Better the Blood: A Hana Westerman Thriller

A Hana Westerman Thriller #1

by Michael Bennett

A DETECTIVE IN SEARCH OF THE TRUTH

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 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.

Genres: Mystery, Thriller, Fiction, Crime, Mystery Thriller, Audiobook, Suspense

331 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 18, 2022

About the author

Michael Bennett (Ngāti Pikiao, Ngāti Whakaue) is an award-winning screenwriter, director, and author whose films have been selections at major festivals, including Cannes, Berlin, Toronto, and New York. His nonfiction book, In Dark Places, which explored an infamous miscarriage of justice, won awards, and his young adult graphic novel, Helen and the Go-Go Ninjas, was a finalist for the 2019 New Zealand Book Awards.

source: Amazon

Reviews

[Ellie Spencer (catching up from hiatus) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rounded down from roughly 4.5 ⭐️

Better the Blood follows detective Hana Westerman as she tracks the trail of a killer who sent her a mysterious video. However, will she manage to catch them before more people are killed?

I absolutely loved this book! I don’t know a great deal about the Māori, the focus on them in this book taught me so so much. I absolutely loved being immersed in their culture. I also loved that any Māori language or terms used were translated in footnotes. This helped me learn so much and I found myself eagerly awaiting the next one! I haven’t seen this translation technique done in other books and I absolutely loved it.

The crimes made me feel so conflicted, it’s not a clear black and white, right/wrong scenario like many crime books can be. I actually found myself getting a little emotional for the killer. Although I didn’t find this to be an overly tense ride, with no shocking twists. I still devoured it and wanted to read it every chance I had. I loved that the sections changed POV’s which really helped to get into the minds of the different characters. Although the POV’s weren’t made obvious, it didn’t take me long to figure out what was going on. Overall, I would love to see more books like this from Bennett!

I would recommend this novel to fans of detective novels with a cultural twist. I want to thank Likely Suspects, Simon & Schuster and Michael Bennett for sending me a copy of this book so I could give my personal thoughts.

[Paromjit · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a stunning offering set in Auckland, New Zealand by Michael Bennett, it is far more than crime fiction as it lays bare the horrors of Maori history, colonisation and how their life experiences continue to be a nightmare in the present. Maori Detective Senior Sergeant Hana Westerman cannot believe when a white privileged law student who drugged, humiliated and raped a young native girl, is found guilty, but walks free, facing no punishment. In 1863, there is a photograph of 6 soldiers, and the hanging dead body of a Maori chief, with legs and arms bound together. Hana is a single mother, with a daughter, Addison, her ex-husband, is white, DI Jaye Hamilton, she has a past she has buried deep, and is mentor to DC Stanley Riordan.

Hana is sent a video that leads her to a condemned building, The Palace, and a secret walled room in which a man is found hanged and a spiral symbol in blood is discovered. The victim turns out to be Terrence McElvoy, a former offender convicted of the manslaughter of his baby, and it is not long before Hana receives another video. With no leads and no forensics, the question arises as to why the killer is choosing to send the videos to Hana. It is Hana who eventually begins to connect the rising number of the dead with a long ago but unforgotten haunting past, and the Maori concept of 'utu'. She is forced to address what happened so many years ago, when she and other Maori police officers were ordered and forced onto the police frontline in breaking up a peaceful Maori protest on Mount Suffolk.

Bennett writes an absolutely thrilling and riveting novel that I could not stop reading once I had started, it captivates whilst throwing a light on New Zealand's dark and troubled history, Auckland is a place of beauty that barely acknowledges the enormous levels of blood that lie beneath the land. The stellar characterisation of Hana is a major highlight, damaged by her experience of being a Maori police officer, used, abused and manipulated, she is merely the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the pain, sorrow, suffering, grief and inequalities endured by the Maori community, past and present. This is a gripping read where you are likely to find yourself feeling some surprising levels of sympathy for the killer. Cannot recommend this highly enough. Many thanks to the publisher for an ARC.

[Sandysbookaday (taking a step back for a while) · Rating 3 out of 5]

EXCERPT: A Smudge on the page of history - 5 October 1863

Below the tree, the six British soldiers face the lens in an aesthetically pleasing curving semicircle. Suspended above them, a few yards over their heads, secured to one of the lower branches of the great tree by a length of twelve strand British Army rope noosed tight around his throat, a seventh person forms the apex of this carefully considered composition.

The dead man is naked, the captive stripped and humiliated before he was executed, retribution for having evaded the pursuing troop for quite an embarrassingly long period. As well as the rope around his neck, his hands are tied in front of his torso, his feet bound at the ankle. The man is Māori, and the moko (a traditional way of Māori tattooing signifying status or social standing) tattooed on his face and body show the markings of a high-born leader. He is silver-haired, in his fifties, and the swirls and lines gouged deep into his skin tell a tale of his lineage, his status, the knowledge he carries, the whakapapa (genealogy, line of descent) passed down to him across the generations.

A rangitira, a chief of great stature.

ABOUT 'BETTER THE BLOOD': 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.

MY THOUGHTS: I really wanted to love this, being a fervent supporter of Australasian authors, but although I liked Better The Blood, I didn't love it.

