Crime in small-town New Zealand

March is New Zealand Book Month, an annual celebration of all the terrific things about reading, with events throughout the country - not just in the main centres, but many small towns too. While crime fiction-related events are a little thin on the ground this year as part of Book Month (there will be events at festivals throughout the year), I thought I'd highlight this opportunity for central North Island booklovers to get a bit of real and fictional crime insight, as Dr Joanne Drayton (pictured) discusses her biography of Anne Perry in Dannevirke.

An Evening with Joanne Drayton
When Thursday, 21 March, 18:00 – 19:30 

Where Dannevirke Library, 1 Station Street, Dannevirke
Gold Coin Donation

Following the 1994 release of Peter Jackson’s blockbusting film ‘Heavenly Creatures’ about the sensational 1954 Parker-Hulme murders, celebrated crime writer Anne Perry, with worldwide sales of over 25 million books, was outed as Juliet Hulme.

Life would never be the same for Anne. Her unmasking caused deeper analysis of her writing, revealing her novels as more than simple crime stories; spiritual and philosophical complexities thread the way through Anne Perry’s works and the characters she creates. Was Anne, in fact, revealing more about herself in the characters she was creating?

Acclaimed biographer Joanne Drayton took on the challenge of exploring Anne Perry’s writing to uncover her world view, and her compulsion to write.

The famously private Perry agreed to be comprehensively interviewed for the book and has allowed Joanne unparalleled access to her friends, relatives, colleagues and archives. The result is a compelling read with revelations that will resonate with the reader long after the final page.