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Slash
The explosive new crime novel from the bestselling author of The Call
A year after a brutal shootout left her lover dead, ex-police sergeant Honey Chalmers is a hot mess, drinking too much and eating too little, working casual gigs for a shady firm of private investigators — while holding conversations with a ghost.
A desperate father asks her to investigate his missing son — a double-murder suspect last seen during the chaos of Cyclone Gabrielle. Honey's quest brings her in conflict with dangerous locals and takes her from the wrecked forests of Tairawhiti to the dark side of Fiji — into the orbit of a strange, secretive teen, a deranged forestry boss, and a terrifying ex-cop turned drug lord.
The closer Honey gets to the truth, the closer she comes to spinning out of control, leading to a final shown down with a killer who'd do anything to keep the past buried.
PRAISE FOR THE CALL
'Deft and accomplished' - New Zealand Listener
'A cracking crime thriller' - Aotearoa New Zealand Review of Books
'Does not disappoint' - Landfall
'Recommended' - Newsroom
'Cinematic' - Kete Books
A year after a brutal shootout left her lover dead, ex-police sergeant Honey Chalmers is a hot mess, drinking too much and eating too little, working casual gigs for a shady firm of private investigators — while holding conversations with a ghost.
A desperate father asks her to investigate his missing son — a double-murder suspect last seen during the chaos of Cyclone Gabrielle. Honey's quest brings her in conflict with dangerous locals and takes her from the wrecked forests of Tairawhiti to the dark side of Fiji — into the orbit of a strange, secretive teen, a deranged forestry boss, and a terrifying ex-cop turned drug lord.
The closer Honey gets to the truth, the closer she comes to spinning out of control, leading to a final shown down with a killer who'd do anything to keep the past buried.
PRAISE FOR THE CALL
'Deft and accomplished' - New Zealand Listener
'A cracking crime thriller' - Aotearoa New Zealand Review of Books
'Does not disappoint' - Landfall
'Recommended' - Newsroom
'Cinematic' - Kete Books
386 pages, Kindle Edition
Published May 5, 2026
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
May 24, 2026
This is a book about gangs, the drug industry, alcohol abuse and the forest industry.
What I loved about this book was finding what happened to Honey and seeing how she ended up. I also enjoyed the setting of Fiji. It talks about familiar places I have been. Loved The Call and this book was just as good. Highly recommend to any crime book enthusiast.
What I loved about this book was finding what happened to Honey and seeing how she ended up. I also enjoyed the setting of Fiji. It talks about familiar places I have been. Loved The Call and this book was just as good. Highly recommend to any crime book enthusiast.
August 16, 2026
A great “second album” from the author!
Loved reconnecting with Honey and the plot of this book kept me reading and, importantly, the ending made sense.
I can even possibly see a decent plot line for Book 3! 🤔🤞🤞
Loved reconnecting with Honey and the plot of this book kept me reading and, importantly, the ending made sense.
I can even possibly see a decent plot line for Book 3! 🤔🤞🤞
June 22, 2026
A great read, made even more tense because we are all aware of the slash problem through the publicity here in Aotearoa.
Plausible, tense, realistic characterisation and situations, and quite the emotional rollercoaster of a read.
Plausible, tense, realistic characterisation and situations, and quite the emotional rollercoaster of a read.
September 12, 2026
Decent enough thriller, but I wish I'd read his first book first!
July 28, 2026
Pretty good twist, reminds me of that kid from a Netflix series about a lawyer held hostage in a submarine hydro chamber. Talks about meth a lot, pretty crack up at times. Well written
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
New Zealand crime author Gavin Strawhan returns to the dark work of ex-police officer Honey Chalmers in Slash, the follow up to his great debut The Call. Once again, Strawhan digs into the darker aspects of rural New Zealand – bikie gangs, drugs and alcoholism – but in this case also the despoilation of the landscape by logging companies. The title itself – ‘Slash’ – refers to the loose offcuts and debris from logging operations.
When Slash opens Honey is working for a private detective agency trying to get evidence that a senior executive is having an affair with his secretary. She is still clearly traumatised by the events of The Call. When she finishes that job Honey is talked into taking a private job for a young policeman and his father. They want to find out what happened to their brother and son Nick who was accused of a series of armed robberies and now is in the frame for the murder of a couple whose car he stole. That murder happened in the chaos of the Cyclone Gabrielle, a real event that decimated the New Zealand coast. They ask Honey to review the police file and let them know what she thinks. But Honey soon finds that there is much more to this story than she first thought and once she is on the case cannot let go until she finds the truth.
While the main narrative stays with Honey, Strawhan drops in other point of view chapters, both contemporaneous and flashback, to fill in some of the gaps. But it is Honey who is once again the centre of the action – damaged, impulsive, lacking empathy but a dogged investigator. While they will stay with her and can understand the source of her trauma, most readers are likely to side with her best friend Michelle, who comes into the story and tries to soften Honey’s sharper edges.
As with The Call, Strawhan wants to use his story to shine a light on bigger social and cultural issues. In this case, front and centre, is the rapaciousness of the timber industry which comes in and destroys landscapes, an impact that is exacerbated when events like Cyclone Gabrielle happen, and then restructure to avoid responsibility. Also, again, is the drug trade and impact of meth on people and communities. Only this time he is able to also look internationally when Honey goes to Fiji to track down a potential witness.
Strawhan says in his Acknowledgements that readers were ‘quite pushy’ about knowing what happened to Honey after The Call. This was because he established her so well in that book. In Slash he answers that question and delivers another dark, compulsive crime tale. But he also clearly sets Honey up to possibly return again (maybe just to stop readers asking).