I appreciated the history and the use of Te Reo (the Māori language) incorporated into the book, but I found it difficult to relate to any of the characters and it felt like the plot was secondary to the author's views on New Zealand racial issues.

Better The Blood looks at the impact of colonisation, the fallout of which still affects all New Zealanders today. I did sometimes feel that I was being lectured, something I don't appreciate in my fiction.

However, the message that violence is not the answer to our problems earned an extra half star.

I was lucky enough to receive both a digital and an audio ARC of Better the Blood and was able to switch back and forth between the two. However, I have to say that I greatly preferred the audiobook, ably narrated by Miriama McDowell and Richard Te Are.

⭐⭐⭐.5

#BettertheBlood #NetGalley

I: @groveatlantic @recordedbooks

T: @groveatlantic @recordedbooks

#contemporaryfiction #crime #detectivefiction #historicalfaction #newzealandfiction

THE AUTHOR: Michael Bennett (Ngati Pikiao, Ngati Whakaue) is an award-winning New Zealand screenwriter and author whose films have been selected for numerous festivals including Cannes, Berlin, Toronto and New York. In 2008 Michael was the inaugural recipient of the Writers Award from the New Zealand Film Commission, and in 2005 he was awarded the British Council/New Zealand Writers Foundation Award. In 2011 Michael’s feature film Matariki won Best Feature Film Screenplay at the New Zealand Screenwriting Awards, and in 2013 he was awarded Best Documentary Screenplay for his documentary on the Teina Pora case, The Confessions of Prisoner T. He went on to publish In Dark Places in 2016, which won Best Non-Fiction Book at the Ngaio Marsh Awards and Best Biography/History at the Nga Kupu Ora Awards 2017. Michael lives in Auckland, New Zealand, and is Head of Screenwriting at South Seas Film School.

DISCLOSURE: Thank you to Grove Atlantic for the digital ARC and RB Media for the audio ARC of Better the Blood by Michael Bennett for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.

For an explanation of my rating system please refer to my Goodreads.com profile page or the about page on sandysbookaday.wordpress.com

This review is also published on Twitter, Amazon, Instagram and my webpage https://sandysbookaday.wordpress.com/...

[Carolyn Walsh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Five big Stars. This stunning novel will likely be the most atmospheric, immersive and compelling book I will read this year. Set in and around the New Zealand city of Aukland, an outwardly idyllic place, one is engrossed in its blood-soaked colonial past. British settlers in the 19th century were intent on destroying native culture and taking their land and were backed by a brutal British army. Underlying the crime story and police activity are the unhealed wounds and brutalities in the Maori experience. Many indigenous people feel disenfranchised and fear unfair encounters with the present justice system. I stayed on North Island decades ago and witnessed an ongoing protest for restoring traditional lands.

Echoes and harm to our Canadian indigenous tribes started with colonizers and continued into our recent past, where children were taken by force and placed in schools with the intent to destroy their language, culture and identity. Many were abused. The Pope was here apologizing for harsh treatment and abuse in the schools, but will there be reconciliation and forgiveness for the suffering of children, many who died or those who still carry emotional wounds?

The Maori's history of a brutal past resonates in the present. A profound sense of sadness runs through this splendid, brilliant novel.

Hana Westerman is a Maori detective and Senior police sergeant with the Aukland detachment. Police action against peaceful protesters 18 years before has alienated her from her heritage and family. The protest was held on Mount Suffolk, considered a sacred place by the natives. Hana has a teenage daughter, Addison, who splits her time between her mother's home and her father's. Addison has strong beliefs against racial and sexual injustices in society. Hana mentors young policeman DC Stanley Riordan.

Two murders have been committed, but the victims are so different that no connection is found. Hana is sent a video of a condemned building. In a secret room is the body of a man hanged with his hands and feet bound. The murdered man is a young drug addict charged with killing his baby. A spiral symbol is noticed nearby the scene. The following person to die is a wealthy banker who is thought to have committed suicide by jumping off a roof until Hana notices a similar symbol nearby. The next victim is a local Shakespearean actor.

An old photograph from 1863 depicts six soldiers posing near a dead Maori chief. He has been hanged from a tree with his hands and feet like a young drug addict. The old photo and the spiral symbols seem to connect the victims, but how and why are they chosen? The police seem to be hunting a man bent on vengeance, but what could be his motive in targeting such different victims? The killings escalate into a bombing that kills and injures innocent victims. Included dead in the explosion was a woman believed to be the next victim who was being taken into protective custody. A policeman who was Hana's friend was seriously wounded.

Introduced is the concept of utu, the balancing of past injustices. Better the blood shed by innocents than no blood. The killer has been identified. He is a cold, emotionless killer, highly intelligent, and with righteous motivation. One cannot help feeling some admiration and sympathy for the cold-hearted killer. The dread and suspense are tangible. Hana's family is believed to be in danger. Police close in to apprehend the armed killer who has been hiding in a cave, brush and forest. I feared the outcome, whichever way it went.
Riveting, intense, and beautifully written. Highly recommended!
Thanks to NetGalley and Grove Atlantic for the ARC of this superb, enthralling and memorable reading experience.

