New Zealand Detective

Two small-town booksellers (and their cowardly dog) solve a decades-old murder-mystery in this witty debut novel, full of literary clues, sparkling dialogue, and comedic insights into the world of bookshops.

In this rollicking new adventure, Garth and Eloise (and Stevie) must sniff out a prolific poisoner ahead of a vital fundraising event, the Battle of the Book Clubs.

This adventure with Pixie and Harley involves a honeymoon, moving back to the warehouse, and fluffy puppies.

Penrose and Pyke’s hopes of a quieter life are dashed by a spate of baffling burglaries and a persuasive charlatan promoting a miracle cure. Dunedin society is up in arms as their valuables vanish without a trace from locked homes. Although the trail leads to an apparent dead end, private detective Charlie Penrose Pyke catches the scent of a shadowy figure lurking behind the scenes. Meanwhile, Grace Penrose Pyke’s curiosity leaves her in a precarious position with life-changing consequences, after she is drawn into an investigation of dubious medical devices. Their combined talents will...

When time breaks, only friendship can put it back together. Lincoln the dreamer, Willow the fearless, Jaxon the warrior, and Ezra the genius never expected to become heroes. But when a mysterious rift hurls them from the 21st century into 1866, they land in Arrowtown's roaring gold rush where danger waits at every turn. Greedy fortune hunters stalk the rivers. Secrets hide beneath the mountains. And one wrong choice could trap them in the past forever. Their only guide? Shihou, a dragon older than empires, with secrets of his own. To return home, the four friends must crack riddles that ...

#1 AUSTRALIAN BESTSELLING MYSTERY & SUSPENSE SERIES — The newest Mick Hunter thriller is here! "Hunter just keeps getting sharper... the most cunning and accomplished entry yet in Chris Franklin’s pulse-pounding series." — The Saturday Times A coach crash in the heart of a brutal snowstorm throws Mick Hunter headfirst into a deadly standoff. In the remote town of Benmore, New Zealand, a courageous old man is defying corruption and cruelty—but justice comes at a cost. To survive long enough to take the stand, he’ll need protection. Because someone is coming for him: a ruthless ...

Penrose and Pyke are under siege. A mischievous gossip, a series of robberies, and now a callous murder and a looming epidemic. How much worse can it get? When a shopkeeper is killed during a robbery, Detective Charlie Pyke is desperate to track down the killer for reasons close to his heart. If only it was that simple. A tell-all article in the local ladies’ journal threatens both his investigation and his private life. Charlie needs Grace Penrose to stand by him, but she has her hands full preventing a deadly outbreak of measles. The rash of clues only starts to make sense when they ...

Penrose & Pyke venture to the edge of madness when they reunite to investigate two tragic deaths and an old mystery. The last words of a frightened woman may be a vital clue to the disappearance of an old friend, if they aren’t the ravings of delusional lunatic. Detective Constable Charlie Pyke is desperate to find out. But is he desperate enough to risk the life of his sleuthing partner, medical student Grace Penrose? More to the point, can he stop her? The answers lie behind the locked doors of an asylum for wealthy young women of delicate sensibilities, where high walls and dark ...

Penrose and Pyke go together like fire and kerosene in this first-in-series Victorian era mystery. Trouble’s brewing in the Devil’s Half Acre. A death in an alleyway, a tragic accident in a factory, rumours of a murderer loose on the streets. It’s enough to give a genteel lady a fit of the vapours. Fortunately, Grace Penrose isn’t one to swoon at the sight of blood. All she wants is the chance to become the first female doctor in the colony. Instead, she must confront the harsh realities of the city’s most notorious sweatshop. When the police prove reluctant to investigate the ...

Detective Ngaire Blakes is back on the case when a skeletonized murder victim is discovered - a crime that took place during the Springbok Tours of 1981. A period that pitted father against son, town against city, and police against protesters. When the victim is identified as Sam Andie, a young African American man transplanted from the States to NZ by his family, Ngaire must investigate whether racial motives were behind the death.

Someone is imprisoned in a horrible cage, but why is Jack trying to get caught by Ranger Johnny Wolf? What is Foxie up to? And just who is sharing Jack's basket these days? Everything is fine in Doggeroo until Sarge falls ill. Auntie Tidge is at hand to look after Jack, but Foxie is being disagreeable (again). When will Sarge be back? In no time, Jack has both a case and a moral dilemma - or even two. Is it right to leave his most dangerous enemy trussed up in a cage? And, who will mind the boy while he's off detecting?

