My favorite genre is mystery/thriller, but I'm always looking for new or new-to-me authors who provide a different, yet thrilling, reading experience. Michael Bennett's Maori characters fill that quest with detectives and investigations while staying true to their cultural values. CARVED IN BLOOD is the 3rd book in the Hana Westerman series. I hadn't read the first two, but I didn't feel I missed much. The characters and communities are well developed and three-dimensional. It was easy for me to "see" the story and follow along as they solved the crime. I'm now going to check out Bennett's back library for more excellent reading.

The dedication in CARVED IN BLOOD is to Mark Bennett (2nd April, 1950 - 20th October, 2024) and Bruce Bennett (20th March, 1953 - 1st February, 2025). Shine bright among the stars, big brothers.

In many ways, this sad dedication, coupled with the moving tribute in the novel's Acknowledgements describing how the great waka with its prow formed by the nine stars of Matariki, from which the navigator, threw out his net, to pick up the author's brothers expands on a theme that ran through the novel. Matariki is the Māori name for the Seven Sisters, or Pleiades star cluster, the rising of which in late June / early July in New Zealand marks the beginning of the Māori lunar calendar, and that event, and an approach to family - chosen and blood, relationships, culture, land and death, weaves its way gently, contemplatively through what is otherwise a confrontational story in CARVED IN BLOOD.

Sidenote: this really is a series that you should read from the start, in order. Each novel BETTER THE BLOOD, then RETURN TO BLOOD does standalone well, but the connections and pasts of central character Hana, her father Eru, ex-husband Jaye, and their daughter Addison, as well as Jaye's new family are a big part of the attraction of this series, as are the plots steeped in sense of people, place and culture.

This one has another one of those informative plots at its heart, unfortunately centring around DI Jaye Hamilton, who in the process of planning a celebration for Addison's upcoming engagement, is gunned down in an Auckland liquor store, with police immediately targeting a young Māori man as their main suspect, based on the quick recovery of the getaway car, and his mobile phone. The problem for police is they know who they are after, just not where he is, despite an extensive search, and a large police team, including seconded back to duty, temporary police officer Hana Westerman. Even with the evidence pointing straight at Toa Davis, Hana has a spidery sense that there's something more here, and whilst she and Jaye's second wife maintain a vigil beside Jaye's hospital bed, Hana's feeling that he was targeted, rather than wrong place / wrong time, continues to grow.

Balanced carefully with this police investigation is that sense of a family pulling together, and a culture that is strong despite ongoing oppression. Bennett at no point pulls back from exploring the beauty of Māori symbolism, or the brutality of racism. It's not preachy, or heavy handed, the matter-of-factness is often more confronting, as Gracie, girlfriend of Tao Davis, puts it when being interviewed by Hana and her temporary boss:

If anyone should know how hard it is for brown people at the bottom of the pile, it's two fucking brown women. You should be ashamed.

DI Williams and Hana Westerman are ashamed, but they are also determined to prove their case, and furious when they start to find threads that mean the manipulation of their main suspect is real, and the likely culprit is a lot more dangerous than they would ever have dreamed. Even without access to the few chapters written here from the sick, perverted, perpetrator's viewpoint, this is a person that on one hand Hana would compare with the mako sharks she's encountered in the ocean near her "The eyes. Cold. Emotionless". Then again she knows that's not fair, sharks have reasons for being where and what they are.

Hana is dealing with a lot again in this novel: the fallout from Jaye's shooting, her daughter and Jaye's wife and stepchildren's anguish; a hesitant and messy romantic possibility, and her father's health setback. As well as a directionless life that now threatens to overwhelm her since she left the police force, post the traumatic events covered in the first novel.

At it's heart, this is a police procedural series, built on great characterisations, with a central theme of the affects of crime that ripple outwards in this community of proud First Nations peoples. There is great strength in the glimpses the novels provide into a way of life, and thinking that is different, and yet not. The novels are built around people from an unfairly oppressed culture who have found pride in who they are, where they came from, and where they are going.

