2023 Ngaio Marsh Award Winner Best First Novel
Shortlisted for the Jann Medlicott Acorn Prize for Fiction, 2023 Ockham New Zealand Book Awards
Longlisted for the CWA John Creasey New Blood Dagger
Reveiwed by Rowena (Team member); A great read!
Better the Blood is a twisting, turning, action packed crime thriller. The culture, te reo Māori and Aotearoa New Zealand setting made it a compelling read. The last quarter was the hope and although a minor character, in this fast pace action book - the kuia of the Te Tini-o-Tai tribe - was the balance, strength & positive light in the darkness.
Click here to visit the rnz.co.nz interview with Michael Bennett
'A compelling, atmospheric page turner with an authentic insight into Maori 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 Hanna 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 . . .
Crime and mystery fiction
Paperback
Michael Bennett
336 pages
H: 198mm W: 130mm Spine: 21mm