Softly Calls the Devil (Chris Blake, Echo)

Prologues in crime novels are often inscrutable until the climax, but Chris Blake’s Softly Calls the Devil wastes no time and immediately hooks readers with an unexpected shoot-out at a traffic stop. Decades later, North Island detective Matt Buchanan has been demoted to a rural posting in Haast, on the West Coast of Aotearoa New Zealand’s South Island. Once a hunter of serial killers in Auckland, Buchanan now welcomes the slower pace of community policing. However, when his predecessor is tortured and murdered, he is pulled back into long-abandoned investigations involving both past antagonists and the once-welcoming locals. His fresh start with a new partner is threatened as his pursuit of truth and justice reignites and secrets resurface. Buchanan is a complex and compelling protagonist, shaped by Blake’s firsthand experience in the police force and his intimate knowledge of the country. Blake, who was a finalist for the Ngaio Marsh Awards under the pseudonym Nathan Blackwell, is quickly establishing himself as one of the nation’s premier crime writers. His vivid depictions of New Zealand’s landscapes and communities bring new energy to this classic crime fiction conflict. Recommended for fans of Jane Harper (Last One Out, The Dry) and Garry Disher (Sanctuary) or readers looking for a vicarious journey into a New Zealand criminal underworld.

Books+Publishing reviewer: Ilona Urquhart has a PhD in literary studies and currently works as a children’s and youth services librarian on the Bellarine Peninsula. Books+Publishing is Australia’s number-one source of pre-publication book reviews.

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