Approbation in Aotearoa

I just arrived back at my office after a few days spent away to discover that New Zealand’s 2025 Ngaio Marsh Awards finalists have been announced, in three categories.

Best Novel:
• Return to Blood, by Michael Bennett (Simon & Schuster)
• A Divine Fury, by D.V. Bishop (Macmillan)
• Woman, Missing, by Sherryl Clark (HarperCollins)
• Home Truths, by Charity Norman (Allen & Unwin)
• 17 Years Later, by J.P. Pomare (Hachette)
• The Call, by Gavin Strawhan (Allen & Unwin)
• Prey, by Vanda Symon (Orenda)

Best First Novel:
• Dark Sky, by Marie Connolly (Quentin Wilson)
• Lie Down With Dogs, by Syd Knight (Rusty Hills)
• A Fly Under the Radar, by William McCartney (Independently published)
• The Defiance of Frances Dickinson, by Wendy Parkins (Affirm Press)
• The Call, by Gavin Strawhan (Allen & Unwin)
• Kiss of Death, by Stephen Tester (Heritage Press)

Best Non-fiction:
• The Trials of Nurse Kerr: The Anatomy of a Secret Poisoner, by Scott Bainbridge (Bateman)
• The Survivors, by Steve Braunias (HarperCollins)
• The Crewe Murders: Inside New Zealand’s Most Infamous Cold Case, by Kirsty Johnstone and James Hollings (Massey University Press)
• The Last Secret Agent: The Extraordinary Story of a WW2 Spy in Her Own Words, by Pippa Latour and Jude Dobson (Allen & Unwin)
• Gangster’s Paradise, by Jared Savage (HarperCollins)
• Far North, by David White and Angus Gillies (Upstart Press)

The winners will be named and celebrated on Thursday, September 25, during a special event held in connection with this year’s WORD Christchurch festival.