History and humanity: 2023 Ngaio Marsh Awards finalists plunge readers into page-turning tales about who we are
The winners were announced in November, all of which are books WELL worth reading.
BEST NON-FICTION
WINNER: MISSING PERSONS by Steve Braunias (HarperCollins)
A NEW DAWN by Emeli Sione (Mila’s Books)
THE DEVIL YOU KNOW by Dr Gwen Adshead & Eileen Horne (Faber)
DOWNFALL: THE DESTRUCTION OF CHARLES MACKAY by Paul Diamond (Massey University Press)
THE FIX by Scott Bainbridge (Bateman Books)
BEST FIRST NOVEL
WINNER: BETTER THE BLOOD by Michael Bennett (Simon & Schuster)
ONE HEART ONE SPADE by Alistair Luke
TOO FAR FROM ANTIBES by Bede Scott (Penguin SEA)
SURVEILLANCE by Riley Chance (CopyPress Books)
THE SLOW ROLL by Simon Lendrum (Upstart Press)
PAPER CAGE by Tom Baragwanath (Text Publishing)
BEST NOVEL
WINNER: REMEMBER ME by Charity Norman (Allen & Unwin)
EXIT .45 by Ben Sanders (Allen & Unwin)
BLUE HOTEL by Chad Taylor (Brio Books)
THE DOCTOR’S WIFE by Fiona Sussman (Bateman Books)
BETTER THE BLOOD by Michael Bennett (Simon & Schuster)
BLOOD MATTERS by Renée (The Cuba Press)
THE SLOW ROLL by Simon Lendrum (Upstart Press)
For more information on any or all of our 2023 Ngaio Marsh Awards finalists, or the Ngaios in general, please contact ngaiomarshaward@gmail.com, or founder Craig Sisterson, craigsisterson@hotmail.com
A DETECTIVE IN SEARCH OF THE TRUTH
Hana Westerman is a tenacious Ma¯ori 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 secret room. As Hana and her team work to track down the killer, other deaths lead her to think that they are searching for New Zealand’s first serial killer.
A KILLER IN SEARCH OF RETRIBUTION
With little to go on, Hana must use all her experience as a police officer to try and find a motive to these apparently unrelated murders. What she eventually discovers is a link to an historic crime that leads back to the brutal bloody colonisation of New Zealand.
A CLASH BETWEEN CULTURE AND DUTY
When the pursuit becomes frighteningly personal, Hana realises that her heritage and knowledge are their only keys to finding the killer.
THE PAST NEVER TRULY STAYS BURIED
But as the murders continue, it seems that the killer's agenda of revenge may include Hana – and her family . . .
WELCOME TO THE DARK SIDE OF PARADISE.
They never found Leah Parata. Not a boot, not a backpack, not a turquoise beanie. After she left me that day, she vanished off the face of the earth.
A close-knit community is ripped apart by disturbing revelations that cast new light on a young woman's disappearance twenty-five years ago.
After years of living overseas, Emily Kirkland returns to New Zealand to care for her father, Felix, who suffers from dementia. As his memory fades and his guard slips, she begins to understand him for the first time - and to glimpse shattering truths about his past. Truths she'd rather were kept buried.