Dunedin Athenaeum and Mechanics Institute

Book: Better the Blood (December 2023)

By Michael Bennett

December 11, 2023

A Detective in Search of the Truth.
A Killer in Search of Retribution.
You Can’t Hide from History.

Detective Senior Sergeant Hana Westerman is a tenacious Maori 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 hidden room.  With little to go on, Hana knows one thing: the killer is sending her a message.

As a Maori officer, there has always been a clash between duty and culture for Hana, but it is something that she’s found a way to live with.  Until now.  When more murders follow, Hana realises that her heritage and past are the keys to finding the perpetrator.  Especially when the killer’s agenda of revenge may include Hana – and her family …