Return to Blood
Darkness lies close to home in this award-winning thriller from a standout voice in New Zealand crime fiction
$23.27
- Paperback
336 pages
- Release Date
16 April 2025
Summary
WINNER OF THE NGAIO MARSH AWARD FOR BEST NOVEL 2025
Two murders. Two decades apart. One chance to get justice.
Hana Westerman has left Auckland and her career as a detective behind her. Settled in a quiet coastal town, all she wants is a fresh start.
The discovery of a skeleton in the dunes near her house changes everything. The remains are those of a young Maori woman who went missing four years before, and Hana has a connection to the case. Twenty years ago, a school…
Book Details
| ISBN-13: | 9781398512283 |
|---|---|
| ISBN-10: | 1398512281 |
| Author: | Michael Bennett |
| Publisher: | Simon & Schuster Ltd |
| Imprint: | Simon & Schuster Ltd |
| Format: | Paperback |
| Number of Pages: | 336 |
| Release Date: | 16 April 2025 |
| Weight: | 244g |
| Dimensions: | 25mm x 197mm x 111mm |
| Series: | Hana Westerman |
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What They're Saying
Critics Review
PRAISE FOR MICHAEL BENNETT:
‘A cracking thriller; it also extends our sense of what crime fiction can do’ Liam McIlvanney
‘A tensely plotted, gritty crime novel that has the courage to force us all to rethink our relationship with the past’ Vaseem Khan
‘Stunning … a gripping mystery, complex and memorable characters, and timely social and cultural commentary. Don’t miss it’ David Heska Wanbli Weiden
‘As page-turning as it is eye-opening’ Ambrose Parry
‘Opens a unique window onto a fascinating Antipodean society as only world-class crime fiction can’ Deon Meyer
‘A striking debut and a significant addition to Indigenous literature’ Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
‘[A] stellar series launch. Bennett is a writer to watch’ Publishers Weekly (starred review)
‘A remarkable new detective’ Daily Mail
‘[A] highly addictive read’ My Weekly
‘So chilling’ Crime Monthly
ACCLAIM FOR BETTER THE BLOOD:
Winner of the Best First Novel Award at the 2023 Ngaio Marsh Awards
Finalist for Best Novel at the 2023 Ngaio Marsh Awards
?Shortlisted for the Jann Medlicott Acorn Prize for Fiction, Ockham New Zealand Book Awards
Shortlisted for Audio Book of the Year at the Capital Crime Fingerprint Awards
Shortlisted for Best First Mystery Novel at the Barry Awards
Longlisted for the CWA John Creasey New Blood Dagger
About The Author
Michael Bennett
Michael Bennett (Ngati Pikiao, Ngati Whakaue) is an award-winning screenwriter, director, and author.
His first book, a non-fiction work detailing New Zealand’s worst miscarriage of justice, In Dark Places, won Best Non-Fiction Book at the 2017 Ngaio Marsh Awards. Michael’s second book, Helen and the Go-Go Ninjas, is a time-travel graphic novel co-authored with Ant Sang.
Better the Blood, the first Hana Westerman thriller, was shortlisted for the Jann Medlicott Acorn Prize for Fiction/Ockham New Zealand Book Award, the Audio Book of the Year at the Capital Crime Fingerprint Awards, and Best First Mystery Novel at the Barry Awards. It was also longlisted for the CWA John Creasey New Blood Debut Dagger and was a finalist for Best Novel at the 2023 Ngaio Marsh Awards, where it won the award for Best First Novel. Return to Blood, the second novel in the acclaimed series, won the Ngaio Marsh Award for Best Novel in 2025.
Michael’s short and feature films have won international awards and have screened at numerous festivals, including Cannes, Toronto, Berlin, Locarno, New York, London, and Melbourne. Michael is the 2020 recipient of the Te Aupounamu Maori Screen Excellence Award, recognizing high-level contributions to screen storytelling by members of the Maori filmmaking community.
He lives in Auckland, Aotearoa (New Zealand), with his partner Jane, and children Tihema, Mahina, and Matariki.
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