I am really enjoying reading this series, set in New Zealand, and with a lot of Maori references. I am Australian and not a Kiwi but when I went to New Zealand, I was blown away by the warmth and kindness of the locals and so a book set in the land of the long white cloud is an automatic read, for me. Besides, the first two books in the series were great and I had been looking forward to reading this one, too!

When Hana's ex-husband is gunned down whilst buying a bottle of champagne for their daughter's engagement party, her police antenna goes up. It all seems a little convenient that Toa Davis, the owner of the getaway car, is being blamed for this. Now, Hana has actually resigned from the police force so she is not supposed to have any involvement in the case, however, she is given special permission to work the case anyway.

This is one twisty tale and there are certainly some red herrings in it.

I really love how everyone in the extended family, the whanau, get on so well despite Jaye and Hana being divorced and him being married to Marissa. That is how things should be, but rarely are.

I don't want to give the entire plot away but I know that in New Zealand there is a much higher rate of people from Indigenous backgrounds who are incarcerated, just as it is the case in Australia, and that is definitely a big part of the plot and is dealt with sensitively.

The ending is interesting so I will keep an eye out for the next book in the series because I REALLY want to read it!

5 stars from me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Grove Atlantic.

Jaye goes to a liquor store to buy champagne for his daughter's engagement party but the store is robbed and in the process he's gunned down by a man wearing a balaclava and will be left fighting for his life. The main suspect is a young maori man, Toa, who does small jobs for a well-known drug dealer and the car plus his prints and phone are strong proof of his involvement. However, his girlfriend swears he's being set up. Hana, Jaye's ex-wife, will work on the investigation non-stop, after she's sworn again into the Police Force. They'll discover that maybe the main object at the liquor store was not the money in the till but the targetting of Jay (he had worked undercover in the past) and they'll find who is responsible, but will they be able to put him behind bars? Will Jaye survive his ordeal? Besides the mystery/police procedural Carved in Blood, is an in-depth portrait of New Zealand's culture and problems/prejudice with Maori nation.
I thank the author, his publisher, and NetGalley for this ARC.

Terrific procedural that while the latest in a series will be perfectly enjoyable as a standalone. Hana has left the police and is living a quieter life outside Auckland but then her ex-husband Jaye is killed in a convenience store robbery and she's back in the game. Was this just a one off robbery or was it something more? Hana and her daughter Addison find themselves in a web as they look for the villain. They're pretty sure it wasn't the man the police think it was but who? Hana's story is interspersed with commentary from a mysterious and vicious killer but who is he? This deserves to be read without spoilers as it has some good twists and even better atmospherics. Hana is a dynamic character (as is Addison and her love Plus 1). Thanks to the publisher for the ArC. This is a terrific read and I'm looking forward to another installment.

Thanks to Atlantic Monthly Press and NetGalley for an eARC of Carved in Blood, the third entry in Mark Bennett’s Hana Westerman series. I have read the prior books and was very glad to receive this one. As the story begins, all of the primary characters, Hana, her daughter, Addison and Addison’s soon to be fiancé Plus 1, Hana’s ex Jaye with his new wife Marissa and two young daughters are together after an event celebrating some Māori teenagers getting their drivers licenses after completing the final driving test. After the engagement is announced and blessings given, families separate and Jaye and family return home to Auckland. While his family goes right inside, Jaye makes a detour to a nearby liquor store to check out their stock of champagne. While he is in the store, a man enters wearing a balaclava, carrying a gun and begins to beat the man at the register. Unaware, Jaye approaches the front of the store hearing odd noises and is shot, twice.

This is the beginning of an emotion filled, actiive crime novel where the reader is in the center of the investigation but also of the family and friends who are waiting at the hospital, trying to help each other and the police. In spite of having left the police, Hana is offered the opportunity to assist with the investigation and is made a temporary constable. She is an active part of the case, still respected for her past police work. Another case, simmering in the background, involves a local criminal enterprise that appears to be involved in money laundering and may also be involved in smuggling.

Bennett continues to incorporate Māori language, traditions, mythology architecture, and life in this novel, as in the previous two. Here with talk about links with the stars to the comings of their people to New Zealand. The fact of inequalities of life for minority indigenous peoples is also included in conversations of characters .

