Novel set in TELEMARK and OSLO
Ten Great Books set in New Zealand
19th April 2024
Ten Great Books set in New Zealand. New Zealand, an island nation nestled in the South Pacific, enchants with its dramatic landscapes and adventurous spirit. Named ‘Aotearoa’ (Land of the Long White Cloud) by the Maori, it boasts snow-capped mountains, vibrant geothermal wonders, and pristine beaches.
Here ar ten of our favourite books set on the island.
Cemetery Lake by Paul Cleave – CHRISTCHURCH
What began as a routine exhumation of a suspected murder victim quickly turns complicated for private investigator Theodore Tate…
Theo Tate is barely coping with life since his world was turned upside down two years ago. As he stands in the cold and rainy cemetery, overseeing the exhumation, the lake opposite the graveyard begins to release its grip on the murky past.
When doubts are raised about the true identity of the body found in the coffin, the case takes an even more sinister turn. Tate knows he should walk away and let his former colleagues in the police deal with it, but against his better judgement he takes matters into his own hands.
With time running out and a violent killer on the loose, will Tate manage to stay one step ahead of the police? Or will the secrets he has buried so deeply be unearthed?
Green Dolphin Street by Elizabeth Goudge – NEW ZEALAND
Vivid, exciting tales ― earthquakes, shipwreck, encounters between New Zealand settlers and the indigenous Maori people ― are paired with fascinating details of 19th-century life, from sailing ships and steamboats to women’s fashions and the natural beauty of the British seacoast and the mountains and forests of New Zealand.
When Marianne LePatourel meets William Ozanne in the 1830s on an island in the English Channel, she sets her heart on him. However, her sister Marguerite falls in love with him too. And so begins this sweeping novel that takes the characters on dramatic adventures from childhood through old age, on land and at sea, and from the Channel Islands to China to the New Zealand frontier.
When William’s naval career is cut short, he settles in New Zealand and writes to Mr. Le Patourel to ask for Marguerite’s hand in marriage ― but in his nervousness he pens the wrong name in his letter. It is Marianne who arrives aboard the ship The Green Dolphin, and William’s gallant decision not to reveal his mistake sets in motion a marriage that is difficult, but teaches them both that steadfast love which is chosen is stronger than the passion of love at first sight.
See You in September by Charity Norman – ROTORUA
Cassy smiled, blew them a kiss.
‘See you in September,’ she said.
It was a throwaway line. Just words uttered casually by a young woman in a hurry. And then she’d gone.
It was supposed to be a short trip – a break in New Zealand before her best friend’s wedding. But when Cassy waved goodbye to her parents, they never dreamed that it would be years before they’d see her again.
Having broken up with her boyfriend, Cassy accepts an invitation to stay in an idyllic farming collective. Overcome by the peace and beauty of the valley and swept up in the charisma of Justin, the community’s leader, Cassy becomes convinced that she has to stay.
As Cassy becomes more and more entrenched in the group’s rituals and beliefs, her frantic parents fight to bring her home – before Justin’s prophesied Last Day can come to pass.
A powerful story of family, faith and finding yourself, See You in September is an unputdownable new novel from this hugely compelling author.
The Bone People by Keri Hulme – NORTH ISLAND
Winner of the Booker Prize in 1985, The Bone People is the story of Kerewin, a despairing part-Maori artist who is convinced that her solitary life is the only way to face the world. Her cocoon is rudely blown away by the sudden arrival during a rainstorm of Simon, a mute six-year-old whose past seems to hold some terrible trauma. In his wake comes his foster-father Joe, a Maori factory worker with a nasty temper.
The narrative unravels to reveal the truths that lie behind these three characters, and in so doing displays itself as a huge, ambitious work that tackles the clash between Maori and European characters in beautiful prose of a heartrending poignancy.
The Larnachs by Owen Marshall – DUNEDIN
William Larnach, New Zealand politician, married his much younger third wife, Constance de Bathe Brandon, in 1891. With the backdrop of Larnach Castle, on Otago Peninsula, there is increasing attraction between Conny and Dougie, Larnach’s son from his first marriage. The story is told in the first person narrative by both Conny and Dougie, and is the story of their affair, against the backdrop of late 19th-century moral codes.