[Tracy P. · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is hard to believe that Better the Blood is a debut novel by author Michael Bennett. His writing about the centuries long misdeeds inflicted upon the Mãori people of Auckland, New Zealand is a thrilling and suspenseful cat-and-mouse chase of an Indigenous serial killer - who has set out on an impassioned plight to exact revenge against those who have stolen and oppressed his people with no ramifications - till now...

Detective Senior Sergeant Hana Westerman - also of Māori descent - often feels she has had to choose between loyalty to her people of heritage and her brothers and sisters in blue. Under orders of her superiors, as a rookie police officer - 18-years prior - she had to use force against a female indigenous protester. This act has worn on her conscious ever since.

If only she knew then that what she did all those years ago would set into motion an unbelievable snowball of tragedies by Poata James Raki, an exceptionally intelligent and renowned legal professor - turned serial killer - whose plight is not unsympathetic.

Hana also has an incredibly talented and bright 17-year-old daughter named Addison. She is very outspoken advocate for righting the wrongs of her people. When Raki ends up her professor, she is mesmerized and regards him with the highest of esteem. After he tells Addison what her mother did all those years ago - she feels betrayed and infuriated.  Of course, this is exactly what Raki was counting on as part of his masterplan...

The character development is extraordinary and the plot was not only an incredible rollercoaster ride of suspense and action, it was also exceptionally educational, compassionate, and eyeopening.

I am crossing my fingers that Better the Blood is the not the last I have heard from Hana Westerman. This has the potential to be an incredible series. I hope to read much more by Mr. Bennett in the near future - series or not. Bravo.                                         

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a amazing novel set in Auckland New Zealand by Michael Bennett it’s a combination of police procedural + a bit of historical fiction as it tells of the Maori history & how they continue to struggle even today.


Hana Westerman a Maori detective is a single parent trying to cope with her job as a detective & has a daughter Addison who is a first year university student she sits in a court room where an offender gets away with a crime against a native girl, Hana is livid the white male laughs in Hana’s face he was a privileged law student. Who drugged & humiliated her in front of her family.he is found guilty but let go free..


Hana is sent a video of a man hanging in the palace a place that was shut down mainly junkies inhabit the man was found hanging from the rafter in a sealed room his feet tied at his ankles , a rope around his neck naked, his hands were bound in front.

Hana & her team find out the man was a former offender Terrence Sean Mcelvoy was already dead before he was hanged why hang him?
The more Hana looks into this case the more it relates to the same thing that happened in 1863, What is the connection?

WOWZA
This wasn’t what I was expecting at all the backstory on the Māori people was beautifully written & had me immersed I’m the prose from start to finish it was dark although entertaining I have nothing negative to say about this novel Hana did work with her former husband Jayme also a detective on the case well, all in all a wonderful book highly recommended.

[Libby · Rating 4 out of 5]

Michael Bennett has been honing his writing skills as a screenwriter and as the author of the nonfiction work, ‘In Dark Places,’ which won the Ngaio Marsh Award in 2017. This is his debut novel in the crime fiction genre and he creates mega curiosity right off the bat with his description of a heinous crime committed in 1863. The crime is detailed in chapter one as a daguerreotypist takes a photograph, using what he describes as the “modern-day alchemy” of copper, mercury, and silver. Captured in that moment of time is the evidence of the crime and the men who committed it.

Bennett’s absorbing opening carries over into chapter two where he sinks us into the lush present day setting of Auckland, New Zealand, where we meet Hana Westerman, described in the blurb as “a tenacious Māori detective.” Westerman’s police work is more than simple tenacity; it’s a sharp and accurate intuition; she recognizes patterns and clues that others miss. She is a single mother in her late thirties. Bennett describes her daughter, Addison so beautifully that I can easily visualize her:

“A young woman is the ground zero of everything. With good reason. She’s seventeen years old, brown and proud; she’s alive with energy and joy, a perpetual motion machine. She doesn’t move, she bounces, part gazelle, part bungee, part high-tension springs. She raps, a flaming song about identity and individuality, a polished and distinctive style, segueing effortlessly from English to te reo Māori and back.”

As a primary theme, Bennett explores the Māori concept of utu, a rebalancing. “...Utu does not carry the sense of simple vengeance, an eye for an eye. It is about giving and receiving, maintaining a sense of equity and balance–for both positive and negative actions.” A debt can be incurred by the members of a man’s family or group, which plays out powerfully in this story. What happens when a man seeks recompense? Is it utu or something more…something over the edge?

Another theme is forgiveness/reconciliation/apology. Something happened in Hana’s prior history that she’s not proud of. Putting on her blue uniform on one particular morning led to actions that put her at cross purposes with her Māori people. It’s something that cast a pall over her, and soured her relationship with Addison’s father. Most of us can identify with following a course of action that later reveals itself as the wrong direction, one that goes against the grain of who we believe we are as a person.

The themes of utu and forgiveness are given detailed attention and humanity, so that I can feel Hana’s emotions and the depth of her love for her Māori culture, even though she is not in good standing with her community. The author explores the ways in which Māori peoples have long time wounds from British colonialism. The impact of many generations of violence and wrongdoings reverberate over many generations, creating untoward outcomes. Is it possible to redress these wrongs? Maybe not, but to let them continue to multiply without even trying feels like another evil.

