In the aftermath of the invasion of Parihaka in November 1881, Inspector Patrick ORorke is appointed by the government to investigate allegations of police brutality laid by the influential Maori politician Hoani Te Pae. Before he leaves Christchurch for Wellington to begin, ORorke is called to the house of the well-to-do Albert Howard, following the seemingly routine theft of a valuable item from his collection. Undeterred by the hostility and obstruction of the Wellington police to his Parihaka investigation, and the fact that he finds himself increasingly becoming a pawn in a battle between two warring political factions, ORorke is determined to get to the bottom of the incident. And when Albert Howard is murdered, he uncovers a chilling link between the two enquiries. Edmund Bohans Inspector ORorke novel is set, like the others, in a vividly re-created colonial New Zealand. A skillfully woven blend of fact and fiction, it takes its protagonist from an elegant Thorndon mansion to the fetid slums of Ghuznee Street, from a downtown bordello to the houses of Parliament in a compellingly told tale of political and personal intrigue.