When Slash opens Honey is working for a private detective agency trying to get evidence that a senior executive is having an affair with his secretary. She is still clearly traumatised by the events of The Call. When she finishes that job Honey is talked into taking a private job for a young policeman and his father. They want to find out what happened to their brother and son Nick who was accused of a series of armed robberies and now is in the frame for the murder of a couple whose car he stole. That murder happened in the chaos of the Cyclone Gabrielle, a real event that decimated the New Zealand coast. They ask Honey to review the police file and let them know what she thinks. But Honey soon finds that there is much more to this story than she first thought and once she is on the case cannot let go until she finds the truth.
While the main narrative stays with Honey, Strawhan drops in other point of view chapters, both contemporaneous and flashback, to fill in some of the gaps. But it is Honey who is once again the centre of the action – damaged, impulsive, lacking empathy but a dogged investigator. While they will stay with her and can understand the source of her trauma, most readers are likely to side with her best friend Michelle, who comes into the story and tries to soften Honey’s sharper edges.
As with The Call, Strawhan wants to use his story to shine a light on bigger social and cultural issues. In this case, front and centre, is the rapaciousness of the timber industry which comes in and destroys landscapes, an impact that is exacerbated when events like Cyclone Gabrielle happen, and then restructure to avoid responsibility. Also, again, is the drug trade and impact of meth on people and communities. Only this time he is able to also look internationally when Honey goes to Fiji to track down a potential witness.
Strawhan says in his Acknowledgements that readers were ‘quite pushy’ about knowing what happened to Honey after The Call. This was because he established her so well in that book. In Slash he answers that question and delivers another dark, compulsive crime tale. But he also clearly sets Honey up to possibly return again (maybe just to stop readers asking).
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
Picking up a year after book one (the call), this story follows ex-police sergeant Honey Chalmers, who is now a hot mess dealing with PTSD, drinking too much, and scraping by on casual gigs for a shady private investigator firm. When a desperate father asks her to track down his missing son, who also happens to be a double-murder suspect last seen during the chaos of Cyclone Gabrielle.
I just couldn't get into this one at all, and I found it quite boring. I felt like I was constantly zoning out while reading and ended up missing heaps of the plot because my mind was just wandering. This is a book I definitely should have DNF'd, but I stubbornly stuck through it to the end. Even though it wasn't for me, I do think this would probably be a good read for someone who specifically loves stories about New Zealand gangs mixed with a Fijian island feel.
I just couldn't get into this one at all, and I found it quite boring. I felt like I was constantly zoning out while reading and ended up missing heaps of the plot because my mind was just wandering. This is a book I definitely should have DNF'd, but I stubbornly stuck through it to the end. Even though it wasn't for me, I do think this would probably be a good read for someone who specifically loves stories about New Zealand gangs mixed with a Fijian island feel.
July 25, 2026
I maybe overrated this novel because it was written by a NZer, set in NZ. I never read the author’s previous book, setting the stage for Honey, our intrepid private investigator. In this one, Honey is asked to investigate the disappearance of a young man in the east coast of the North Island (near where I taught for a while thirty years back), by his father and policeman brother.
Honey is a dogged individual, with of course, an impulsive streak that gets her into various scrapes. Eventually, she solves the case, with, of course, plenty of twists along the way, including at the end, also of course. So, slightly along the traditional crime novel way, but enough quirks to keep you interested.
Honey is a dogged individual, with of course, an impulsive streak that gets her into various scrapes. Eventually, she solves the case, with, of course, plenty of twists along the way, including at the end, also of course. So, slightly along the traditional crime novel way, but enough quirks to keep you interested.
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
New Zealand crime, and it's a good read.
Ex-police sergeant Honey Chalmers is asked to do some PI work for an ex-police officer father, the aim to find out what has happened to his missing son. The son is a murder suspect, and his father refuses to accept that is son is guilty of the crime.
The story deals with bikie gangs, drugs, alcoholism and also the impacts of logging. Plenty of surprises along the way as we ride with Honey and her investigation.
Ex-police sergeant Honey Chalmers is asked to do some PI work for an ex-police officer father, the aim to find out what has happened to his missing son. The son is a murder suspect, and his father refuses to accept that is son is guilty of the crime.
The story deals with bikie gangs, drugs, alcoholism and also the impacts of logging. Plenty of surprises along the way as we ride with Honey and her investigation.
June 18, 2026
Really enjoyed this detective novel set in the aftermath of Cyclone Gabrielle and bringing light to the devastation and impacts of forestry on the East Coast. I'm a big fan of Micheal Bennetts' work, which this book had similarities to. Think I'll be looking up the first book in this Honey series next. Hope they keep on coming.
July 3, 2026
Good listen set in Gisborne area. Ex-cop, private investigator, Honey struggles with her own demons and finds the whereabouts of a missing son/younger brother.
July 28, 2026
This was fast paced and solved by degrees. A much better book than the first and I loved it. I am keen for the next one..
August 16, 2026
Was a bit too long but I still enjoyed it.
August 30, 2026
Not an easy read. Too complicated and time lines mixed.
August 16, 2026
Keeps you on your toes with various twists and turns, well paced, if at time a little confusing and not always completely believable.
Topical, with Cyclone Gabrielle, the plantation forestry industry and the damage from forestry slash the backdrop for the human crime dramas. I like local settings (even if Bergeton is a made-up town) and the Kiwi vernacular (although I've only ever heard Australians use the term servo for a petrol station, or service station).
Topical, with Cyclone Gabrielle, the plantation forestry industry and the damage from forestry slash the backdrop for the human crime dramas. I like local settings (even if Bergeton is a made-up town) and the Kiwi vernacular (although I've only ever heard Australians use the term servo for a petrol station, or service station).
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews