2025 Ngaio Marsh AwardsLike this list

25 items

• The Defiance of Frances Dickinson

  Parkins, Wendy

  Add The Defiance of Frances Dickinson to your for later shelf

  Best First Book - WINNER. "A woman who braved public disgrace to expose a brutal marriage. 1838, England: When eighteen-year-old heiress Frances Dickinson impulsively marries Lieutenant John Geils, she soon discovers there is much about her husband…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• The Crewe Murders

  Inside New Zealand’s Most Infamous Cold Case

  Johnston, Kirsty (Journalist)

  Add The Crewe Murders to your for later shelf

  Best Non-Fiction - WINNER. "Fifty years on, the unsolved mystery of who killed Jeanette and Harvey Crewe in their farmhouse in 1970 continues to fascinate New Zealand. The subsequent trial of Arthur Allan Thomas was, for many New Zealanders, the…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Return to Blood

  Bennett, Michael, 1964-

  Add Return to Blood to your for later shelf

  Best Novel - WINNER . "Two murders. Two decades apart. One chance to get justice. Hana Westerman has left Auckland and her career as a detective behind her. Settled in a quiet coastal town, all she wants is a fresh start. The discovery of a skeleton…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• A Divine Fury

  Bishop, D. V.

  Add A Divine Fury to your for later shelf

  Best Novel - FINALIST. "Florence. Autumn, 1539. Cesare Aldo was once an officer for the city's most feared criminal court. Following a period of exile, he is back - but demoted to night patrol, when only the drunk and the dangerous roam the streets.…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Woman, Missing

  Clark, Sherryl

  Add Woman, Missing to your for later shelf

  Best Novel - FINALIST. "She's the one to turn to when you need saving. But first she has to save herself... Lou Alcott is turning over a new leaf as a private investigator. Formerly police, she was forced to resign when she attacked a domestic…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Home Truths

  Norman, Charity

  Add Home Truths to your for later shelf

  Best Novel - FINALIST. "Livia Denby is on trial for attempted murder. The jury have reached a verdict. Two years earlier, Livia was a probation officer in Yorkshire, her husband Scott a teacher. Their children, Heidi and Noah, round out a happy…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• 17 Years Later

  Who Really Killed the Primrose Family?

  Pomare, J. P.

  Add 17 Years Later to your for later shelf

  Best Novel - FINALIST. "The violent slaughter of the Primrose family while they slept shocked the nation. Their young live-in chef, Bill Kareama, was swiftly charged with murder and brought to justice. But the brutal crime scarred the idyllic town…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• The Call

  Strawhan, Gavin

  Add The Call to your for later shelf

  Best Novel - FINALIST. "After surviving a brutal attack, Auckland cop DS Honey Chalmers has returned to her hometown to care for her mother. The remote coastal settlement of He Kino holds complicated memories for Honey, not least the tragic suicide…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Prey

  Symon, Vanda, 1969-

  Add Prey to your for later shelf

  Best Novel - FINALIST. "On her first day back from maternity leave, Detective Sam Shephard is thrown straight into a cold-case investigation the unsolved murder of a highly respected Anglican Priest in Dunedin. The case has been a thorn in the side…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• A Fly Under the Radar

  McCartney, William

  Add A Fly Under the Radar to your for later shelf

  Best First Book - FINALIST. Best Novel - Longlist. "Lawyers, drugs, deaths, and sneakiness, in New Zealand."

• Kiss of Death

  Tester, Stephen

  Add Kiss of Death to your for later shelf

  Best First Book - FINALIST. "When a rich socialite catches the Spanish flu, she uses it as a weapon to aid her escape from a loveless marriage. While her husband is convalescing from a gas attack inflicted on the battlefields of Europe, she infects…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Darksky

  Connolly, Marie, 1954-

  Add Darksky to your for later shelf

  Best First Book - FINALIST. "Criminal psychologist Nellie Prayle loves solving murders. The more complicated, the better. But when a professor of astronomy is found dead at Tekapo's Mt John Observatory during its internationally-attended…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Lie Down with Dogs by Syn Knight

  View on sydknight.com

  Best First Book - FINALIST. "In Lie Down With Dogs, Kiwi author Syd Knight delivers a gritty, pulse-pounding thriller that follows Detective Kyle Williams on his increasingly desperate search for redemption and revenge. Still reeling from a…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• The Hitchhiker

  Bergmoser, Gabriel

  Add The Hitchhiker to your for later shelf

  Best Novel - Longlist. "Pushing fifty and reeling from an ugly divorce, Paul has decided it's time for an adventure. With the Bee Gees on the car stereo and the open road ahead, he sets out into the middle of nowhere, ready for whatever comes. But…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Leave the Girls Behind

  Bublitz, Jacqueline

  Add Leave the Girls Behind to your for later shelf

  Best Novel - Longlist. "Nineteen years ago, Ruth-Ann Baker's childhood friend was murdered by convicted killer Ethan Oswald. Haunted by what happened, Ruth has long been convinced Oswald had other victims. But no one has ever believed her. After…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Hell's Bells

  Johnson, Jill (Novelist)

  Add Hell's Bells to your for later shelf

  Best Novel - Longlist. "After a nerve-racking investigation, Professor Eustacia Rose's life is returning to normal. She is finally back teaching at UCL and her relationship with Matilde is blossoming. But when a man is found dead with a needle in…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• The Mires

  Makereti, Tina, 1973-

  Add The Mires to your for later shelf

  Best Novel - Longlist. "Three women give birth in different countries and different decades. They eventually become neighbors in a coastal town in Aotearoa—New Zealand. Single parent Keri has her hands full with rambunctious four-year-old Walty and…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Ōkiwi Brown

  Sanders, Cristina

  Add Ōkiwi Brown to your for later shelf

  Best Novel - Longlist. "The Burke and Hare “anatomy murders” of 1828 terrify Edinburgh, until Burke is hanged and Hare disappears. Over a decade later, in the early days of New Zealand colonial settlement, a whaler washes up on the eastern shores…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• A House Built on Sand

  Shaw, Tina, 1961-

  Add A House Built on Sand to your for later shelf

  Best Novel - Longlist. "Maxine has been losing things lately. Her car in the shopping centre carpark. Important work files—and her job as a result. Her marbles? ‘Mild cognitive impairment’, according to the doctor. Time for a nursing home, according…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Dead Girl Gone

  Ward, Gareth, 1968-

  Add Dead Girl Gone to your for later shelf

  Best Novel - Longlist. "When a mystery parcel arrives at Sherlock Tomes bookshop in small-town Havelock North, New Zealand, husband-and-wife owners Garth and Eloise (and their petrified pooch, Stevie) are drawn into the baffling case of a…Read moreRead more of this annotation