FALLOUT to be published in UK and US

Unfortunately New Zealand crime novels aren't always easy to find in the northern hemisphere. Despite the great reviews, high quality storytelling, and award wins, there are many terrific Kiwi crime writers whose work isn't readily available in the UK and US. Which is a real shame.

Every year the international judges on the Ngaio Marsh Award judging panel rave about the range and quality of New Zealand crime writing. A repeated refrain is "I wish we could get this over here".

Fortunately, some contemporary Kiwi crime writers have been picked up by UK/US publishers, including 2013 Ngaio Marsh Award winner Paul Thomas. After publishing the book that won that award, DEATH ON DEMAND, Bitter Lemon Press is set to publish the follow-up (and fifth in the Ihaka series), FALLOUT - which has recently been released in New Zealand.

I read the latest Ihaka before coming to Europe, and really enjoyed it. I actually think it may be better than DEATH ON DEMAND, which was very well received. According to the Bitter Lemon website, their version will be released in the US in April 2015 and the UK in September 2015.

An excellent cover too. Here's the blurb for the new Ihaka:

Tito Ihaka, the unkempt, overweight Maori cop was demoted to Sergeant due to insubordination and pigheadedness. He investigates the unsolved killing of 17 year old girl at an election night party in a ritzy villa near Auckland. Ihaka is also embroiled in a very personal mystery. A freelance journalist has stumbled across information that Ihaka's father Jimmy, a trade union firebrand and renegade Marxist, didn't die of natural causes. The stories weave themselves into an exciting climax in an atmosphere of political manoeuvring and intrigue surrounding the USA's confrontation with New Zealand over its anti-nuclear stance.

You can read an extract here.