Better the Blood cover art

Better the Blood

The past never truly stays buried. Welcome to the dark side of paradise.

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Better the Blood

By: Michael Bennett, Richard Te Are
Narrated by: Miriama McDowell
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About this listen

 'A compelling, atmospheric page turner with an authentic insight into Māori culture' Val McDermid

A 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 Meyer

Winner of the Best First Novel Award at the 2023 Ngaio Marsh Awards
Finalist forBest Novel at the 2023 Ngaio Marsh Awards
​Shortlisted for the Jann Medlicott Acorn Prize for Fiction, Ockham New Zealand Book Awards
Longlisted for the CWA John Creasey New Blood Dagger
Shortlisted for Audio Book of the Year at the Capital Crime Fingerprint Awards Crime Crime Thrillers Detective Fiction International Mystery & Crime Mystery Police Procedural Thriller Thriller & Suspense Women Sleuths Women's Fiction Revenge Suspense

Critic reviews

‘Stunning. Better the Blood is a tremendous debut, and Hana Westerman, the Maori detective at the center of the story, instantly becomes one of the great characters in crime fiction on any continent. This novel has it all: a gripping mystery, complex and memorable characters, and timely social and cultural commentary. Don’t miss it’ (David Heska Wanbli Weiden, author of Winter Counts)
All stars
Most relevant
Great to see te reo and Aotearoa getting some airtime. Plenty of clever observation, too. The story was a mixed bag: I liked Addison and PlusOne, Hana I found too blessed by lucky breaks and intuition (not to mention motherly patience) to be true. At a certain point it felt as if genuine character development had taken a back seat to The Message and from then on it all played out as expected.

Engaging and preachy

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