Sorted on book title (not in series order)
Des Hunt was a science and technology teacher for many years, interspersed with periods of curriculum development both in New Zealand and overseas, and he's an author that seems need little or no introduction to readers in his native land. RED EDGE is, however, the first of his books I've...Read more
Historical crime fiction with a political basis, Jonothan Cullinane's RED HERRING is set in 1950's Auckland during a time of confrontation between workers and the government. Based on the waterfront it's fascinating how this sort of pitched battle resonates in difficult places, across...Read more
I'm not going to pretend for a moment that I've the slightest idea what's going on with the Inspector Giovanni 'Rex' Matsuko series, of which The Reluctant Gunmen is book number 5 (and I've read a couple of the earlier ones as well).
I'm not even sure I can describe them,...Read more
Following on from INTO THE VOID, RETRIBUTION continues to feature DSS Archie Baldrick and DC Ben Travers - in this outing, investigating the death of a very mysterious woman indeed. After Lucy is found dead on the beach, finding out who she is, or anything about her is the most tricky part...Read more
Following on from the excellent first novel in this series, BETTER THE BLOOD, RETURN TO BLOOD is centred, once again, around Hana Westerman. Only now she has turned in her police badge, abandoning a career as a detective in the Auckland CIB, she's returned to her hometown of Tātā Bay to do some running repairs.Read more
REVEALED IN MIST is weighted heavily on the romance side, with a tendency towards a showy style of descriptive text to reinforce the period setting. Possibly one for fans of historical romance as opposed to crime fiction, and definitely not for those who like their crime front and centre of...Read more
If you read the blurb for REVENGE IS A SELF INFLICTED WOUND then you'll get a very good taste for the style of writing in this novel, which I've dithered around a description of for ages now and cannot for the life of me decide. I'm caught somewhere between "stream of consciousness",...Read more
THE RINGMASTER is the second in the Sam Shephard series from NZ author Vanda Symon. Sam has moved to Dunedin, is in detective training when the body of a young university student is found in the Botanic Gardens. In Sam's world it goes without saying that nothing is ever going to be...Read more
RINGS ON WATER is the second novel in NZ author Madeleine Eskedahl's Matakana Series, set in and around the idyllic rural winemaking and tourist destination near Auckland. The series features local cop, Sergeant Bill Granger, and his Swedish wife Annika, their family, and their lifestyle in...Read more
Coming at an eco-thriller from the point of view of the activists, RUBY AND THE BLUE SKY is part thriller, part exploration of "celebrity" culture, and part do good chick lit novel. The idea at the core is that fame can be used in positive ways - in this case a pro-environment, anti...Read more
Started this book with absolutely no idea what I was going to get, got through the first quarter with no idea what was going on, ended the whole thing thoroughly enjoying every word of it.
Maudie is the central character of this novel, a millenial New Yorker who, on assigment...Read more
The central premise of RUNNING TOWARDS DANGER is a fascinating idea. What would you do if the flatmate that you knew very little about, and saw even less of, is suddenly gunned down in front of you, and the investigation into his death starts to reveal some very worrying facts about his...Read more
Second in the Dan Calder series, THE SECOND GRAVE moves the action from being all in New Zealand, to England, when Dan returns home to help out his best friend and ex-colleague Nick Hetherington. Hetherington's daughter has been arrested in connection with a murder, and both men can't...Read more
This is an embarrassingly overdue mention of the second novel in a series which is going from strength to strength. Apologies to the author, the delay is all my fault.
If you're not aware of the Ngaire Blakes series from New Zealand author Katherine Hayton then this is one that...Read more
The first in a new series from NZ author Rosy Fenwicke, THE SECRET OF THE ANGEL WHO DIED AT MIDNIGHT is a police procedural novel introducing DSS Kate Sutton.
Set in a wine-growing region of New Zealand, the sense of place in this one is pretty strong, drawing on a small town,...Read more
Sometimes you just can't shake the idea that an author really doesn't like their characters much. Flaws and troubles aplenty are one thing - but weighing everybody down in a story with just about every possible problem known is another kettle of fish altogether.
We know from...Read more
NZ-based Charity Norman’s sixth novel is her second to be shortlisted for Best Crime Novel in the Ngaio Marsh Awards. Full review at Newtown Review of Books...Read more
The Security (firm) are a highly specialised team of personal bodyguards, renowned as the best in the business. Until their clients' personal lives start to be exposed, leaving the team trying to protect themselves, while trying to find out who it is that knows a lot of their own secrets,...Read more
It's a scenario that plenty of families deal with every day. Teenager's off to spend their gap year travelling in far flung locations - in this case British backpacker Cassy heading to New Zealand with her boyfriend for a short break before returning to her best friend's wedding, study and...Read more
I'm more than a bit of a fan of books by Paul Thomas. I'm more than a bit of a fan of his short stories now as well. SEX CRIMES is a series of fantastic short stories themed around sex. As the blurb puts it "exploring the unpredictable and sometimes fatal consequences that can occur when...Read more
I will admit to having been a bit of a Brexit junkie, addicted to the podcast Brexitcast from the BBC, which meant SHADOW OF DOUBT arrived at a particularly pertinent time, set as it is in the time of Brexit, with a very interesting central premise - would the overwhelming Remain vote in...Read more
Edwina Biggs has lead a quiet life, battling to make ends meet, working a mundane job with antisocial hours, living a restrained life in a contained neighbourhood. Things were changing at last though as she'd recently swapped the big family home for a small cottage on Edmund Street, learnt...Read more
New Zealand's decision to declare itself nuclear-free in 1987 created quite a stir at the time, so it makes considerable sense that an autocratic Prime Minister approving a US Navel facility in the middle of Wellington harbour (and therefore allowing the possibility of nuclear powered...Read more
Magical realism in a disturbing political thriller, told in a confessional first person voice, SHAKTI is not the sort of novel that you'd normally expect to show up in the list for a crime fiction award, but if the Ngaio Marsh Award has shown me anything over recent years it's to expect the...Read more
SHARKS WITH LIPSTICK is a satirical romantic mystery written by Hinemura Ellison and Ted Hughes. Satirical it definitely is, as you'll get from the blurb - with the concept being that there's a Big Super Ministry as part of the government, where it seems employees spend more time playing...Read more
THE SISTERS' LOVER is an engaging, slightly quirky historical fiction novel set mostly within Australia. Starting out in post war 1950, Flis, Australian by birth, is returning to the family property after many years in Wellington, New Zealand. Flis hasn't been in contact with her younger...Read more
A comedic styled novel tending almost towards satire, which you'll get from title, even before you've even cracked open the spine. SIX MURDERS (for short) is the tale of the weird life of Ponytail O'Gorman - a charming old-style fraudster - who somehow convinced a couple of everyday people...Read more
THE SLOW ROLL is New Zealand based author Simon Lendrum's debut novel, which is worth mentioning because readers could be mistaken for thinking this is one of many. Engrossing, with a well constructed plot, a very engaging couple of central characters, and a dry, almost melancholic style,...Read more
THE SNOW THIEF is set in Tibet, with a Chinese Detective as it's central character, fighting her bosses for permission to look into the mysterious deaths of multiple little boys. It's a story of murder, a serial killer, stalking the entire country, obviously killing to a pattern, but it's...Read more
In 2018 a novel barnstormed its way into the Ngaio Marsh Awards with THE SOUND OF HER VOICE making it to double finalist in both the Best First and Best Novel categories. At the time I remember thinking this is an author with...Read more