I think what I love most about Bennett’s writing is the tender respect he gives to the Māori culture. He uses some te reo Māori language, with the English translation footnoted on the page for seamless reading. Some of the words are simply informative, like kawahawa, a small New Zealand tree or tā moko, Māori tattooing that signals status, but some connote deeper meanings that cannot be properly translated to English, as in the phrase, “Nā te ahi ka tahuna he ahi anō,” , translated “ literally, ‘Fire ignites more fires.’ These phrases add to the heat of the moment and give Bennett’s writing additional layers of meaning. I hope to read more of Bennett’s work in the future, especially if it’s about the plucky Hana Westerman.

*Longlisted for 2023 Jann Medlicott Acorn Prize for Fiction

[Claude's Bookzone · Rating 5 out of 5]

"A system has been forced on us that is not interested in balance. A legal system transplanted here from 20,000 miles away. A set of laws that exist not to provide equality and recompense and honour and balance, but to ensure one side flourishes and the other is kept in the gutter. This we have accepted, like lambs."

"The time of the lamb is over."

Chills. Literal chills. This is a sensational novel that explores the impact of colonisation on Māori. We look through the eyes of a killer as they seek to restore balance for past wrongs by exacting brutal and bloody revenge. Set in modern day Auckland, New Zealand, we follow Detective Senior Sergeant Hana Westerman as she grapples with a modern day murder case that has links to atrocities in New Zealand's dark and blood soaked colonial past. This novel is powerful. I had so many moments where I gasped in shock only to then feel utterly devastated that these horrific experiences are not the stuff of fiction but are examples of everyday injustices suffered by Māori at the hands of a system that has not adequately addressed the long term negative impacts of colonisation, and the inequity that still exists in our country. This is probably the first novel I have read that truly examines and provides insight in to what it is like to be Māori in a system designed to keep power out of their hands. I thought the use of Te Reo throughout added to the authenticity of this story. An incredibly gripping murder mystery that will sit with me for a very long time. A must read.

CW: bloody murder scenes, suicide

[Faith · Rating 4 out of 5]

“The dead man is naked, the captive stripped and humiliated before he was executed, retribution for having evaded the pursuing troop for a quite embarrassingly long period. As well as the rope around his neck, his hands are tied in front of his torso, his feet bound at the ankle. The man is Maori, and the tmoko tattooed on his face and body show the markings of a high-born leader.”

This book takes place 160 years after that lynching, which was captured in a daguerreotype. That event proves to have current ramifications in Auckland, New Zealand. The author of this police procedural invented a New Zealand tribe and its history, but the story he told of the continuing impact of British colonialism on New Zealand felt very real, and familiar. Detective Senior Sergeant Hana Westerman is a Maori, who is accustomed to being accused of being a traitor to her tribe. Even her own daughter has trouble dealing with her mother’s past actions as a police officer. A new murder case again brings Hana into conflict with her heritage.

My favorite parts of this book were the descriptions of Maori history and customs. I am not a huge fan of serial killer books, but this one had a comprehensible killer. I hate it when the book explains it all away by making the killer “crazy”. I would read more by this author.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.

[Angela · Rating 5 out of 5]

Better the Blood (Hana Westerman, #1) by Michael Bennett

Synopsis /

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 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.

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.

When the pursuit becomes frighteningly personal, Hana realises that her heritage and knowledge are their only keys to finding the killer.

But as the murders continue, it seems that the killer's agenda of revenge may include Hana – and her family.


My Thoughts /

Michael Bennett's debut novel Better the Blood is set in Auckland, New Zealand, or as we Aussies like to say - 'just across the ditch'. Papua New Guinea (to our north) and New Zealand (to the east) are our closest neighbours.

I was aware, going into this book, that it was going to be 'dark'; but what I hadn't realised, was just how emotionally raw the writing was going to be. Bennett has written a hard-hitting contemporary crime novel, that leaves a trail of tentacles reaching back at least 160 years. Combining a present-day protagonist and her forebears in a toxic maelstrom of indigenous turbulence. There is a unique honesty about this book, the writing is devastatingly harsh, yet achingly tender at the same time. It has divided me. Sensibly, I'd rate this book an easy 4 stars, but emotionally? Well, Better the Blood is now one of my favourite reads of 2023, an easy 5 stars.

The story opens October 5, 1863. The Chapter title "A Smudge On The Page of History". It still gives me goosebumps now when remembering. Bennett's descriptive prose is so eloquent, I can't praise it enough. Six members of the Queen's Army have gathered under a towering Puriri tree on the crest of a volcanic cone overlooking Auckland harbour. The daguerreotypist goes amongst them, repositioning each of them to address most advantageously the remaining light. The picture, a memento, a keepsake of a moment in time of which they are immensely proud. The picture? Well, it shows these six British soldiers celebrating the apprehension of a captive who had been evading troops for some time. The man, a tribal chief is now dead, he has been stripped naked, his hands and feet are bound, and he's dangling from the tree by a rope noosed tight around his throat, swinging gently behind the semi-circle of the six soldiers.

