoes, OMG, the shoes.
... FICTIONAL KILLERS
This is a hard one to discuss without giving away massive spoilers, so I will simply say Agatha Christie’s The Murder of Roger Ackroyd.
... FICTIONAL DETECTIVES
I shall refer again to Miss Phryne Fisher, the charismatic, boundary pushing, charming, sophisticated, generous, empathic, liberated, adventurous, go get ‘em private detective created by Kerry Greenwood. Phryne Fisher would eat James Bond for breakfast.
... MURDER WEAPONS
Ngaio Marsh in Vintage Murder (1937) The victim was killed by a rigged swinging jeroboam of champagne. It wasn’t a case of him hitting the bottle, quite the opposite!
... DEATH SCENES
Ngaio Marsh again - Queen of the bizarre murder. Overture to Death(1939) What’s not to love about the poor victim meeting their demise during a public performance in the village hall when the carefully-rigged-and-hidden-in-the-piano revolver is set off by a touch of Rachmaninoff. Yes, death by piano.
... BLOGS/WEBSITES
I don’t actually use the internet that much for research. If I do the websites tend to be news sites or sites that help me with the physical locations – very pictorial things like Google Maps and Street View, tourism sites. On the whole, I prefer to research with books, or talking to people, or getting out in the fresh air and beating the feet. Much more fun.
... WRITING TIPS
Sit your butt in the chair and write.
... WRITING SNACKS
Pretty much anything goes, so long as it is washed down with copious quantities of tea.
About VANDA SYMON
Vanda Symon is the best-selling author of four Detective Sam Shephard crime fiction novels, published in New Zealand, including Overkill (Penguin, 2007), The Ringmaster (Penguin, 2008), Containment (Penguin, 2009), Bound (Penguin, 2011), and the stand-alone psychological thriller, The Faceless (Penguin, 2012). She is a three-time finalist for the Ngaio Marsh Award for Best Crime Fiction Novel. Her books have also been published in Germany.
Vanda is the producer and host of Write On, a monthly radio show on matters literary on Otago Access Radio, and she also reviews books for National Radio. She is very involved in the New Zealand writing community, having been chair of the Otago Southland branch of the New Zealand Society of Authors, and is currently the Chair of Copyright Licensing New Zealand. Vanda also has participated in celebrity debates, acted as speaker, reader or chair in literary events and festivals in New Zealand and Australia, and toured with The New Zealand Book Council’s Words on Wheels.
Vanda has a professional background as a pharmacist and has recently completed a PhD in science communication, examining the communication of science through crime fiction.
Find Vanda Symon on her website, on her Facebook page and on Twitter - @vandasymon
About OVERKILL
Publisher's description
When the body of a young mother is found washed up on the banks of the Mataura River, a small rural community is rocked by her tragic suicide. But all is not what it seems. Sam Shephard, sole-charge police constable in Mataura, soon discovers the death was no suicide and has to face the realisation that there is a killer in town. To complicate the situation, the murdered woman was the wife of her former lover. When Sam finds herself on the list of suspects and suspended from duty, she must cast said her personal feelings and take matters into her own hands. To find the murderer... and clear her name. A taut, atmospheric and pageturning thriller, Overkill marks the start of an unputdownable and unforgettable series from one of New Zealand s finest crime writers.
Read a snippet of my review
Read a snippet of my review
'I loved this crime thriller from the moment I started reading the chilling prologue, through every spellbinding chapter and right through to the shocking ending.'
To read the rest of my review, click here.
To read the rest of my review, click here.
Overkill is out in ebook now and is being published by Orenda Books on 6 September 2018.
Look out for more BEST OF CRIME features coming soon.
Click here to read more BEST OF CRIME features.
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