Blurb; Marginalized 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 . . .
My Review; I am pleased to be one of the blogs kicking off day one of The Ringmaster blog tour. This is book two in the Sam Shephard series but reads well as a standalone with no spoilers to the first book (which I haven’t read yet but want to read asap). The cover is gorgeous, eye catching and relevant to the story.
I absolutely loved and enjoyed every minute of this story. I really lost myself into the case beside Sam the whole time. We get to see a lot of Sams personal life, family and friends alongside her professional/work life in this story which was lovely. I really felt for Sam at times throughout this story as she wasn’t haven’t the best of times personally while having to prove her worth, deal with her bully of a boss and help solve this case.
There is a part of this story I actually cried at. I won’t tell you which bit as if you’ve read this book you’ll probably know which part gave me a tear or two. My heart! Sam is a very clever, brave and determined character, I adored her.
The Ringmaster is a brilliantly written, easy to read story… The outcome to the case was so unexpected. Shocking. Jaw dropping. I could not believe it at all. After all that time. Very clever. Sneaky. Just wow.. You won’t be able to guess it at all. I didn’t. Still thinking about it now… Very impressed. I thought this story ended a bit suddenly after finding out the suspect but it was still a brilliant read.
I awarded a well deserved four stars. Highly recommend. I can’t wait to go back to book one and hopefully see more of this series in the future and where it leads Sams character next.
Between The Pages Book Club 
Huge thanks for the Blog Tour support Gemma x
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