Murderous deeds in Edinburgh and Eastbourne
Published by The Cuba Press, June 2024
The murderous Burke and Hare body snatchers of 1828 terrify Edinburgh, until Burke is hanged and Hare disappears. Over a decade later, in the early days of New Zealand colonial settlement, a whaler washes up on the eastern shores of Port Nicholson. He calls himself Ōkiwi Brown, sets up a pub with a nasty reputation and finds himself a woman who had been abandoned on his beach. Nearby, children sing dark nursery rhymes of murder. One afternoon Okiwi is visited by a pair of ex-soldiers, a bo’sun looking for a fight, and itinerant worker William Leckie with his young daughter Mary. When a body is discovered on the beach, it could be that a drunken man has drowned. But it could be that the gathered witnesses know something more.
A fascinating dip into our colonial history with the vividly reimagined Ōkiwi Brown and legendary Nan at the heart of this story. – Maggie Rainey Smith
Cristina Sanders skilfully holds a mirror to a dark and mysterious past where danger and death are ever-present. – Saige England
BUY Ōkiwi Brown from New Zealand bookshops, eg. Unity, Wardinis or Shrödingers, mail order from The Cuba Press, or buy from Amazon Kindle.
Media
Interview with Ann Packer in the Eastbourne Herald.(p 12)
Picture in ReadingRoom, ‘Dutch still life gone terribly wrong’
Review in Kete, by Sarah Ell
Radio review by Lou Ward on Radio Hawkes Bay (5:10m)
Review in the NZ Herald
Radio Review by Catherine Robinson on Radio NZ (from 4:00m)
Radio Interview with Tanya Ashcroft for Wellington City Libraries
Radio Interview with John MacDonald on Wellington Access Radio [23:45m]
Radio Interview on ‘Write On’ with Beverly Martin on Otago Access Radio
Feature Book on ReadingRoom bestseller list
Article in ReadingRoom
Review in NZ Booklovers, by Clare Lyon
Review in Hastings Libraries
We had two fab launch parties, which is far more than the old bastard deserves. They were a lot of fun. Ōkiwi Brown launch parties here.
Cristina Sanders' blog 