Hana Westerman

Hana Westerman is a tenacious Māori detective juggling single motherhood and the pressures of her career in Auckland’s Central Investigation Branch. When she’s led to a crime scene by a mysterious video, she discovers a man hanging in a secret room. As Hana and her team work to track down the killer, other deaths lead her to think that they are searching for New Zealand’s first serial killer.

Having left Auckland's Central Investigation Branch, Hana Westerman has moved to the coast for a fresh start. When the skeleton of a young Māori woman who went missing a decade before is discovered in the dunes near her house, Hana is drawn into the investigation. Twenty years ago a schoolfriend of hers was found buried in the exact same spot. But her killer died in prison. Did the police get the wrong man? And, if so, why did he plead guilty? No longer part of the CIB, Hana turns to her ex-husband Jaye for help.

It’s a chilly Auckland winter, but for Hana Westerman and her family, it is a time of excitement. Matariki is approaching – the small cluster of stars also known as the Seven Sisters is a sacred constellation in Māori culture, heralding a time of new beginnings. But this Matariki brings unwelcome change. When Hana’s ex-husband Jaye, a high-flying Detective Inspector, is shot in what looks like a random hold-up, Hana offers her help to the senior police officer spearheading the investigation, DI Elisa Grey. With access to police intelligence, Hana makes a breakthrough.