A little piece of magic. Your images are captured for all time; this moment will remain long after your bones are dust.

Stay perfectly still. The slightest movement and you will be but a smudge on the page of history.

Present Day - 2023 - one hundred and sixty years later. Detective Senior Sergeant Hana Westerman, a cop with Māori heritage, must investigate a series of seemingly unrelated murders in Auckland. When she is sent a video by the killer, leading her to a condemned building, she finds the body of a man hanged. It's not long after that she is sent another video and Hana is questioning why. Why her? And why these victims?

Bennett throws a light on New Zealand's troubled history with its indigenous peoples. The present-day crimes are firmly interwoven with the those of the past. Apart from Bennett's masterclass in descriptive writing, I thoroughly enjoyed reading about Māori culture and history. The plot exudes emotion. The character analysis is impressive - rich, thoughtful, and thoroughly believable.

This is not meant to be a comfortable read. It begins with violence but ends with a call for healing.

The people rose up for peace, for love, these things that are much bigger than anger and stronger than violence.

[Liz Barnsley · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is truly excellent.

The story immediately absorbed me, so much so that I stayed up into the early hours to finish it, dragged bleary eyed in the wake of main protagonist Hana and helpless to look away until the final page was turned.

The setting absolutely pops and a dark history emerges through the narrative, in a teaching moment that also entertains with its authenticity and beautiful writing.

Better the Blood is both exciting and thought provoking, with intelligent plotting, true addictive quality and an instinctive style. The characters are all morally layered and hugely intriguing, the "bad guy" encompasses all shades of grey and you leave the novel feeling like you've been through the whole thing yourself.

I'm certainly going to be reading up on some New Zealand history to better understand what I have read but from a readers point of view all you really need to know in advance is that this is a superb novel and well worth your time.

Highly Recommended.

[Tooter · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Stars

[The Cats’ Mother · Rating 4 out of 5]

Better the Blood is a hard hitting contemporary crime novel set in Auckland, about the impact the 19th century colonisation of New Zealand has had on Māori many generations later, and one man’s horrific attempt to redress the balance. I’m from Britain originally, but have lived in NZ for over 21 years, so was intrigued to read a crime novel with a Māori perspective. This is a powerful story featuring an impressive heroine and an antagonist who is surprisingly sympathetic despite being a serial killer.

Senior Detective Sergeant Hana Westerman is a dedicated Māori policewoman from a poor background who has managed a successful career while raising her teenage daughter. An anonymous video, sent directly to her, leads to the discovery of a body hanging in an abandoned building, and then a second death follows, with no discernible link between the victims. How do these murders connect to an old daguerreotype from 1863 depicting a brutal execution?

“Better the blood of the innocent than no blood at all. And a debt doesn’t diminish with the passing of time. A debt disappears only when balance is finally restored.”

This was an excellent fiction debut by an established New Zealand screenwriter, which examines the injustices inflicted on the indigenous Māori tribes by British colonisers, their long term consequences. This remains a sensitive and very politicised issue here. The author uses frequent Māori words and phrases - many of which have come into mainstream use in recent years (to the dismay of some NZers who feel threatened by a resurgence of Māori culture) but there are translations for overseas readers. There’s an interesting subplot which highlights the way white privilege is still the norm here. The book is well written and paced, and not overly gory considering the subject matter. There’s no mention of the pandemic.

While I’ve been trying to avoid serial killer plot lines in the last few years, the relatively unique motive here made a refreshing change from the usual psychotic or sexually motivated killers common to this genre. Similarly, while many of the standard detective fiction tropes are there (protagonist with a troubled past, personal connection to the case, family threatened) Bennett doesn’t take the obvious route: Hana is refreshingly undamaged, has a good relationship with her ex, and Addison is an interesting character in her own right, not just there to be put at risk! Recommended to anyone interested in learning more about Aotearoa New Zealand’s history and culture while reading a gripping police procedural. 4.5 stars rounded down for the present tense. Thanks to NetGalley and Grove Atlantic for the ARC. I am posting this honest review voluntarily. Better the Blood is published on January 10th.

[Damo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well, we finally got there, the most compelling, engrossing thriller I’ve read this year (and given it’s now November, that’s saying something). Better the Blood is the debut novel by New Zealand screenwriter, director and author Michael Bennett. It’s a police procedural thriller laced with the troubling Maori history and the difficult racial prejudices that continue through to today. It’s a cautionary lesson in what can happen when repeated injustices finally reach a tipping point and the line between right and wrong is irrevocably crossed.

Hana Westerman is a Maori single mother who also works as a Detective Senior Sergeant in the Auckland CIB. She begins receiving mysterious, untraceable emails containing videos of locations around Auckland. When she visits these locations she finds murder victims. Linking the murders, apart from the video hints, are symbols presumably left by the killer.

It becomes apparent that Hana is being specifically led to each death. The link between each one can be traced back to a horrifying event that took place over a hundred years before. This same link suggests that there are more murders to come before the killer’s job is done and so the race is on for Hana and her team to work out who will be targeted so they might be protected.

