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Reaper: The twisty, dark new thriller from the new Queen of New Zealand Crime…
Not yet published
Expected 12 Mar 26Homeless on Auckland's streets, Max Grimes fights to survive when someone starts killing the city's forgotten. Pulled into a dark past, he must stop the killer – or be next. The gripping second instalment in a breathtaking series, from New Zealand's queen of crime.
`Brutal, raw and utterly realistic´ Trevor Wood
`Pacy, twisty, relentlessly unpredictable journey through the dark side of New Zealand's biggest city, where a man battling his own demons must confront a far deadlier one working in the shadows´ Michael Bennett
`Absorbing and addictive. Once you've started you won't be able to put it down until the end. A truly gripping thriller´ Michael Wood
___
The City looks away … but someone is watching…
A killer is hunting Auckland's homeless. No one cares. No one but Max. These are his people.
Max Grimes is homeless, living on the streets of Auckland – among the forgotten, the invisible. But now someone is hunting the homeless, killing them one by one. No one cares. Except Max.
Trying to put his shattered life back together, Max is pulled into a deadly game when a face from his past reappears, reopening wounds he thought were long buried.
As whispers of a Grim Reaper spread terror through the city, Max must race against time – not only to find the killer, but to outrun the ghosts chasing him.
Because if he fails, he'll be next.
_______
Praise for Vanda Symon
`Tauter and tougher than Symon's delightful Dunedin procedurals … superb´ The Times
`Completely gripping … a poignant study of how our society shapes unlikely saints and monsters´ Eve Smith
`From the opening pages, this story left me gasping for breath´ Michael Robotham
`New Zealand's modern Queen of Crime´ Val McDermid
`A one-sitting read´ Ann Cleeves
`Fast, furious and intense´ Helen Fields
`Astonishingly good … compelling, horrifying, intriguing and entertaining. One of the best thrillers I've read this year´ Liz Nugent
`Edgy, thrilling and terrifyingly realistic´ Lisa Hall
`Atmospheric, emotional and gripping´ Foreword Reviews
`Fans of The Dry will love Vanda Symon´ Red Magazine
`If you like taut, pacey thrillers with a wonderful sense of place, this is the book for you´ Liam McIlvanney
`A portrait of the underbelly of society, this is a deeply involving novel and a damn good thriller´ Paul Burke, NB Magazine
`Fast-moving New Zealand procedural ... the Edinburgh of the south has never been more deadly´ Ian Rankin
`A sassy heroine, fabulous sense of place, and rip-roaring stories with a twist. Perfect curl-up-on-the-sofa reading´ Kate Mosse
`A plot that grabs the reader's attention with a heart-stopping opening and doesn't let go´ Sunday Times
`Reads like the poli
`Brutal, raw and utterly realistic´ Trevor Wood
`Pacy, twisty, relentlessly unpredictable journey through the dark side of New Zealand's biggest city, where a man battling his own demons must confront a far deadlier one working in the shadows´ Michael Bennett
`Absorbing and addictive. Once you've started you won't be able to put it down until the end. A truly gripping thriller´ Michael Wood
___
The City looks away … but someone is watching…
A killer is hunting Auckland's homeless. No one cares. No one but Max. These are his people.
Max Grimes is homeless, living on the streets of Auckland – among the forgotten, the invisible. But now someone is hunting the homeless, killing them one by one. No one cares. Except Max.
Trying to put his shattered life back together, Max is pulled into a deadly game when a face from his past reappears, reopening wounds he thought were long buried.
As whispers of a Grim Reaper spread terror through the city, Max must race against time – not only to find the killer, but to outrun the ghosts chasing him.
Because if he fails, he'll be next.
_______
Praise for Vanda Symon
`Tauter and tougher than Symon's delightful Dunedin procedurals … superb´ The Times
`Completely gripping … a poignant study of how our society shapes unlikely saints and monsters´ Eve Smith
`From the opening pages, this story left me gasping for breath´ Michael Robotham
`New Zealand's modern Queen of Crime´ Val McDermid
`A one-sitting read´ Ann Cleeves
`Fast, furious and intense´ Helen Fields
`Astonishingly good … compelling, horrifying, intriguing and entertaining. One of the best thrillers I've read this year´ Liz Nugent
`Edgy, thrilling and terrifyingly realistic´ Lisa Hall
`Atmospheric, emotional and gripping´ Foreword Reviews
`Fans of The Dry will love Vanda Symon´ Red Magazine
`If you like taut, pacey thrillers with a wonderful sense of place, this is the book for you´ Liam McIlvanney
`A portrait of the underbelly of society, this is a deeply involving novel and a damn good thriller´ Paul Burke, NB Magazine
`Fast-moving New Zealand procedural ... the Edinburgh of the south has never been more deadly´ Ian Rankin
`A sassy heroine, fabulous sense of place, and rip-roaring stories with a twist. Perfect curl-up-on-the-sofa reading´ Kate Mosse
`A plot that grabs the reader's attention with a heart-stopping opening and doesn't let go´ Sunday Times
`Reads like the poli
305 pages, Kindle Edition
Expected publication March 12, 2026
5 people want to read
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
February 15, 2026
When I read the first book in this series, Faceless, I really thought that it was a one off. No idea that this might turn into a series, but I am very glad that it has. If you haven't read the first book, don't worry too much. You may know the characters a little better, understand the dynamic between Max and his former colleague, Meredith, but this book can definitely be read as a standalone, and the story, the case, is fully contained within this book. But I am glad to see Max back. He was a key part of the previous book, but it wasn't really his story, a fact that is very much reversed in Reaper.
