Utu

A New Zealand detective searches the Maori underworld for his friend’s killer in this Gran Prix Sang d’Encre-winning novel by the author of Zulu. Former New Zealand detective Paul Osborne has washed up in Sydney, where he has a bad case of sunstroke and an even worse reputation at the local bars. But now his former boss from the Auckland City Police Department wants him back on the job. Osborne’s only real friend on the force, Jack Fitzgerald, has committed suicide in the middle of an important investigation. Despite his current state, Osborne is the only one qualified to take over the case. Though has no interest in playing policeman, he returns to Auckland all the same—because he’s sure Fitzgerald’s death was no suicide. An expert in Maori culture, Osborne retraces his dead friend’s steps into a world of occult mystery, tribal discontent, billion-dollar backroom deals, and political corruption. In the Maori language, “utu” means revenge. In this gripping crime novel, the desire for revenge runs deep—and nobody, innocent and guilty alike, will be safe until it has been sated.