This is an excellent procedural with more: tight plotting, emotional depth among characters, characters who are allowed to have faults and work to overcome them, and no “miraculous endings”. I’m looking forward to the next book! I recommend the series and suggest that you read at least Return to Blood, the 2nd book, if possible to learn more about these characters before turning to Carved in Blood.

Carved in Blood is the third in Michael Bennett’s New Zealand crime fiction series centred around Māori detective Hana Westerman. Hana quit the police after events in the first book Better the Blood but she is involved in an investigation in her home community in the follow up Return to Blood. Hanna is brought back into the police in Carved in Blood to help them investigate a shooting that is too close to home.
The opening chapter of Carved in Blood is a bit of a statement of intent from Bennet. The opening takes readers to a local community celebration. The community is marking the achievements of their young adults, who Hana has taught how to drive. Bennet is clear to show the benefits to the next generation of being able to find work outside of their community. At the same time, Hana’s daughter announces that she is going to become engaged to her partner and sets a propitious time for the engagement party. But this introduction also serves to remind readers of the dangers that lurk in the community, already hinted at in the previous book, in the form of Erwin Rendall, a local drug runner who is luring young locals in particular into crime.
Hana’s life is thrown into disarray when Hana’s ex-husband Jaye is shot in an apparent liquor store robbery. Hana demands to be brought in to the in investigation which starts to focus on a young Māori man, Toa Davis, who was running drugs for a local Chinese organised crime outfit. Although, very soon, it feels to Hana like not everything is adding up. Readers will already be clued into this as Bennett adds in some point of view chapters that chart the development of a very disturbed and disturbing individual with the implication that they will be somehow involved.
Hana is once again an interesting, complex, highly competent investigator. And she is ably supported by a range of well drawn side characters all working through issues of their own. This includes her new flame Sebastian, daughter Addison and Hana’s former partner Stan who is trying to come back from a serious injury and get back into active duty. The only really cliched characters aspect is the point of view villain chapters which have been done before by plenty of other authors and always sound the same. This book would probably have been stronger without them.
Carved in Blood is another great multilayered procedural from Bennett. While this investigation has a very personal angle it also challenges Hana in the way in which the main suspect is considered and treated. And, following from the first chapter, like the previous books in this series, is heavily informed by Māori culture, history and community dynamics. This aspect not only makes the story much deeper but sets this series apart from more straight forward procedurals. By the end of this book Hana is back in the police force so it is likely we will be seeing more of her (and her extended family and friends) and this can only be a good thing for the crime fiction scene.

Disclaimer, I went into this book not realizing it was the third in the series. I think for the most part this can be read standalone - however you do feel a little like you are walking into the middle of something. It all pans out in a way that you aren't necessarily missing any information. But those initial chapters can be disorienting if you aren't aware. Overall this was a really good thriller mystery. I loved the Hana character and would definitely want to go back and read the books from before this. I really enjoyed the New Zealand elements. This really adds a unique element to the story.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Set against Matariki, a sacred time for the indigenous people of New Zealand which has now become a national holiday, Māori sleuth Hana Westerman is thrust into a distressing case that could forever change her whanau (family).

A thrilling, multi-layered tale from an award-winning storyteller which takes readers deep into character along with a twisting mystery. A terrific tale in an excellent series.

I think the fact that I found out after reading this book that is the third in the series may have affected my enjoyment of this book and for this I apologise to the author. I felt as I was reading that something was missing and I think more back story on Hana Westerman and the other characters would definitely have helped me connect more to the story.

The plot felt quite flat, it seemed to drag aimlessly and lacked tension or surprise. and the lengthy chapters made this harder for me to read, at times I just wanted to put it down and pick it up again at shorter intervals. I just found it hard to stay engaged throughout and my mind began to wander.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of the book, all opinions expressed are my own.

Thanks to Simon & Schuster and Netgalley for this eARC.

Detective Hana Westerman returns in Carved in Blood, still scarred from the fallout of Better the Blood, and this time, the stakes are even higher—and far more personal. Carved in Blood doesn’t just deliver a chilling serial killer plot; it layers that dread across a land where colonial history bleeds through every crime scene.