Making things just a little more complicated for Hana, and certainly more emotion-charged, is the memory she has of an event that took place eighteen years earlier when she was new to the police force. She was part of a police action who arrested a group of peaceful Maori protestors. Her actions went against every instinct she was brought up to believe as a Maori woman. It’s something she’s always regretted and it’s also something that will prove to be significant in her investigation today.

Unlike many other multiple murder cases we, and Hana, find out quite early who the killer is. Getting ahead of him and working out how to stop him is another matter altogether. Knowing the man responsible means we’re also given a more in-depth history of him, his motivations and the fact that he’s a highly educated man which makes him all the more dangerous.

The depth of character analysis is impressive in the telling of Better the Blood. Not only that, it’s crucial to the success of the story and Michael Bennett does a stellar job of creating rich, thoughtful and completely believable characters. Their reactions to difficult situations are spot on with well-developed emotional responses that produced a sympathetic response from me.

This is so much more than a simple murder mystery. You can’t help but be caught up in the stark sense of injustice that is part of the lived experience of the Maori people. The loss of land, culture and lives at the hands of people who were essentially invaders are vividly described. There are some powerfully vivid moments in this story that stands as an exceptional thriller, regardless of whether it’s a debut or otherwise.

[Sue · Rating 5 out of 5]

Better the Blood introduces us to Māori Detective Senior Sergeant Hana Westerman of the Auckland police. She is a single mother of a 17 year old daughter just beginning college and also embarking on a music career, singing angry songs in clubs and in the street. Hana’s former husband, Jaye, who is white, is also her boss at work. They have apparently developed a good relationship.

As the novel begins, Hana is in court where a young law student she arrested has been found guilty of drugging and raping a young Māori woman. Family influence results in probation only with no time to be served. Her day has this terrible start and then she receives an anonymous email with a video attached…focusing on one apartment in a derelict building. With her partner, Stan, she identifies the building and apartment and, eventually, the room which contains the body of a hanging man. This man’s death will be the start of a twisting and riveting police investigation that includes two centuries of New Zealand history, the brutal treatment of the Māori peoples by the English who arrived in the 18th century, their ongoing problems in the 21st century, and one who has taken the route of “utu”, where “a debt disappears only when balance is finally restored.” (loc 1104)

Bennett has included elements of Māori language, culture and history that adds to the intensity of this reading experience. When I finished, I wanted to find another book with these characters, or people like them, in this setting as soon as possible. I’ll be watching for more from Michael Bennett.


Thanks to Grove Atlantic and NetGalley for an ARC of this book.

[Mandy White (mandylovestoread) · Rating 4 out of 5]

You can tell that Michael Bennett is a screenwriter. This book would make a great movie! Really enjoyed it

[Shereadbookblog · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hana is caught between the blue world of being a police detective and the brown world of her Maori culture. When a body is found followed by a second one, could New Zealand have its first serial killer? As the bodies count increases and the investigation unfolds, there is an indication that there is a tie between the murders and an historic execution and Hana, her daughter and estranged husband may be in danger.

Over and above an engrossing, well written mystery with strong character development, this is an important story about how NZ (and most other countries) have treated and continue to treat their indigenous peoples. The reader is introduced to Maori customs and language, with well appreciated footnoted translations.

Thanks to #Netgallley and #groveatlantic for the ARC.

[Trudie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This week's crime audiobook.

I think this marks the first time I have read/listened to all the books from the NZ Ockhams shortlist for fiction in the year they were announced:)

The audiobook narrators Miriama McDowell and Richard Te Are made this book - a powerful reading. It’s always fun to have Auckland as a setting for a novel. My only criticism it’s that came across as a little polemical at certain points but I would welcome seeing the film / TV version that I think is planned.

( 3- stars are my default for crime audiobooks but it’s probably one of the best ones so far. )

[Nadine Schrott · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ein außergewöhnlicher Krimi .....mit intensivem Setting und Tiefen Einblicken in die Lebenwelt der Neuseeländer Moari....spannend und tiefgründig!

Hana ist Maori...und arbeitet in Auckland als Polizistin. Als ihr ein Video zugesendet wird, beginnt ein rasanter Wettlauf mit dem Mörder.....doch Hana ist tief in die Mordserie verstrickt....Ihre Vergangenheit holt sie ein....

Ein wirklich, wirklich gut gemachter Krimi!

Absolut lesenswert!

[eyes.2c · Rating 5 out of 5]

The past intrudes! Crime Thriller!

An amazing tale blending modern day New Zealand, the past and the Treaty of Waitangi, with a spate of killings that puzzle Māori Detective Senior Sergeant Hana Westerman.
During the investigation, somehow she finds a link between this death and the suicide of someone else a few days later. What the connection points are between the victims she has no idea, but as the situation escalates she is thrown back to her days as a young police officer being forced to break up a land rights rally at Mt Suffolk. Something she’s felt sorry about for years. When the investigation cuts close to home Hana is distressed and determined to fight through.
An amazing story with the past intruding on the present, carrying forward the notion of those of today being held responsible for the past. It seem the Māori tradition of rebalancing, of Utu, might be in play.