Expectant by Vanda Symon – DUNEDIN
A killer targeting pregnant women.
A detective expecting her first baby…
The shocking murder of a heavily pregnant woman throws the New Zealand city of Dunedin into a tailspin, and the devastating crime feels uncomfortably close to home for Detective Sam Shephard as she counts down the days to her own maternity leave.
Confined to a desk job in the department, Sam must find the missing link between this brutal crime and a string of cases involving mothers and children in the past. As the pieces start to come together and the realisation dawns that the killer’s actions are escalating, drastic measures must be taken to prevent more tragedy.
For Sam, the case becomes personal, when it becomes increasingly clear that no one is safe and the clock is ticking…
Where Sea meets Sky by Karina Halle – NEW ZEALAND
Joshua Miles has spent his early twenties spinning his wheels. Working dead-end jobs and living at home has left him exhausted and uninspired, with little energy to pursue his passion for graphic art. Until he meets Gemma Henare, a vivacious out-of-towner from New Zealand. What begins as a one-night stand soon becomes a turning point for Josh. He can’t get Gemma out of his head, even after she has left for home, and finds himself throwing caution to the wind for the first time in his life.
It’s not long before Josh is headed to New Zealand with only a backpack, some cash, and Gemma’s name to go on. But when he finally tracks her down, he finds his adventure is only just beginning. Equally infatuated, Gemma leads him on a whirlwind tour across the beautiful country, opening Josh up to life, lust, love, and all the messy heartache in between. Because, when love drags you somewhere, it might never let go—even when you know you have to say goodbye.
Call Me Joe by Martin van Es and Andrew Crofts – NEW ZEALAND
The world is on the brink of disaster.The environment, society and mankind itself are facing extreme challenges in a world that is both more connected, and yet more divided than ever before. Fear and confusion seep into all parts of everyday life… now, more than ever, the world needs one voice, one guide…One day the Earth is plunged into darkness and when light appears again so does a man – call him Joe – claiming to be the son of God.Can Joe bring the world’s most creative thinkers and leaders together to tackle the ills of mankind?Can he convince us all to follow him before it’s too late?In this compelling and prescient novel, Martin van Es and Andrew Crofts highlight the key concerns of our time and imagines a future where we, at last, all work together to ensure the future of our world and all the life that calls it home.
Blood Men by Paul Cleave – CHRISTCHURCH
Edward Hunter has it all-a beautiful wife and daughter, a great job, a bright future…and a very dark past. Twenty years ago, a serial killer was caught, convicted, and locked away in New Zealand’s most hellish of penitentiaries. That man was Edward’s father. Edward has struggled his entire life to put the nightmares of his childhood behind him. But a week before Christmas, violence once again makes an unwelcome appearance into his world. Suddenly he’s going to need the help of his father, a man he hasn’t seen since he was a boy. Is Edward destined to be just like him, to become a man of blood? A true master of the genre that only comes along once in a generation, Cleave unveils a brutally vivid picture of a killer’s mind and of a city of fallen angels captured at the ends of the earth.
The Luminaries by Eleanor Catton – HOKITIKA
It is 1866, and Walter Moody has come to make his fortune upon the New Zealand goldfields. On arrival, he stumbles across a tense gathering of twelve local men, who have met in secret to discuss a series of unsolved crimes. A wealthy man has vanished, a whore has tried to end her life, and an enormous fortune has been discovered in the home of a luckless drunk. Moody is soon drawn into the mystery: a network of fates and fortunes that is as complex and exquisitely patterned as the night sky. The Luminaries is an extraordinary piece of fiction. It is full of narrative, linguistic and psychological pleasures, and has a fiendishly clever and original structuring device. Written in pitch-perfect historical register, richly evoking a mid-19th century world of shipping and banking and goldrush boom and bust, it is also a ghost story, and a gripping mystery. It is a thrilling achievement for someone still in her mid-20s, and will confirm for critics and readers that Catton is one of the brightest stars in the international writing firmament.
Enjoy our selection of great books set in New Zealand!
Tony for the TripFiction Team
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