‘Return to Blood’ by Michael Bennett

Published by Simon & Schuster,
25 April 2024.
ISBN: 978-1-39851225-2 (HB)

Present day New Zealand. Traumatised by a previous case, ex-cop Hana Westerman has returned to the home of her childhood. All she wants to do is leave the world of violence behind – but then the body of a Maori woman who went missing four years before is found buried in the sand dunes of her favourite beach. She’s the second woman to have died there ...

This book is told partly in the first person, by the person we soon learn has only a short time to live: a Maori girl, Kiri, who thinks about the old gods, and has managed to kick her drug habit – until her boyfriend, Dax, betrays her. The investigation strands in the third person, mostly centred on Hana. She’s a sympathetic heroine, wanting to walk away, yet impelled by her sense of justice, and her insider knowledge – in this case, her father, Eru, who knew the man convicted for the first murder, and didn’t believe in his guilt. Hana’s daughter, Addison, is a musician in partnership with PLUS 1, a non-binary composer; they’re in the process of working out where their relationship can take them. Addison’s father is Jaye, Hana’s ex-boss, who now needs her help in saving his marriage. They’re all good characters, to spend time with, and the plot is cleverly worked out. However, what made this really stand out for me was the way Bennett added the Maori language and traditions into the plot – fascinating.

A cleverly told, moving PI / amateur detective story with interesting characters, a well-worked out plot and a vivid sense of the Maori culture woven in throughout.
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Reviewer: Michael Bennett

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.

Marsali Taylor grew up near Edinburgh and came to Shetland as a newly qualified teacher. Marsali is a qualified STGA tourist-guide who is fascinated by history, and has published plays in Shetland's distinctive dialect, as well as a history of women's suffrage in Shetland. She's also a keen sailor who enjoys exploring in her own 8m yacht, and an active member of her local drama group.  She lives with her husband and two Shetland ponies.

www.marsalitaylor.co.uk