A Grove Atlantic ARC via NetGalley.
Many thanks to the author and publisher

[Claire · Rating 5 out of 5]

Clever, innovative crime writing from a New Zealand author. Better the Blood not only presents a compelling narrative about crime in the present, but also explores the far reach of sticky tentacles of New Zealand's colonial legacy. Bennett leans heavily on historical moments to influence the plot of this novel, which strengthens the commentary offered by this narrative on the complex nature of a modern colonial nation. The true strength of this narrative is showing how differently this complexity is felt individuals who might on the surface seem to have similar experiences and backgrounds. Thoughtful, engaging, compelling writing.

[Eline Van Der Meulen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Liever het bloed trok mijn aandacht door de prachtige cover vol met rode elementen en een bijschrift dat heel wat goeds belooft. Het feit dat het verhaal zich afspeelt in een land en met een cultuur die mij redelijk onbekend is, was mijn interesse gewekt. We maken kennis met Hana, een Maori politieagente die op een lichaam staat in een vervallen gebouw. Al snel zullen er meer lichamen opduiken en lijkt het om een afrekening te gaan die verband houdt met het verleden. Het verhaal zelf is spannend en is doorspekt met Maori begrippen. Deze worden aan het eind van het boek verklaard, maar ik als e-boek lezer had er wel wat moeilijkheden mee omdat ik steeds moest swipen naar het einde van het boek en dan weer terug naar de juiste pagina. Dat haalde de flow soms wat uit het boek. Het verhaal zelf zit goed in elkaar, maar hier en daar stoorde ik me wat aan het taalgebruik dat wat geforceerd aanvoelde om één of andere manier. Het boek is wel origineel en ik ben wel benieuwd naar een eventueel tweede deel. Liever het bloed was dus wel een aangename kennismaking, maar heeft hier en daar wat steekjes laten vallen voor mij. Ik kom dus uit op 4 sterren.
https://elinevandm.wordpress.com/2023...

[Audrey · Rating 2 out of 5]

I just did not vibe with this one. The overall plot is not bad, but the author managed to kill all suspense by revealing the killer and the motive early on. The characters were boring, so I didn’t care much about them. The author inserted his personal speeches throughout the book, detracting from the plot, and as a result the book was very didactic, at times polemic, and I just don’t like getting preached at in my fiction, regardless of whether I agree with it.



I was looking forward to learning more about New Zealand and Maori culture, but it was mostly glossed over. Instead, the Maori came across as something between Noble Savages and Helpless Victims—a trope more than people.

The book appears to be well received, though, and I am sure most readers will like it more than I, so do give it a chance if it sounds appealing.

*Reader’s Choice Nominee Spring 2024*

Language: some strong language
Sexual Content: None
Violence/Gore: Some detailed descriptions of murders and corpses
Harm to Animals: descriptions of game hunting
Harm to Children: None
Other (Triggers): drug use and non-fatal overdose; systemic racism related to colonialism

[Kasa Cotugno · Rating 5 out of 5]

Although this is billed as a thriller, Better the Blood presents a deep dive into the infamous evils of colonialism, in this case, New Zealand, Auckland to be specific. As with any land where settlers swoop down and settle in places they have no legal claim to, there is displacement and disrespect for those already inhabiting that space, a marginalization of the people themselves and trashing of their cultures and histories. It's happened on every continent without fail.

The plot features a long-held search for atonement for a past atrocity, and the serial killer perp is revealed as a man with a purpose, garnering reluctant admiration but also understanding. At the core is Hana Westerman, a woman of Maori heritage who leaves her mountain for the city and a career as a Detective. As she zeroes in on the answers of several seemingly unrelated murders, things get closer to home. All well and good as far as thrillers go, but it was the atmospheric portrait of Auckland, the portrayal of its people, the use of the te reo language throughout that enthralled me and kept the pages flying. According to his bio, Michael Bennett is a writer of many accomplishments, including that of a screenwriter which explains the mature smoothness of plot and dialogue.

[Shannon M (Canada) · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really wanted to enjoy this novel, as the reviews suggested that it was the type of book that I appreciated—a visit to a country and culture outside my usual sphere. However, it a was poorly written fiction undertaking. There were some good descriptive sections, giving me a little understanding of the geography of New Zealand and a bit of knowledge about the nature of Māori culture, and I contemplated giving it three stars on the basis of these nonfiction descriptions. But this was marketed as a fiction book, and I decided to rate it in terms of how well it worked as fiction.

The fact that it was written using a nonfiction approach took me a while to figure out. I couldn’t relate to the main protagonist, Hana Westerman, or her daughter Addison, or to the killer (when reading from his point of view). They seemed lifeless, not sympathetic or understandable. I followed their actions, but these actions were not tied to character development. They were descriptions. Everything was told instead of shown—breaking the first rule of fiction writing—”show don’t tell”. After a while, I noticed repetitious statements starting with “he remembered”, “he thought of”, “she knows”, and similar “tell instead of show” writing tools.

It became boring. A lecture instead of a story.

