
eBook - ePub
Return to Blood
Darkness lies close to home in this award-winning thriller from a standout voice in New Zealand crime fiction
- 400 pages
- English
- ePUB (mobile friendly)
- Available on iOS & Android
eBook - ePub
Return to Blood
Darkness lies close to home in this award-winning thriller from a standout voice in New Zealand crime fiction
About this book
WINNER OF THE NGAIO MARSH AWARD FOR BEST NOVEL 2025
Two 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 Maori 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 Maori detective and a riveting crime make for a sizzling and culturally important page-turner’ ALEXANDRA SOKOLOFF
Two 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 Maori 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 Maori detective and a riveting crime make for a sizzling and culturally important page-turner’ ALEXANDRA SOKOLOFF
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Please note we cannot support devices running on iOS 13 and Android 7 or earlier. Learn more about using the app.
Yes, you can access Return to Blood by Michael Bennett in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in Literature & Crime & Mystery Literature. We have over one million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.
Information
Table of contents
- Cover
- Title Page
- Dedication
- Epigraph
- Chapter 1: The Gods of Auckland
- Chapter 2: Black Sand Dunes
- Chapter 3: Karakia, Hīmene
- Chapter 4: Evil and Wonder
- Chapter 5: A Star for Our Star
- Chapter 6: Blood Makes You Tough
- Chapter 7: We Could Have Been Friends
- Chapter 8: Bespoke
- Chapter 9: He Didn’t Do It
- Chapter 10: The Caravan on Mountain Road
- Chapter 11: We’ll Look Into It
- Chapter 12: Only for Dax
- Chapter 13: I’m Okay
- Chapter 14: The Beekeeper
- Chapter 15: A Moment in Time
- Chapter 16: The Gym
- Chapter 17: Seafoam Green
- Chapter 18: Just Be Here
- Chapter 19: Rogue
- Chapter 20: Things Kept, to Remember
- Chapter 21: Three Days to Go
- Chapter 22: The Unfinished Poem
- Chapter 23: Closing In
- Chapter 24: What Happens Now?
- Chapter 25: The God of Weather
- Chapter 26: He’s Gone
- Chapter 27: Hard Steel
- Chapter 28: The Dunes
- Chapter 29: Rainbow’s End
- Chapter 30: Last Drinks
- Chapter 31: Reflections
- Chapter 32: After
- Chapter 33: Guess How Much I Love You
- Acknowledgments
- Copyright