Michael Bennett, filmmaker turned novelist, fuses procedural tension with a searing sociopolitical undertow. What emerges is a thriller that is both propulsive and introspective, grounded in Māori identity and the lingering shadows of injustice.

Westerman is thrust into an investigation involving a series of ritualistic murders, each staged with unsettling precision. The victims share little at first glance, but the pattern etched—literally—into their bodies hints at a message someone is desperate to send. As the case deepens, so does Hana’s confrontation with her own whakapapa, the ancestral thread tying past atrocities to present violence.

The pacing is razor-sharp, but Bennett isn’t afraid to slow down where it matters. He uses the pauses—grief-stricken interrogations, moments with Hana’s daughter, tense cultural reckonings—as narrative drumbeats. This isn’t a story that races to resolution. It remembers its way there.

Where Carved in Blood truly excels is in embedding its thriller mechanics in a larger commentary on systemic trauma. Hana is not a detective in a vacuum; she is Māori, a mother, and a reluctant bridge between institutions and indigenous truth-telling. Her inner conflict—between procedural logic and ancestral wisdom—is as gripping as the hunt for the killer.

Bennett’s prose walks the line between lean and lyrical. He integrates Te Reo Māori fluidly and unapologetically, allowing language to become setting and theme. It doesn’t just enrich the world—it demands we step into it on its own terms.

The titular carvings aren’t just physical—they’re psychological. The killer’s motives are inseparable from New Zealand’s fractured history, and Bennett doesn’t flinch from exploring state violence, intergenerational trauma, and the cost of silence. But he never allows Hana—or the reader—to reduce these themes to academic metaphors. They are lived and bloody.

And yet, there’s hope. Not the saccharine kind, but the kind that grows from reckoning. Hana Westerman is not just solving a case—she’s standing in the center of a wound and refusing to look away.

Carved in Blood is a thriller in form but a reckoning in spirit. Tense, layered, and deeply rooted in cultural identity, placing Hana Westerman among the most compelling detectives in contemporary fiction—not because she’s fearless, but because she’s deeply, powerfully human.

Thrilling to the max!😧

The suspense here just barrels in at the beginning and never stops. I had to stop and take a breather early on because I was just too invested in Hana and her extended family and worried where the next page would take them (It wasn't to a good place!) This is definitely NOT a crime drama where everything gets neatly and happily resolved by the end. There's gutwrenching sadness and the question of just how many times the criminal element will get its way and get away with it, no matter how dedicated the law enforcement officers working the case. Seemed all too realistically tragic to me. I could not put it down!

I also loved that the story largely looks at the events taking into account the Maori perspective and culture. The fact that one of the secondary characters is constantly referred to as PLUS 1 was odd for me but it did not detract from the drama, the quality of the writing or the gripping plot and character development. The changing POV gives glimpses into the mind of the main villain and it's chilling. And the glimpses into the keepsakes that Hana's ex Jaye has collected and stored: so moving!

This series keeps getting better and better. This book definitely earned its five stars.

Thanks to Grove Atlantic/Atlantic Monthly Press and NetGalley for sharing a complimentary advance copy of the book; this is my voluntary and honest opinion.

Review shared on 6/29/25 on Waterstones, Goodreads and Bookbub, and with Barnes & Noble, kobo, BAM and Google Play.

Carved in Blood is another exciting and action- packed story in the Hana Westerman series. Lots of family built into this story as the suspense builds. Fortunately the ending stays open for a continuation!

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

I read this book right before starting a TV series with Māori characters dealing with some of the same issues brought up in this book, and it was interesting to see how taken from life this book is. Book 3 of the series continues to expand on Hana's deep involvement in her culture and wanting to stay away from police work and the harm it has done to her culture. BUT at the same time, she can not let Jay's shooting go. It is affecting her daughter deeply and as a mother first, she wants to solve the crime to bring the closure the family needs, even if it means stepping back into the world she left. As Hana straddles the 2 worlds, she comes to understand that people around her are keeping secrets and those secrets have a hidden darkness that is affecting the investigation. Taut and thrilling from the first chapter, this is the story arc fans were waiting for, where Hana truly shine's and is cemented as a great mystery character! Don't miss this one!

