Reaper by Vanda Symon #Reaper @vandasymon @OrendaBooks #BookReview #YeahNoir

 

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.

Reaper by Vanda Symon was published on 12 March 2026 by Orenda Books. It is the second in the series about Max Grimes, but is a stand alone story. My thanks to the publisher who sent my copy for review as part of this Virtual Book Tour.

I have read everything that Vanda Symon has published in the UK.  Her Sam Shephard series is now six books long and it is a fabulous series. Her first stand novel to feature Max Grimes; Faceless was published four years ago and I am delighted that she is back with another novel about him. These are brutal, gritty and at times, heart breaking stories about the most vulnerable people in society. 

Max Grimes has moved on a little since the last book, he's still technically homeless but he's not sleeping on the streets. An ex policeman, he feels a kinship with the street sleepers. The trauma of his past life makes him feel as though he's one of them, part of the community, and he does his best to keep an eye on the community and help where he can.

Somebody is killing homeless people. Three victim now. Each one murdered in a different way. Max feels helpless.  He is then contacted by someone from his past and finds himself up to his neck in trouble. 

The novel is told in three voices; Max; Meredith - his ex police partner, a woman who still sees Max as a friend, and The Reaper; an unknown person who is randomly murderer homeless people.

Cleverly structured, tense and often brutal to read; Reaper is another fabulous novel from a brilliantly talented author. Not only does she serve up a compelling thriller, she also takes a deep look at the social injustices of our time. Without preaching, she cleverly sheds light on the differences in public perception about the victims of crime. Thinking about how the people in control may have dealt with this series of murders if the victims were not the homeless. 

From the dirty gutters of the city streets, to the press conferences held by those in power, the author looks at so many aspects of policing and reporting. With short chapters and plenty of intriguing twists, this is a thriller that is very hard to put down. 

Reaper proves, once again, that Vanda Symon really is at the top of her game. Faultless writing, superb plotting and characters that the reader will grow to love. Highly recommended. 

Vanda Symon is a crime writer from Dunedin, New Zealand, and the President of the New
Zealand Society of Authors Te Puni Kaituhi o Aotearoa. 

The Sam Shephard series, which includes Overkill, The Ringmaster, Containment, Bound, Expectant and Prey, hit number one on the New Zealand bestseller list, and has also been shortlisted for the Ngaio Marsh Award, as has her then standalone thriller, Faceless. 

Overkill was shortlisted for the CWA John Creasey (New Blood) Dagger and Bound and Expectant have been nominated for USA Barry Awards. 

All six books have been digital bestsellers, and are in production for the screen. 

Vanda lives in Dunedin.

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