This is the follow up to Better the Blood which I loved, and hated that the lead character, Hana Westerman, was leaving behind law enforcement, and which seemed to end the series. But the author found and adept way at bringing her back to the edges, with her former colleagues, in a case that literally comes to her door. In this book Hana is able link the found body to a high school classmate, and soon she has a personal stake in solving the crime. It's a great way to introduce the reader to Maori beliefs and practices, while solving a mystery, making for an unique read, that is like a breath of fresh air on the genre. Don't miss this series!

Easy to read as a standalone but part of the ongoing Hana Westerman series, this atmospheric story is packed with Māori culture. Return to Blood is an engaging book that is full of excitement.

Thank you to NetGalley and Grove Atlantic for the opportunity to read this ARC.

Really loved this sequel to "Better the Blood." Michael Bennett's new book is another suspensefull story set in New Zealand. In addition to the mystery, I appreciated learning more about Maori cultural and the gorgeous scenery. Great character development as well. This story had a twist that I didn't see coming. I hope Bennett will continue this series with Hana Westerman. Highly recommended.

Following the events of Better than Blood, Police Detective Hana Westerman turned in her badge and returned to her hometown. She does her best to make right with her Māori kin and works to move on from the job that haunts her. When a body is found nearby by her own daughter, she is thrown directly back into dealing with murder. There are similarities to the murder of her classmate in school, an event that helped inspire her to enter law enforcement. Can she stand by while the professionals try to solve this?

Plenty of police procedural and plenty of family drama! This is a story that is not to be missed. If you love learning about other cultures or have traveled to New Zealand, this is a novel for you! Bennett does an excellent job of creating multiple interesting female characters as well as cultural background that moves the story forward.
#returntoblood #michaelbennett #grovebooks

I enjoyed this book a lot. There was a lot of substance in this book and didn't resort to some cheap thrills. A former police officer, finds herself involved in solving a current murder that might be related to what was thought to be a previously solved case many years ago. Was the confession false. Second book in the series, but enough backstory is revealed that it wasn't a problem reading this one without the other one first. I was interested in her relationships, her values, the culture, overall a satisfying read. 4.5 rounded up

This book would be good for class discussions. It is a short book but has a lot in it. Maori culture, family relationships, love relationship and a police officer, who left the force, dealing with a murdered girl, related to an old case

Following his acclaimed debut, Better the Blood, Michael Bennett’s compelling sophomore outing in his crime series starring Māori detective Hana Westerman proves the New Zealand screenwriter and author is no one-hit wonder as a mystery writer. In the wake of the traumatic events recounted in the first book, Hana has resigned from the Auckland CIB (Criminal Investigation Branch) and returned to her hometown of Tātā Bay, where she helps her father, Eru, prepare local Māori teens to get their driver’s licenses. But the calm Hana is trying to rebuild is shattered when her 18-year-old daughter, Addison, discovers the skeleton of a young woman in the sand dunes. Investigators suspect the bones may be those of Kiri Thomas, a Māori teenager who disappeared four years earlier. Although Hana is no longer in the police force, she begins to probe the possibility that Kiri’s death may be connected to the 21-year-old unsolved murder of Paige Meadows, whose body was found in the same dunes. Likewise, Addison becomes obsessed with Kiri’s fate, threatening her friendship with her non-binary flatmate and musical partner, Plus 1. In a nod to Alice Sebold’s The Lovely Bones, the storyline is interspersed with the dead Kiri’s haunting first-person narrative. Bennett, who is Māori, immerses readers deeper into Māori culture and traditions as he expands on Hana’s loving relationship with her father and tense interactions with her chilly second cousin, Eyes. An atmospheric thriller that will have readers booking flights to New Zealand. Bennett is adapting Better the Blood into a six-part TV series for Taika Waititi’s production company.

AUSTRALIA