Thursday, April 26, 2012

Book launch: Vanda Symon's THE FACELESS

Something very exciting is happening in the southern New Zealand city of Dunedin tomorrow night: the official launch of Vanda Symon's fifth crime novel, and first standalone thriller, THE FACELESS.

Penguin New Zealand and the University Book Shop invite you all to the launch of THE FACELESS at the University Book Shop on 378 King Street, Dunedin, at 6pm (Friday 27 April 2012).

I have just finished THE FACELESS this week, and it truly is terrific. While I am a big fan of Symon's series starring 'stroppy' Dunedin detective Sam Shephard, and so missed Sam - and the touches of humour in those books - a little, THE FACELESS really is a terrific, well-paced, well-plotted, thriller that delves not only into a gripping storyline but issues of homelessness, domestic drudgery, suppressed rage, loyalty, grief and loss (and ways of dealing, or not, with them), and how in cities we are surrounded by 'the faceless', whether they be people we pass on the street, who spend their days punching the clock in offices, or live rough on the tougher edges of urban society.

It's dark, much much darker than any of Symon's other work, but really, really good. I highly recommend it to anyone who likes a great, gripping thriller. I'm gutted I can't be at the book launch tomorrow night, but hopefully lots of Kiwi crime fiction fans in the vicinity will pop along to support Symon and what is a really great book.

RSVP to The University Book Shop on 03 477 6976, or bronwynw@unibooks.co.nz.

2 comments:

  1. Craig - So exciting that The Faceless is launching. I hope it does very well. Vanda, if you read this, I wish you the best with this release.

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  2. might go out and get this, i like Symon's work. send free text messages at textme4free.com

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