Hana Westerman – serie

THE GRIPPING NEW 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 Māori culture, heralding a time of new beginnings. For former Detective Senior Sergeant Hana Westerman, life is good: her work in her hometown of Tātā 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 Māori 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 Māori culture’ BELFAST TELEGRAPH‘With Australian thrillers doing well right now, New Zealand’s hot on their heels’ PETERBOROUGH TELEGRAPH

'A compelling, atmospheric page turner with an authentic insight into Māori culture' Val McDermidA DETECTIVE IN SEARCH OF THE TRUTH.A KILLER IN SEARCH OF RETRIBUTION.A CLASH BETWEEN CULTURE AND DUTY.THE PAST NEVER TRULY STAYS BURIED.WELCOME TO THE DARK SIDE OF PARADISE. Detective Senior Sergeant Hana Westerman is a tenacious Māori 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 Māori 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 . . .   ‘As page-turning as it is eye-opening’ Ambrose Parry‘A remarkable new detective’ Daily Mail‘[A] highly addictive read’ My Weekly  ‘So chilling’ Crime Monthly‘Opens a unique window onto a fascinating Antipodean society as only world-class crime fiction can’ Deon MeyerWinner of the Best First Novel Award at the 2023 Ngaio Marsh AwardsFinalist for Best Novel at the 2023 Ngaio Marsh Awards​Shortlisted for the Jann Medlicott Acorn Prize for Fiction, Ockham New Zealand Book AwardsLonglisted for the CWA John Creasey New Blood DaggerShortlisted for Audio Book of the Year at the Capital Crime Fingerprint Awards

'A compelling, atmospheric page turner with an authentic insight into Māori culture' Val McDermidA DETECTIVE IN SEARCH OF THE TRUTH.A KILLER IN SEARCH OF RETRIBUTION.A CLASH BETWEEN CULTURE AND DUTY.THE PAST NEVER TRULY STAYS BURIED.WELCOME TO THE DARK SIDE OF PARADISE. Detective Senior Sergeant Hana Westerman is a tenacious Māori 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 Māori 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 . . .   ‘As page-turning as it is eye-opening’ Ambrose Parry‘A remarkable new detective’ Daily Mail‘[A] highly addictive read’ My Weekly  ‘So chilling’ Crime Monthly‘Opens a unique window onto a fascinating Antipodean society as only world-class crime fiction can’ Deon MeyerWinner of the Best First Novel Award at the 2023 Ngaio Marsh AwardsFinalist for Best Novel at the 2023 Ngaio Marsh Awards​Shortlisted for the Jann Medlicott Acorn Prize for Fiction, Ockham New Zealand Book AwardsLonglisted for the CWA John Creasey New Blood DaggerShortlisted for Audio Book of the Year at the Capital Crime Fingerprint Awards

WINNER OF THE NGAIO MARSH AWARD FOR BEST NOVEL 2025Two murders. Two decades apart.One chance to get justice.Hana Westerman has left Auckland and her career as a detective behind her. Settled in a quiet coastal town, all she wants is a fresh start.The discovery of a skeleton in the dunes near her house changes everything. The remains are those of a young Māori woman who went missing four years before, and Hana has a connection to the case. Twenty years ago, a schoolfriend of hers was found buried in the exact same spot. Her killer died in prison, but did the police get the wrong man? And if he was innocent, then why did he plead guilty?No longer part of the Criminal Investigation Branch, Hana turns to her ex-husband Jaye, a high-flying Detective Inspector, for help. But when he cuts her out of the investigation, she realises that she will have to find the answers she needs on her own.But in digging deeper, she sets herself on a potentially fatal collision course with a killer.PRAISE FOR RETURN TO BLOOD:‘Another cracking, page-turning journey into another culture’ VAL McDERMID‘The vivid picture of ethnic cultural life alone marks out the book as special, but it’s Bennett’s control of a tense narrative that is key’ FINANCIAL TIMES‘Evocative’ CRIME MONTHLY‘A confident, convincing work in a crowded genre’ NZ LISTENER‘A powerful novel that stays in the mind long after it is finished’ JEFF POPPLE‘His deep understanding of marginalised communities, family tensions and the travails of our justice system enrich the novel . . . Return to Blood shows a writer in full command of his material and which reaches deeper into our shared human experience. It also has a surprise ending few readers will be able to predict’ GREG FLEMING‘Even better (if possible!) than his searing debut – Michael Bennett’s latest, Return to Blood, had me moved to tears of empathy and rage within the first fifty pages. Richly evocative New Zealand detail, a take-no-prisoners female Māori detective and a riveting crime make for a sizzling and culturally important page-turner’ ALEXANDRA SOKOLOFF

WINNER OF THE NGAIO MARSH AWARD FOR BEST NOVEL 2025Two murders. Two decades apart.One chance to get justice.Hana Westerman has left Auckland and her career as a detective behind her. Settled in a quiet coastal town, all she wants is a fresh start.The discovery of a skeleton in the dunes near her house changes everything. The remains are those of a young Māori woman who went missing four years before, and Hana has a connection to the case. Twenty years ago, a schoolfriend of hers was found buried in the exact same spot. Her killer died in prison, but did the police get the wrong man? And if he was innocent, then why did he plead guilty?No longer part of the Criminal Investigation Branch, Hana turns to her ex-husband Jaye, a high-flying Detective Inspector, for help. But when he cuts her out of the investigation, she realises that she will have to find the answers she needs on her own.But in digging deeper, she sets herself on a potentially fatal collision course with a killer.PRAISE FOR RETURN TO BLOOD:‘Another cracking, page-turning journey into another culture’ VAL McDERMID‘The vivid picture of ethnic cultural life alone marks out the book as special, but it’s Bennett’s control of a tense narrative that is key’ FINANCIAL TIMES‘Evocative’ CRIME MONTHLY‘A confident, convincing work in a crowded genre’ NZ LISTENER‘A powerful novel that stays in the mind long after it is finished’ JEFF POPPLE‘His deep understanding of marginalised communities, family tensions and the travails of our justice system enrich the novel . . . Return to Blood shows a writer in full command of his material and which reaches deeper into our shared human experience. It also has a surprise ending few readers will be able to predict’ GREG FLEMING‘Even better (if possible!) than his searing debut – Michael Bennett’s latest, Return to Blood, had me moved to tears of empathy and rage within the first fifty pages. Richly evocative New Zealand detail, a take-no-prisoners female Māori detective and a riveting crime make for a sizzling and culturally important page-turner’ ALEXANDRA SOKOLOFF