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THE GRIPPING NEW DUAL-VOICE THRILLER FROM THE AWARD-WINNING AUTHOR OF BETTER THE BLOOD AND RETURN TO BLOOD.
In the depths of the bleak New Zealand winter comes the rising of Matariki – a sacred constellation in Maori culture, heralding a time of new beginnings. For former Detective Senior Sergeant Hana Westerman, life is good: her work in her hometown of Tata Bay is going well, the community is thriving, and her daughter Addison is getting engaged.
But this Matariki brings unwelcome change. When Hana's ex-husband Jaye walks into an Auckland liquor store and directly across the path of a gunman, their family's hard-won peace is shattered.
With the stakes at their highest, Hana finds herself picking up a path she thought she'd never return to. Desperate for answers, she rejoins the police to help scour the city for the unidentified shooter. But as the investigation progresses, she finds herself unprepared for the darkness of the world she is entering.
A darkness much closer to home than she knows.
'Marries a crash course in Maori culture with a gripping mystery . . . The good news is that Westerman will be back' The Times, Best Crime & Thrillers of 2025
'Cogently plotted and well-written, this novel brings a new perspective to Maori culture' Belfast Telegraph
'With Australian thrillers doing well right now, New Zealand's hot on their heels' Peterborough Telegraph Michael Bennett (Ngati Pikiao, Ngati Whakaue) is an award-winning screenwriter, director and author. His first book, a non-fiction work telling the true story of 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, as well as for 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 awards internationally 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, in recognition of members of the Maori filmmaking community who have made high-level contributions to screen storytelling.
He lives in Auckland, Aotearoa (New Zealand), with his partner Jane, and children Tihema, Mahina and Matariki.
In the depths of the bleak New Zealand winter comes the rising of Matariki – a sacred constellation in Maori culture, heralding a time of new beginnings. For former Detective Senior Sergeant Hana Westerman, life is good: her work in her hometown of Tata Bay is going well, the community is thriving, and her daughter Addison is getting engaged.
But this Matariki brings unwelcome change. When Hana's ex-husband Jaye walks into an Auckland liquor store and directly across the path of a gunman, their family's hard-won peace is shattered.
With the stakes at their highest, Hana finds herself picking up a path she thought she'd never return to. Desperate for answers, she rejoins the police to help scour the city for the unidentified shooter. But as the investigation progresses, she finds herself unprepared for the darkness of the world she is entering.
A darkness much closer to home than she knows.
'Marries a crash course in Maori culture with a gripping mystery . . . The good news is that Westerman will be back' The Times, Best Crime & Thrillers of 2025
'Cogently plotted and well-written, this novel brings a new perspective to Maori culture' Belfast Telegraph
'With Australian thrillers doing well right now, New Zealand's hot on their heels' Peterborough Telegraph Michael Bennett (Ngati Pikiao, Ngati Whakaue) is an award-winning screenwriter, director and author. His first book, a non-fiction work telling the true story of 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, as well as for 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 awards internationally 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, in recognition of members of the Maori filmmaking community who have made high-level contributions to screen storytelling.
He lives in Auckland, Aotearoa (New Zealand), with his partner Jane, and children Tihema, Mahina and Matariki.
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- SeriesHana Westerman Thriller #3