Return to Blood

Michael Bennett (Ngāti Pikiao, Ngāti Whakaue) is an award-winning screenwriter, director and author. His first book, a non-fiction work telling the true story of New Zealand’s worst miscarriage of justice, In Dark Places, won Best Non-Fiction Book at the 2017 Ngaio Marsh Awards. Michael's second book, Helen and the Go-Go Ninjas, is a time-travel graphic novel co-authored with Ant Sang.Better the Blood, the first Hana Westerman thriller, was shortlisted for the Jann Medlicott Acorn Prize for Fiction/Ockham New Zealand Book Award, as well as for the Audio Book of the Year at the Capital Crime Fingerprint Awards and Best First Mystery Novel at the Barry Awards. It was also longlisted for the CWA John Creasey New Blood Debut Dagger and was a finalist for Best Novel at the 2023 Ngaio Marsh Awards, where it won the award for Best First Novel. Return to Blood, the second novel in the acclaimed series, won the Ngaio Marsh Award for Best Novel in 2025. Michael's short and feature films have won awards internationally and have screened at numerous festivals, including Cannes, Toronto, Berlin, Locarno, New York, London and Melbourne. Michael is the 2020 recipient of the Te Aupounamu Māori Screen Excellence Award, in recognition of members of the Māori filmmaking community who have made high-level contributions to screen storytelling.   He lives in Auckland, Aotearoa (New Zealand), with his partner Jane, and children Tīhema, Māhina and Matariki.

PRAISE FOR MICHAEL BENNETT:  'A cracking thriller; it also extends our sense of what crime fiction can do' Liam McIlvanney 'A tensely plotted, gritty crime novel that has the courage to force us all to rethink our relationship with the past' Vaseem Khan 'Stunning . . . a gripping mystery, complex and memorable characters, and timely social and cultural commentary. Don’t miss it' David Heska Wanbli Weiden 'As page-turning as it is eye-opening' Ambrose Parry 'Opens a unique window onto a fascinating Antipodean society as only world-class crime fiction can' Deon Meyer 'A striking debut and a significant addition to Indigenous literature' Kirkus Reviews (starred review)  '[A] stellar series launch. Bennett is a writer to watch' Publishers Weekly (starred review)  'A remarkable new detective' Daily Mail '[A] highly addictive read' My Weekly 'So chilling' Crime Monthly ACCLAIM FOR BETTER THE BLOOD:  Winner of the Best First Novel Award at the 2023 Ngaio Marsh AwardsFinalist for Best Novel at the 2023 Ngaio Marsh Awards?Shortlisted for the Jann Medlicott Acorn Prize for Fiction, Ockham New Zealand Book AwardsShortlisted for Audio Book of the Year at the Capital Crime Fingerprint AwardsShortlisted for Best First Mystery Novel at the Barry Awards Longlisted for the CWA John Creasey New Blood Dagger