Publisher Description
PRE-ORDER RETURN TO BLOOD, THE RIVETING FOLLOW-UP TO THE ACCLAIMED CRIME DEBUT BETTER THE BLOOD, COMING SPRING 2024
'A compelling, atmospheric page turner with an authentic insight into Māori culture' Val McDermid
A DETECTIVE IN SEARCH OF THE TRUTH.
A KILLER IN SEARCH OF RETRIBUTION.
A CLASH BETWEEN CULTURE AND DUTY.
THE PAST NEVER TRULY STAYS BURIED.
WELCOME TO THE DARK SIDE OF PARADISE.
Detective Senior Sergeant Hana Westerman is a tenacious Māori detective juggling single motherhood and the pressures of her career in Auckland’s Central Investigation Branch. When she’s led to a crime scene by a mysterious video, she discovers a man hanging in a hidden room. With little to go on, Hana knows one thing: the killer is sending her a message.
As a Māori officer, there has always been a clash between duty and culture for Hana, but it is something that she’s found a way to live with. Until now. When more murders follow, Hana realises that her heritage and past are the keys to finding the perpetrator.
Especially when the killer's agenda of revenge may include Hana – and her family . . .
‘As page-turning as it is eye-opening’ Ambrose Parry
‘A remarkable new detective’ Daily Mail
‘[A] highly addictive read’ My Weekly
‘So chilling’ Crime Monthly
‘Opens a unique window onto a fascinating Antipodean society as only world-class crime fiction can’ Deon Meyer
Shortlisted for the Jann Medlicott Acorn Prize for Fiction, Ockham New Zealand Book Awards
Finalist for Best First Novel and Best Novel at the 2023 Ngaio Marsh Awards
Longlisted for the CWA John Creasey New Blood Dagger
Shortlisted for Audio Book of the Year at the Capital Crime Fingerprint Awards
Download and start listening now!
“Stunning…Digs into the thoughts and feelings of all of the players, the story commands attention from start to spectacular finish.”
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Oprah Daily
About the Authors
Michael Bennett (Ngati Pikiao, Ngati Whakaue) is an award-winning screenwriter, director, and author whose films have been selections at major festivals, including Cannes, Berlin, Toronto, and New York. His nonfiction book, In Dark Places, won awards, and his young adult graphic novel, Helen and the Go-Go Ninjas, was a finalist for the 2019 New Zealand Book Award.