Blood Matters

by Renee .

Puti Derrell likes running at midnight. During lockdown it was safe but now lockdown is over and Porohiwi doesn’t feel safe anymore – especially when she discovers her estranged grandfather has been murdered and left with a Judas mask on his face.

Puti’s already got a lot on her plate. She’s the new guardian of ten-year-old Bella Rose, who wants to be a private investigator when she grows up, and the new owner of a bookshop called Mainly Crime.

But when there’s a murder closer to home and another of the grandfather’s masks seems to be at the centre of it, Puti and Bella Rose are drawn into the investigation despite themselves. They discover that in matters of blood you often don’t get a choice.

Genres: Crime

318 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2022

Reviews

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wanted to be able to rate this a 4 or more in admiration of author (Maori, feminist, in her 90s, lives in Otaki). And I'm partial to books with books at their heart - in this case the a secondhand book shop. However, I found the writing clunky and overused kiwi'isms. There was a great web of characters but I had to use a lot of imagination to flesh them out - maybe not a bad thing?

[Mel · Rating 2 out of 5]

Loved the vibe of this book, but I might’ve just not been in the right mood to read it because I got confused by all the different characters.

[Craig Sisterson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Legendary playwright, author and activist Renée (Ngāti Kahungungu) wonderfully blends ‘Golden Age’ touches with modern sensibilities in her very engaging second crime novel, Blood Matters. A classic setup from the days of Agatha Christie and Ngaio Marsh was the unlikable victim, offering plenty of reasons for various people – suspects and red herrings – to want to bump them off.

Matthew Derrell certainly qualifies, even before Puti Durrell - who inherited a secondhand bookshop and guardianship of a young girl, Belle Rose, from her sister - learns of other family secrets and moral failures.

However, there’s no Poirot, Marple, or Inspector Alleyn-like singular sleuth here. Instead, Renée’s Porohiwi mysteries spotlight a wider cast who live, love, and die in the small town. In The Wild Card, it was former state ward Ruby investigating the long-ago drowning of her friend Betty while they were in care. In Blood Matters it’s Puti along with Bella Rose, who wants to be a private eye, and frenemy PC “JoJo” Jones who are searching for answers.

When Puti is followed, threatened, and then another death hits close to home, it’s clear the danger didn’t end with Matthew Derrell’s death. Can Puti and her pals unmask the killers?

Renée spins a wonderful yarn that’s full of warmth and wit among the dark deeds. She effortlessly soaks readers into Porohiwi, offers a fascinating cast of characters, and showcases her love for the crime genre. Comments on classics as well as modern authors like Ian Rankin, Val McDermid, and New Zealand's own Vanda Symon are delightfully included. Another lovely and sometimes laugh-inducing touch: snippets of community news to kickstart each chapter.

Unsurprisingly given Renée’s oeuvre, big issues such as misogyny, child abuse, and racism – blunt, casual, and systemic – are canvassed. Overall, there’s a great balance between dark and light, and Blood Matters is a very fine read. I look forward to more Porohiwi mysteries.

[Helen Cummings · Rating 2 out of 5]

I felt that this could have been a great read if the characterisation had been more polished. Too many players popping in and out of the action made me lose track of the story as I interrupted my reading to find out who they were. Solving the mystery became secondary to finding out who the characters were!

[Emma · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars.

New Zealand has lots of great crime writers. These crime writers produce stories that are identifiably set in New Zealand (without resorting to cliché) often by centering te ao Māori in their narratives. New Zealand crime writers don’t shy away from discussing the more negative side of life in New Zealand – racism, homophobia, poverty.

Blood Matters is no different – as the title suggests, this is a story about whakapapa and what it means to be whānau. In Blood Matters, our main character Puti has returned home to Porowihi to care for niece after her sister’s death and to run her sister’s second hand bookshop. When she discovers her grandfather murdered – his face covered with a mask of the traitor Judas, Puti is pulled into a mystery that will see her examining her own past and family in order to identify the killer. This was overall an excellent whodunnit in the vein of Ngaio Marsh and is a worthy candidate to be shortlisted for the Ngaio Marsh Awards celebrating New Zealand’s best crime writing.

I don’t see NZ crime fiction getting the credit it deserves. Sometimes I feel that we tend to only focus on New Zealand writing that is literary with crime fiction the poor cousin, seen as less worthy of attention. I say do yourself a favour and go read some crime – it’s a great place to see New Zealand reflected on the page.

[Philippa · Rating 3 out of 5]

There was warmth and energy in this book, and the dialogue kept the pace up (as you'd expect from a playwright). But otherwise there was too much telling and not enough showing, too much unnecessary detail, too many (and unmemorable) characters, and it just wasn't altogether believable. The police officers didn't act or speak like cops, and ten-year-old Bella Rose often acted far older than her years. Also I wondered why the short snippets from the local paper at the beginning of each chapter were included - they didn't seem to be related to the story, and weren't written in (even amateur local paper) journalistic style.
For all that the themes were topical, the story lacked punch and depth of emotion.

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Steeped in a sense of culture, people and place, Blood Matters is crime fiction set at the heart of a family and community. Full review at Newtown Review of Books.

[Anne Herbison · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well-written and entertaining. Amusing quotes from the local newspaper appear at the beginning of each chapter.

[Alix · Rating 5 out of 5]

Exactly what I wanted

[Louise · Rating 5 out of 5]

Renee brings to life her characters. The settings, characters and motivations are all beautifully written.

[Joe · Rating 5 out of 5]

A remarkable work, from a 93-year-old woman. Takes a while to get going, yes, but extraordinarily relatable characters and contexts.

[Laurence · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice pen portrait of a NZ small town, with all the relationhships and secrets that live inside houses and people's heads. Murder mystery is not my genre, but it was an easy read.