Newly arrived fiction from Aotearoa New Zealand
Discover new thrillers, short stories and historical fiction from the mountains, cities and beaches of Aotearoa New Zealand.
The Vanishing Place by Zoe Rankin
Effie is just a young child when she escapes from what she thinks is an idyllic childhood in deep West Coast bush. Two decades later, and living in Scotland, her peace is shattered when she receives a call about a shocking murder back in her remote hometown. The sole witness is a frightened, blood-covered young girl named Anya, who looks uncannily like Effie did as a child. Compelled to return to the place she swore she'd never see again, Effie must confront her fractured memories of her family's isolated, off-grid life to uncover the truth about Anya and the murder, facing the sinister secrets that still linger in the bush. One of the biggest thrillers to come from our shores in 2025.
Auckland writer John Prins' debut collection delivers nine sharp, witty, and exquisitely written short stories that capture the essence of daily life in contemporary Aotearoa New Zealand. From the shores of Lake Pukaki to our modern identity and domestic scenes, Prins illuminates the quiet dramas of adulthood, masterfully blending dry humour and profound emotional depth to reveal the poignant gap between youthful aspirations and the complicated, often messy, reality of adult obligations.
Doug Gold, the author of The Dressmaker & the Hidden Soldier and The Note Through the Wire returns to the battlegrounds of WWII, this time to Amsterdam where a young Jewish girl is in hiding. With a father executed in a concentration camp and a mother on the run, resistance workers Frits and Jo Hakkens must outwit the Gestapo to save her life. A moving tribute to the quiet heroism of ordinary people who chose to "do what was right" in the face of tyranny.
Where in all the World by Vanessa Croft
In 1890s Canterbury, Harriet Watson longs for adventure beyond her family's sprawling homestead Rawahi. She is swept away by arrival of the charming English explorer, Curtis De Courcy, who undertakes a perilous African expedition to win her hand. After their marriage, Harriet's dreams dissolve into a reality of isolation and control as De Courcy's dark side and cruelty emerge, particularly during their time in the brutal Congo Free State. The novel is based on the real-life story of Gertrude Edith Watt, and critiques the violence of empire and the constrictions of Victorian marriage. It is ultimately a story of a woman's resilience, self-discovery, and fierce quest for freedom and self-reclamation.
The Last Living Cannibal by Airana Ngarewa
Airana Ngarewa, author of The Bone Tree and Pātea Boys once again brings the people of Taranaki vividly to life. Narrated largely from the afterlife by William (aka Koko), the titular 'last living cannibal' who can remember being sentenced to hard labour in Otago as a teenager during the Land Wars. Koko mourns his beloved wife, lost to TB, and helps his son Joe, a pastor, raise his six year old son Blackie on the pā. When Koko dies suddenly, the tribe, mostly farmers and fisherman, old grannies and young children circle around to mourn. But when another tribe, from the mighty river to the north arrive with shocking claims and revelations, the peace of the pā is disrupted.
The Paris Daughter by Soraya Lane
In 1930s Paris, Evelina longs to become a fashion designer to rival Coco Chanel, but faces a forbidden romance and is ultimately forced to make a devastating choice that causes her to flee the city. Three generations later, Blake, a struggling journalist inherits a small wooden box from her deceased grandmother. Inside is a scrap of silver velvet and a faded dress design that links to her grandmother's adoption and her birth mother. Travelling to Paris to uncover the truth about her talented great-grandmother, Blake meets handsome fashion curator Henri, and seeks to reinvigorate her own career. The Paris Daughter, the fifth Lost Daughters book is perfect for readers of Santa Montefiore, Lucinda Riley and Victoria Hislop.
The Pool by Hannah Tunnicliffe
Nine years ago, Baz, a charming but morally ambiguous man and his wife, Birdie, are at a summer barbecue with four other young families when an event occurs that ends in a shocking tragedy by the pool, fracturing marriages and friendships forever. In the present, Baz has gone missing, and the story unravels the secrets and suspicions held by the people who were at that fateful barbecue, including his ex-wife, his colleague, and his lover. A gripping, multi-layered domestic drama that explores the long-term consequences of tragedy and asks who among the interconnected group finally wanted Baz out of the picture.
Short : the big book of small stories = Poto : iti te kupu, nui te kōrero edited by Michelle Elvy
Short fiction, or micro fiction, stories under 100 words can be some of the most challenging fiction to write. How to propel a narrative, tell a tale in so few words? In both te reo and English, authors from across the motu, including Emma Neale, Apirana Taylor and Owen Marshall try their hand at the form.
