CARVED IN BLOOD

Māori cop Hana Westerman, who quit the Auckland police force, rejoins it to find the man who shot her ex-husband.

Hana’s remarried (but still loved) ex, DI Jaye Hamilton, is critically wounded in a liquor store by a hooded assailant posing as a random holdup guy. He is quickly identified as Toa Davis, a young Māori, through the discovery of seemingly clear-cut evidence including a getaway car. After talking with Toa’s pregnant girlfriend, who angrily says he would never hurt anyone, that he’s a caring partner, Hana becomes convinced the shooting was a setup—that Jaye was targeted by someone who had it in for him, possibly from his days as an undercover cop. It’s all hands on deck as Hana teams up with ace senior cop Elisa Williams, a Samoan; wounded cop Stan Riordan, who has been overloading on steroids to pass a physical to get his detective badge back; and Hana and Jaye’s incorrigible, newly engaged daughter, Addison. They’re all strong characters, but the plot, which involves a nasty drug gang, often takes a back seat to appreciations of traditional Māori tattooing and information about the high incarceration rate of New Zealand’s Indigenous people, among other things. But though Bennett, who is of Māori and Te Arawa descent, is more committed to celebrating family and community ties than crafting a suspenseful mystery, his lively and likable narrative style makes up for much of that. Fans of the series, including Return to Blood (2024), will look forward to the next installment, which promises to resolve this one’s dangling ending.

An entertaining novel that’s better at celebrating Māori culture than solving crimes.