The story itself, centring around the concept of “utu”—a concept foreign to our culture—could have been intriguing had it been written by a skilled fiction writer, but instead the narrative not properly structured as a fictional thriller. The killer and his motivation are unveiled before the reader reaches the 50% point. From then on, it just becomes detailed chase. Not very interesting.

The author is a skilled nonfiction writer. He has written documentary screenplays and published at least one nonfiction book. But if he wants to enter the world of fiction writing, he needs to read lots of books by good fiction writers before he produces another fiction novel.

I borrowed this book from the Greater Victoria Public Library. It is noticeable that there are no holds on it although it was acquired quite recently. I suspect that I was not the only reader dismayed by the writing style.

[Jessica Woodbury · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sometimes I spend a good chunk of a novel wondering if the book is going to really explore its themes or just gloss over them. It can go either way and it has its own tension, as I wonder if I will be disappointed. This one, happily, went the right way. But I wish it had not left me in suspense for quite so long.

Hana is a Māori cop in New Zealand, and this immediately got my hackles up. It must be hard being an indigenous woman in a police force if things in New Zealand are anything like things in the US, I thought. Hana doesn't really dwell on this, it is her coping mechanism to not dwell on how her identity makes her job difficult. This is part of why I worried about where we were going with this book. But the real story of this book, the story that I enjoyed, was not the tracking of a serial killer but Hana's journey as she starts to understand the harm she has done to herself and her people at her job and starts to reckon with how to cope with it.

It's a relatively complex crime novel, the serial killer will be a somewhat familiar type (a Killmonger model, if you will, a person of color crusading for a very real justice through violent means) and Bennett manages this well. The back and forth points of view where we get to see through the killer's eyes are not there to titillate or tease the way so many serial killer novels do, but to help us understand this person, who he is, and what he is doing.

I do think the story gives Hana a bit too much of an emotional journey in a short time. I don't know if a person can make that much progress that quickly. It felt a bit false to me, I wish we'd had Hana start out already feeling and exploring some of this instead of going from basically nothing. The early tensions Hana experiences in the book have little to do with this conflict and were another part of why I worried about where we were going. But hopefully if you know Bennett has a good destination in mind you can sit back and enjoy this. We have very few books about Māori characters written by Māori authors in the US, this is a welcome addition.

Enjoyed this on audio.

[bookishcharli · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is absolutely brilliant, and I LOVE that it’s set in New Zealand as I haven’t read that many books that are. The plot is absolutely spectacular and highly thought provoking, the characters are incredibly written and sincerely intriguing. The pacing was absolutely beautiful. Honestly I can’t think of anything that I didn’t like about this book, who doesn’t love a good serial killer story?! This is definitely a debut to write home about. Preorder it and read it ASAP. It’s out August 18th!

Thank you to Simon & Schuster UK and the Likely Suspects for sending me a proof of this one.

[hans · Rating 4 out of 5]

That least expectation for a good read that turned into quite an enjoyable and thrilling read for me. Love the theme and the whole plot idea: an engaging crime mystery that explored a thorough culture details and how colonization and the unhealed brutalities from hundred years ago could affected a person into becoming a serial killer.

Set in the city of Auckland, the narrative followed Hana Westerman, a Māori detective who juggles in between her single motherhood and pressures from an ongoing case to uncover a crime scene that was led through a mysterious death video that was sent from an unknown sender. Her investigation gets her to a chilling connection with a historic crime from 160 years ago during Btitish colonization of New Zealand when a troop of soldiers unjustly executed a Māori Chief. Her pursuit became tangled with her personal past with more frightening murders and worse still, the serial deaths were now terrifyingly related to her own family.

Love how the author humming the plot with a galore of tensions, creating an insight and motive to relate it with a descriptive historical backdrop and blended it with cultural and societal views— on prejudice, colonialism impacts as well as in finding identity and loyalty to one’s roots. Interesting dynamics for the characters especially for Hana (love her tough and introverted character) and the killer (you’re too spooky and unexpected!). Love the interactions between Hana and Stan (he was so obediently nice), and Jaye was so helpful though I don’t fancy much with their complicated history but I kind of like his detective inspector’s character.

It gets so dense and tautly plotted in the middle with chapters of perspective from the killer. Quite pacey and twisty and I like that bits of Māori language (te reo) in between its narration. A recommendation for thriller fans if you want an authentic cultural related crime plot with nerve-racking conflicts and details on both police and court procedural stuff. 4.3 stars to this!

Thank you Pansing Distribution for sending me a proof copy of the book!

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Compelling crime novel about colonialism set in modern day Auckland. Clever, interesting and impressive, and containing many references to Māori culture and language, making this -as far as I can tell anyway- a very authentic story about the colonial history of New Zealand.
Thank you Penguin Random House and Edelweiss for the ARC.

[Natasha Niezgoda · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Vengeance only brings more pain… And there’s still 200 years of pain that requires healing… but we will not make more wounds. We will fight with words, with love, with light.”

I really loved how this plot wove together the history of the Māori within a fictional police procedure crime drama. It’s so true that the evils of colonization are still felt today. And that restitution and apologies are needed for so many of the atrocities of the past. That those pains are still so real. That they need to be acknowledged.

Yeah, this was a really awesome and empathic way to learn about the Māori people.