Another classic New Zealand crime tale, Carved in Blood (2025) by Michael Bennett features Māori Detective Sergeant Hana Westerman. Hanna’s ex-husband, police Inspector Jaye is shot in an Auckland liquor store after witnessing the successful graduation of Hanna’s students’ driving class. Initially, the dogged searching of road cameras identifies the car and then a young man as the key suspect in the robbery. Then Hanna begins to suspect a familiar, criminal gang boss is involved, but she struggles to find evidence to support that. The third of this classic Kiwi police procedural, with its Māori culture basis makes for a must read four star rating - which can be read as a fine standalone novel. The open ending would suggest there are more Hanna adventures to come. With thanks to Grove Atlantic and the author for an uncorrected advanced review copy for review purposes.

I was excited to be able to catch up with Hana and her family in a new installment of this series from New Zealand. One of the things that I enjoy about this series are the footnotes that Bennett includes on Maori words, customs and traditions. I don’t know if the audiobooks provide that, but I can’t imagine how well that comes across in the audio version.

The book summary pretty much lays out the first half of the story. Addison, Hana and her ex-Jaye’s daughter, announce that she and Plus 1, her non-binary partner, are getting married. On his way home, Jay decides he wants to buy champagne for the upcoming engagement party and stops into a local store and is shot while trying to save the store manager during a robbery. He’s critically wounded and on life support. However, what the book summary doesn’t mention is that the robbery was a probably a cover and that Jaye was the target. This is not a spoiler because it was revealed really early in the story.

There are the secondary stories of Hana rejoining the force so she can join the investigation into Jaye’s shooting. She also recruits another ex-officer, Sebastian, who she has a long-standing friendship with and new intimate relationship with. There is another one with Addison, who works as a volunteer at Gen Helpline, an anonymous call in service for teens. One of her call ins seems to know something about Jaye’s shooting. So, Addison and Plus 1 recruit Stan to help them find this caller. Stan is an officer who was injured in the last installment and is now on desk duty. Stan is working hard to get back on active duty from his injury and has started using drugs (steroids) to build his strength (he lost the lower part of his leg and has a prosthetic leg). Stan is suffering from sleep deprivation and PTSD, both of which are made worse with his drug use.

Most of the story flips back and forth between the different storylines and their respective involvement and relationship to the shooting investigation. There is also the shooter, who Bennett has kind of made it seem like it’s the shooter that the police are pursuing. However, I’m having my doubts. I suspect that Bennett is setting up the reader for a shocking reveal in the end.

The continuing character development of Hana and her family was well done along with Stan and Elsa Williams, who was the DI that was transferred to Auckland to head the investigation of Jaye’s shooting. The pacing was steady to fast and the storyline interesting. The writing was good too, and once again, I enjoyed the background of the Maori people and customs. I’m looking at an overall rating of 4.3 that I will round down to a 4star review. I want to thank NetGalley and Grove Atlantic for sending me this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

#NetGalley #GroveAtlantic #CarvedinBlood

I love a good mystery series. I like returning to familiar characters to see what’s new in their lives and what challenges they will face in the latest case. Michael Bennett’s Hana Westerman series set in New Zealand offers all that, plus insight into Maori life.

The latest installment, “Carved in Blood,” does not disappoint. Hana’s daughter, Addison, is engaged. Stan, Hana’s former partner on the force, is preparing to re-take the police exams as an amputee. All is going well, when Jaye, Hana’s ex-husband and Senior Detective, is shot during a seemingly random liquor store robbery. The story includes two sets of bad guys and the reader isn’t sure who or what is behind the shooting. I especially like the larger role that Addison plays in this book. A new detective, Elisa Williams from Samoa, joins the force while Jaye is on medical leave.

“Carved in Blood” leaves some loose ends warranting a fourth book in the series. I am here for it.

What I’m most excited for is that we’re set up for more books!

What really didn’t work for me was how much of the story is totally given away by the synopsis. Events that are laid out in the synopsis either don’t happen until very late in the book, specifically cut the tension of the story (because you know the investigators are wrong about something), or undercut a more emotionally charged reveal.

