1. (NEW) See How They Fall by Rachel Paris (Moa Press)
Sydney-set thriller from Auckland writer features a Succession-style family gathering in their retreat after the patriarch dies. Tragedy ensues and, as the Listener noted: “the gilded family will fall … Some of the family will fall by dying. By poison. Others by other methods: loss of reputation, loss of fortune. Those golden sands turn out to be quicksand which swallows nasty rich people up. You have to applaud.”
2. (1) Toot the Tow Truck by Deano Yipadee & Bruce Potter (Scholastic)
Dropping down from the top of the bestsellers’ list is this new book in the Nee Naw and Friends series for kids.
“There’s another emergency vehicle in singer-songwriter Dean O’Brien’s garage and this time it’s a tow truck called Toot! Those goats of Granny’s have been joy-riding on Farmer Tom’s tractor and have got themselves in a bit of a pickle, with the tractor stuck in a pond, and themselves up a tree! Nee Naw quickly appraises the situation he can rescue the goats and he calls upon his friend Toot to come and pull out the tractor.”
3. (2) The Last Secret Agent by Pippa Latour & Jude Dobson (Allen & Unwin)
The incredible story of Kiwi spy Pippa Latour. Latour, who died in West Auckland in 2023, aged 102, helped lay the groundwork for D-Day’s success and the end of World War II by acting as a secret agent in France for Britain.
“I was not a James Bond-style spy,” said Latour. “I was a secret agent, whose job it was to blend into the background and cause quiet chaos.” It was exhausting work; she was unable to trust anyone, had several code names, and was often hungry. It was desperately perilous, too. Many of the 13,000 SOEs were killed, including 14 women out of 39 in France. The average life expectancy of male wireless operators in France when she served was six weeks. Latour’s was a truly remarkable life all around, and The Last Secret Agent, co-written with Jude Dobson, is a clear and fluent account that continues to attract new readers. Read the review here.
Dobson is working on turning the book into a screenplay.
4. (3) Unveiled by Theophila Pratt (David Bateman)
“I didn’t choose the cult life. The cult life chose me,” writes Theophila Pratt in Unveiled. Life was only going to get better when she died, Pratt was told in Gloriavale. It was the only life she knew until she left, aged 18. People who left, their lives were ruined, she was taught. Pratt writes of regular life in the community, including the ever-present violence (and the regular criminal charges against its men), until her eventual escape and finding a new life. It includes droll details such as that days and months are only known as “First Day” and “Fifth Month”, because the standard ones are named after “heathen” Roman gods.
5. (RETURN) Toitū Te Whenua by Lauren Keenan (Penguin)
Lauren Keenan aims for her book to provide “an interesting and accessible high-level overview of the New Zealand Wars with a focus on people and places”. Keenan, who is also a novelist and children’s writer, has a master’s degree specialising in the history of Taranaki Māori, and the result is an informative and highly visual guide, with plentiful maps and illustrations both historical and modern-day. You can read an extract from the book here.
6. (4) Retirement Ready by Martin Hawes (Upstart Press)
From the publisher: “Join acclaimed financial expert Martin Hawes as he shares the behind-the-scenes strategies that transformed his own retirement planning. With over 35 years of experience, Martin navigates the complex maze of decisions you face as you approach this pivotal life stage. From choosing who should manage your money to deciding on your investment approach, to determining how much you’ll need to sustain your lifestyle, Retirement Ready tackles the critical questions that will shape your future. Should you downsize your home? How do you balance current spending with leaving a legacy for your children? What insurance options should you consider, and is a family trust still right for you.”
7. (5) The Secrets of Maiden’s Cove by Erin Palmisano (Moa Press)
In her second novel, American-Kiwi Erin Palmisano takes readers to Chesapeake Bay in Maryland. After the death of owner Tommy Cleary, who could never make the financial decisions necessary to keep Cleary’s Crab Shack in Maiden’s Cove in the black, his daughter Grace has a mountain to climb when she returns to her hometown from Phoenix, Arizona, with her 8-year-old daughter, leaving behind her controlling estranged husband Richard.
The Listener’s review reckons Palmisano, a restaurant owner herself, again cleverly pairs delicious food and small-town romance, well-drawn colourful characters, drama and intrigue, and explores the life paths people take, why some can’t get out of a small town fast enough and why others never want to leave.
8. (RETURN) Whakawhetai: Gratitude by Hira Nathan (A&U)
Hira Nathan’s inspirational bilingual gratitude journal, based on the Māori holistic approach to health, was released two years ago and still makes regular appearances in the charts. The publisher’s blurb in part: “Kia ū ki te pai, kia whai hua ai. (Hold on to what is good and good things will follow.) Discover the four dimensions of hauora: taha tinana (physical), taha hinengaro (mental), taha wairua (spiritual) and taha whānau (family). No matter how difficult life can seem, there is always something to feel grateful for. Taking note regularly of the positives – no matter how small – in each of these areas of your life can have a huge impact on your health and happiness.”
9. (NEW) Easter Bunny Needs a New Bum! by Dawn McMillan & Ross Kinnaird (Oratia Books)
Fun rhyming tale for kids of our festival lagomorph who needs a replacement posterior.
“Easter Bunny has arrived to hide the Easter eggs in our hero’s garden … but something doesn’t look right … I’m looking … I’m looking … What do I see? Oh … there’s nothing at all where his tail should be!
“Red pants boy has another bumergency on his hands in this hilarious addition to the New Bum series. And of course, he has an eggselent idea to help Easter Bunny.
“’Hoppity hoppity, cannot stoppity. Tickety boo! Tottle-oo.’ Together they race around the garden to hide the eggs before the family wakes up – but will they sort out Easter Bunny’s bum issues?
“Dawn McMillan’s playful rhymes and Ross Kinnaird’s vibrant drawings bring an exciting Easter adventure to New Bum fans around the world, continuing the success of this globally bestselling series.”
10. (8) Delirious by Damien Wilkins (Te Herenga Waka University Press)
From the Listener’s review: “Wilkins confronts the much-promoted glow of retirement and reveals some harder-edged truths, both personal and general. The distinction between expectation and reality is telling. Delirious has suspense and pace.
“Mary and Pete live in a large two-storeyed house with a view of Kāpiti Island over the beach dunes. Both are in their late 70s and the future now looms in their thoughts. The expectations of others are clear: the couple will downsize and move into a retirement village.
“But this is no ordinary novel. While the pace of life seems easy and pleasant, the past has a way of returning. Events seldom run to plan. Mary’s and Pete’s son died in an accident 40 years before, at the age of 11. A sudden call comes from the Wellington CIB with the possibility of new information.”
Source: Nielsen Bookscan NZ – week ending March 29.