"The cows moved away from him as he stepped into the mud. The stench of manure and wet soil wafted over the area as Hamid saw something lying on the ground before him. Pushing one beast away from the site, Hamid saw a foot and a black gumboot sticking out from the mud. There was a mound of dirt around the boot, and as Hamid pulled on the boot, it came away. Ted Lassiter's red wool sock stood out in contrast to the brown of the mud. Hamid pulled out his phone and called the police." Detective Inspector Linden McCoy is called out to investigate a series of murders in the farming communities ...

Ngaire Blakes is trying to put her life back together. The ex-cop resigned from the police after a vicious assault left her battling PTSD. Dragged into a murder investigation, she's shocked to discover that all the evidence points to her. When the body count climbs, Ngaire flees to the cold comfort of her estranged father's hometown. In danger and not knowing whom to trust, she severs contact with her closest allies and must learn to rely on herself if she's going to catch the killer before it's too late.

Violent death stalks two hemispheres. Kayne and Nick must search the globe for criminals with intentions far beyond murder and mayhem. In a land of breathtaking beauty, Kayne Sorenson and Nick Sechi must uncover the answers to puzzles that open a gateway of chaos with only the strength and wisdom of ancient people to safeguard the forces of good. In Aotearoa, “the land of the long white cloud,” where the people and the land are woven together, who merits the protection of the ancestral gods? The game is on for our heroes and their allies in a place of ineffable beauty and alluring ...

Penrose & Pyke have until Christmas Eve to save the orphans’ home, by unravelling a tangle of tinsel and trickery. Private detective Charlie Pyke was looking forward to spending a quiet Christmas with his fiancée, Grace Penrose. Instead, Charlie and Grace must stop a dubious deal, find a sneak thief and foil a mischievous brother, with the help of a pair of inquisitive orphans and the spirit of a dear departed grandmother. If they can decipher the clues and make it through the dessert course, they just might survive their first family Christmas together. Tinsel and Trickery is a half-...

A crime-based adventure set in Middle Earth territory in New Zealand’s Southern Alps. Young Kiwi drifter Arch Quaid thinks he has landed the contract of his life when he’s hired to cull deer on a high country property in the South Island of New Zealand. He quickly changes his mind when he discovers he’s the hunted, not the hunter. Caught up in the middle of it all is his new love Janine, a beautiful Maori girl, who will likely be the killer’s next target if Arch doesn’t overcome the most daunting of odds. HIGH COUNTRY CONTRACT is a thrilling, fast-paced read brought to you by ...

Penrose and Pyke’s wedding dream turns to ashes when the local women’s refuge goes up in flames. Grace Penrose is used to protesters at Lavender House, but she never expected them to set the refuge on fire, especially not on her wedding day. And her mother’s carefully orchestrated wedding plan definitely did not include Charlie Pyke disappearing into an inferno. The discovery of a woman’s body in the smouldering ruins rouses Grace and Charlie’s detective instincts. With marital bliss on their minds, an investigation is the last thing they need. But how can they ignore a murder, ...

Masterton isn't a big town. The community's tight, if not always harmonious. So when a child goes missing it's a big deal for everyone. And when a second kid disappears, the whole town's holding their own children that little bit tighter. Lorraine doesn't have kids, but she has a nephew. She's holding him a bit tighter, too, because she works for the police, and she knows they don't have any idea. Lo's not a cop, she's a records clerk. She sits out back among the piles of paper, making connections, remembering things. Working things out that the actual cops don't want to hear about.

Penrose and Pyke’s honeymoon takes a dangerous turn when they investigate the most notorious robbery in Central Otago history. Grace and Charlie had been looking forward to a blissful break away from their hectic lives. Instead, watchful eyes follow their every move from the moment they step off the stagecoach in Clyde. Rumour has it that the Pyke family knows more about the robbery than they are telling. With a fortune in gold still missing, and destitute miners on the prowl, the tranquillity of their honeymoon is about to be shattered. But greed is not the only sin in town. Behind the ...

Paul Worthington just confessed to a murder that never happened. Magdalene Lynton died 40 years ago: a vivacious teenager who fell victim to a grotesque, accidental drowning. The coroner's office issued a verdict of death by misadventure and filed her case. The farming commune she'd lived within, splintered apart. Her body was left behind in a small, private cemetery encircled by acres of fallow ground. Until Paul Worthington confessed to her murder.