I really enjoyed the roles Stan and Sebastian played in this one, and I was very happy to see Hana pulling away from her moral (read: rule following) rigidity as situations got more and more complicated. There were quite a few loose ends left at the end, but I think the next book (whenever it comes) will tie much more closely to this one to resolve those things.

Carved in Blood is the third book in the Hana Westerman series and is just as good as its predecessors. After Hana's daughter Addison announces her engagement to PLUS 1, Jaye (Addison's dad and Hana's ex) goes to his local bottle store to buy some celebratory champagne. While he is deciding which brand to purchase, the shop is held up, and Jaye is shot and seriously injured. Hana has to find out who shot Jaye and temporarily rejoins the police to help in the investigation. Once again, the plot showcases some of the darker sides of New Zealand life, including the impact of Asian organised crime. It's got plenty of twists and turns and some fast-paced and tension filled scenes. But these are well balanced with quieter, slower scenes centred on Hana's personal life, particularly her relationships with Jaye, with her father, and with her former work partner. I appreciated seeing multiple facets of Hana, not just as a police officer but as a daughter, a mother, a friend, and a lover. Other aspects of Bennett's excellent storytelling that stood out were the use of Hana's encounter with a mako shark and some chilling sections from the perspective of a clearly psychopathic individual as a form of foreshadowing and a way of increasing tension. The writing is cinematic, reflecting Bennett's background in the film industry, and it shows through strongly in the action scenes and in the scenic descriptions. The setting and the action played vividly in my mind as I read, a private movie screening if you will. Indigenous Māori culture continues to feature prominently. This story is set around the time of Matariki, the beginning of the new year in the Māori lunar calendar, Bennett incorporates te reo (translations helpfully provided in this edition for readers outside Aotearoa) and this edition features illustrations reminiscent of Māori whakairo and Ta Moko (carving and tattoos) on the cover, at the start of each chapter and to separate sections. I also appreciated the way the novel showcases the issue of racial profiling and other ways Māori are disadvantaged and discriminated against by the police, justice system, and society more generally. This book could be read as a standalone, but readers would miss out on some background knowledge and plot and character development from the previous two books. While this book doesn't end on a cliff hangar, there are a few loose ends and plenty of scope for a a continuation of the series, possibly even a sequel. I'm glad not to be farewelling Hana just yet and look forward, albeit with some trepidation, to what Bennett has in store for her, her family and colleagues, in future books.

Another incredible read by an incredible storyteller, this latest instalment in the Hana Westerman series might just be my fave to date! Set in the cold of winter at the cusp of Matariki rising, it’s the perfect book to read during this time of year.

Following on from the events of the previous book, there’s good news on the horizon, the whānau having much cause to celebrate. But there’s no good without the bad and soon enough a shocking crime compels Hana to return to the blue line, at least until this case is resolved and justice is served.

As is the way, it’s best to go into this not knowing too much but I will say that Michael Bennett has delivered a novel crackling with tension, intrigue, joy, and heartbreak; the stuff of life. And at the very centre is the bonds of love and whānau, the ties that anchor us to this life and make it worth living. It’s precisely what makes him such a great storyteller, not just his ability to cast a spell on the reader (could not put this down till I was done!) but that he honours the characters peopling his story in a way that feels emotionally true. It’s honestly a joy and an agony as a reader because you *know* he’s the kind of writer who’s not afraid to hurt his darlings, and that just amps up the tension all the more!

This is the third novel in the Hana Westerman series, and I love these overarching narratives that allow for more organic character development and emotional investment, but there’s also enough of a recap that it would be fine to read this as a stand-alone. As with the previous two, it reads like it’s geared for both local and international audiences, with brief footnotes to translate words in te reo Māori. Set in Auckland’s underbelly, the novel examines generational trauma and violence as they intersect with the criminal justice system. It also unwittingly contributed to continuing conversations lingering on my mind with regards to the psychology of evil, what it might look like and what it could even mean to confront it. People aren’t always who you think they are, and perhaps part of life is the terror of coming to *know* deep in our bones that the capacity for good and evil exists in all of us.

Highly recommend, and already cannot wait for the next book!! ❤️‍🔥