★ 11/07/2022
Bennett (In Dark Places: The Confessions of Teina Pora and an Ex-Cop’s Fight for Justice) makes his fiction debut with a stellar series launch set in contemporary New Zealand that explores the devastating belated consequences of a horrific murder of a Maori chief by six British soldiers in 1863—an act preserved in a daguerreotype. The opening pages reveal the original crime, and it soon becomes apparent that a killer is enacting vengeance on the six soldiers’ descendants. As the body count mounts, Bennett dramatically portrays the psychological fallout of age-old violence upon Auckland police detective Hana Westerman and a range of well-drawn secondary characters; and he convincingly reveals Hana’s inner turmoil and the conflicts inherent among her roles of detective, Maori woman, ex-wife to the senior police officer, and mother to a talented, outspoken teen activist. Told in third person mainly from Hana’s perspective but also from the perspectives of her daughter, the killer, and the victims, the narrative moves at a quick pace. Immersed in modern-day technologies and with a keen sensitivity to cultural issues, this is a finely crafted page-turner. Bennett is a writer to watch. (Jan.)
Praise for Better the Blood
“A compelling, atmospheric page turner with an authentic insight into Māori culture.”—Val McDermid
“Stunning. Better the Blood is a tremendous debut, and Hana Westerman, the Māori detective at the center of the story, instantly becomes one of the great characters in crime fiction on any continent. This novel has it all: a gripping mystery, complex and memorable characters, and timely social and cultural commentary. Don’t miss it.”—David Heska Wanbli Weiden, author of Winter Counts
“Carefully crafted and beautifully written, intelligent and insightful, Bennett opens a unique window onto a fascinating Antipodean society as only world-class crime fiction can. I devoured it. (And, as a South African, I found great pleasure in the rugby references too.)”—Deon Meyer, author of The Dark Flood
“Better the Blood touches on themes that have become increasingly urgent in recent years including the far-reaching impacts of colonialism and the often uneasy integration of identity and heritage into modern multicultural society. A tensely plotted, gritty crime novel that has the courage to force us all to rethink our relationship with the past.”—Vaseem Khan
“As page-turning as it is eye-opening. An excitingly fresh perspective upon a world you thought you knew.”—Ambrose Parry
10/01/2022
DEBUT In this riveting debut thriller from award-winning screenwriter, director, and true-crime author Bennett (In Dark Places: The Confessions of Teina Pora and an Ex-Cop's Fight for Justice), a serial killer is terrorizing the citizens of Auckland, New Zealand. With each death, a video of the victim's location is sent directly to Detective Senior Sergeant Hana Westerman, adding to the turmoil in her already complicated life. Early in her career, a protest that pitted the police against the Ma¯ori led to a guilt-stricken Hana being shunned by her Ma¯ori family. With work as her only constant, Hana's job is now in jeopardy, a result of an altercation following a court case. At home, her teenage daughter is becoming more rebellious. And although separated for years, her husband, who also happens to be her boss, is pressuring her to sign divorce paperwork. Now Hana must stop a killer before their focus turns on her family. VERDICT Bennett (who is Ma¯ori and of Te Arawa descent) deftly illuminates the historical plight of the Ma¯ori people and its continuing effects in New Zealand. His action-packed narrative, blended with various cultural references, recalls the novels of Tony and Anne Hillerman, Craig Johnson, and William Kent Krueger.—Joy Gunn
★ 2022-10-12
Hana Westerman, an Auckland cop with Māori roots, goes up against an Indigenous serial killer looking to avenge England's brutal oppression of New Zealand's native people 160 years ago.
“Better the blood of the innocent than none at all,” says the killer, for whom the horrors of the past are kept alive by the daguerreotype of six British soldiers celebrating with the corpse of a tribal chief hanging behind them. His plan is to kill six people with ties to the original offenders. The case awakens Hana's deep guilt over roughly policing fellow Māori during a land rights protest 18 years ago, in particular a silver-haired woman Hana later learns is the mother of the serial killer, Poata James Raki, a distinguished legal professor suspended for his increasingly radical views. Jaye Hamilton, Hana's ex-husband and superior on the force, assures her she was just doing her job at the protest, but their 17-year-old daughter, Addison, an activist pop singer who was one of Raki's most admiring students, is appalled her mother did such a thing. It's a falling-out the killer is all too happy to exploit. However heinous his actions, Raki is in full, articulate command of the truth regarding the past and present—and Hana knows it. Making his fiction debut, Māori screenwriter and director Bennett establishes himself as an excellent storyteller. As well executed as the murder story is (an unneeded subplot aside), the book's immersion in tribal culture and history makes the greatest impact, lending complexity and sweep to the narrative. Bennett's use of Indigenous terms and names (while providing a running glossary) adds to the novel's resonance. One can only hope this is the beginning of a series.
A striking debut and a significant addition to Indigenous literature.
Miriama McDowell and Richard Te Are take listeners on a journey to present-day Auckland, New Zealand, where they follow Maori detective Hana Westerman as she races against time to solve a series of gruesome murders that are linked to the country's violent colonial past. The use of two narrators helps listeners differentiate the different viewpoints and strengthens the intensity of the story. The author uses many Maori words and phrases, which both narrators pronounce with ease, giving an authentic backdrop while not detracting from the pacing or heightening suspense. The result is a rich combination of a high-tension thriller combined with interesting and sometimes uncomfortable insights into Maori history and culture. K.J.P. © AudioFile 2023, Portland, Maine
Miriama McDowell and Richard Te Are take listeners on a journey to present-day Auckland, New Zealand, where they follow Maori detective Hana Westerman as she races against time to solve a series of gruesome murders that are linked to the country's violent colonial past. The use of two narrators helps listeners differentiate the different viewpoints and strengthens the intensity of the story. The author uses many Maori words and phrases, which both narrators pronounce with ease, giving an authentic backdrop while not detracting from the pacing or heightening suspense. The result is a rich combination of a high-tension thriller combined with interesting and sometimes uncomfortable insights into Maori history and culture. K.J.P. © AudioFile 2023, Portland, Maine
