A novel set in Auckland, featuring Māori detective Hana Westerman, Better the Blood by Michael Bennett is an unexpected crime novel, and not only for featuring a culture rarely present in the literary realm of any kind. Based on a story that took place 160 years before our current times, it wraps a mystery into the mundane reality but in a dynamic way that leaves place for innovative writing and an appealing story line.
Māori detective Hana Westerman received an email that may lead her to discover a recently committed murder. But when she is again in the loop for being notified about something terrible that it is about to happen she realized that there is no coincidence and thus, she should make a journey into her own past, as a fresh police officer involved in being an agent of repression against her own people. Indeed, the association in not fortuite and it adds a significant colonial take to the story.
Better the Blood is a multi-faceted story, with a complex intersectionalist take. The characters do reflect more than one layer of reality. For instance, Hana is a single mother, Māori, a rebel daughter, clashing with her daughter Addison, with a more independent take on identity and a different way to value herself than her mother when was her age.
These aspects, in addition to the equally captivating and smart story makes the book an irresistible read. I took the advantage of being on vacation for reading it in one long sitting. For me, it was the best way to grasp all of the different directions of the story and the layers of the plot, as well as to research the cultural aspects I related to the Māori culture I was not at all aware about.
Rating: 4.5 stars
Disclaimer: Book offered as part of the book tour but the opinions are, as usual, my own
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