Max is one of Auckland's homeless population, a group willingly overlooked by many who see them as a blight on the face of the city. All but one citizen, who has taken it upon themselves to remove them, one at a time. Max, although part of the group, takes it upon himself to check on his fellow rough sleepers, and is the first to work out that the death of one of his friends may not have been of natural causes. It takes a leap of faith to get the police to believe him, but when more of Max's friends end up with a one way trip to the hospital, not even the police can deny the obvious.
I like Max, believed in his concern and the complexities of his personality and circumstance that Vanda Symon has developed over the course of the two books. He is perhaps the best placed to understand what is happening around him, but also in the worst place to have others believe him. And yet he is able to put himself into situations that the Cops could not, gaining trust in a community that is naturally wary of others, and it works perfectly for this story. I had totally sympathy for his situation, a position that is exploited by another character in this book with perhaps some unexpected consequences. But Max has a strength that makes him a perfect lead for the book, and between him and Detective Sergeant Meredith Peters I find myself completely drawn into their world and totally engaged by them and their own version of the investigation. Alternating their perspective in order to give us a fully rounded view of the case and the various prejudices and assumptions on both sides of the law is really effective as a narrative tool, making the story all the more compelling.
Now, as readers, we are privy to the thoughts of the killer. too Witness to their motivations, by way of their unique first person perspective, as well as present when they commit their dark deeds, albeit that the killings themselves are more obscure than grotesque. Their identity remains hidden until near to the end of the book, and that serves to point the finger of suspicion in various different directions as the story progresses. I had a handle on the kind of personality that was involved, but not their identity. The author has created a completely plausible, and utterly duplicitous character, which means they remain in the shadows even as their actions hit the headlines. It also allow them to stir up significant trouble for Max and to ramp up the tension that is already at near breaking point.
What I liked about this book, and it's predecessor, is how Vanda Symon has explored the nature of homelessness in a city, of its growth, particularly post pandemic, and how many of the city's more fortunate citizens view the homeless, or sex workers as was previously the case as being less than. We see the contracts between the killers view of them as vermin, an expendable group that need to be eradicated, and Max's natural concern and compassion for his fellow man. She highlights how we most of us can be aware of the homeless whilst never really seeing them for who they are. Vanda Symon uses the book to give them a voice in that respect, this book is so much more than a simple murder mystery. It serves well on both counts, providing suspense, tension and intrigue, but also heart and compassion.
I love Max and Meredith as characters, but also appreciate the social and moral conscience that forms the heart of the story. I hope that there is still more to come from this brilliant pairing. Dark, packed with intensity and an unexpected vein of emotion, it was utterly compelling from the very first chapter to the last and I devoured it in one day. If you love a great crime fiction novel, especially one that is thought provoking and utterly relevant, then I highly recommend this book. I love Vanda Symon's writing and each and every book just seems to keep getting better.
Max is one of Auckland's homeless population, a group willingly overlooked by many who see them as a blight on the face of the city. All but one citizen, who has taken it upon themselves to remove them, one at a time. Max, although part of the group, takes it upon himself to check on his fellow rough sleepers, and is the first to work out that the death of one of his friends may not have been of natural causes. It takes a leap of faith to get the police to believe him, but when more of Max's friends end up with a one way trip to the hospital, not even the police can deny the obvious.
I like Max, believed in his concern and the complexities of his personality and circumstance that Vanda Symon has developed over the course of the two books. He is perhaps the best placed to understand what is happening around him, but also in the worst place to have others believe him. And yet he is able to put himself into situations that the Cops could not, gaining trust in a community that is naturally wary of others, and it works perfectly for this story. I had totally sympathy for his situation, a position that is exploited by another character in this book with perhaps some unexpected consequences. But Max has a strength that makes him a perfect lead for the book, and between him and Detective Sergeant Meredith Peters I find myself completely drawn into their world and totally engaged by them and their own version of the investigation. Alternating their perspective in order to give us a fully rounded view of the case and the various prejudices and assumptions on both sides of the law is really effective as a narrative tool, making the story all the more compelling.
Now, as readers, we are privy to the thoughts of the killer. too Witness to their motivations, by way of their unique first person perspective, as well as present when they commit their dark deeds, albeit that the killings themselves are more obscure than grotesque. Their identity remains hidden until near to the end of the book, and that serves to point the finger of suspicion in various different directions as the story progresses. I had a handle on the kind of personality that was involved, but not their identity. The author has created a completely plausible, and utterly duplicitous character, which means they remain in the shadows even as their actions hit the headlines. It also allow them to stir up significant trouble for Max and to ramp up the tension that is already at near breaking point.
What I liked about this book, and it's predecessor, is how Vanda Symon has explored the nature of homelessness in a city, of its growth, particularly post pandemic, and how many of the city's more fortunate citizens view the homeless, or sex workers as was previously the case as being less than. We see the contracts between the killers view of them as vermin, an expendable group that need to be eradicated, and Max's natural concern and compassion for his fellow man. She highlights how we most of us can be aware of the homeless whilst never really seeing them for who they are. Vanda Symon uses the book to give them a voice in that respect, this book is so much more than a simple murder mystery. It serves well on both counts, providing suspense, tension and intrigue, but also heart and compassion.
I love Max and Meredith as characters, but also appreciate the social and moral conscience that forms the heart of the story. I hope that there is still more to come from this brilliant pairing. Dark, packed with intensity and an unexpected vein of emotion, it was utterly compelling from the very first chapter to the last and I devoured it in one day. If you love a great crime fiction novel, especially one that is thought provoking and utterly relevant, then I highly recommend this book. I love Vanda Symon's writing and each and every book just seems to keep getting better.
Displaying 1 of 1 review