FICTION
1 Murder and Mojitos (The Bookshop Detectives 3) by Gareth and Louise Ward (Penguin Random House, $38)
I briefly ran into the authors at the NZ Booksellers annual book trade awards at Rydges Auckland on Saturday night. Louise wore purple hair and Gareth wore a tight shirt.
2 The Nowhere Boy by Anne Cleary (Allen & Unwin, $37.99)
3 Every Lake by Adam Perry (Allen & Unwin, $37.99)
New thriller, with a taut synopsis: “When Alice was fifteen, her father killed Mia Heywood in their lakefront cottage before vanishing into the trees. At least that’s what the locals think happened.”
4 Dead Girl Gone (The Bookshop Detectives 1) by Gareth and Louise Ward (Penguin Random House, $28)
5 Orchids and Camellias by Sophie Rogers (Flying Books Publishing, $36.99)
6 Tea and Cake and Death (The Bookshop Detectives 2) by Gareth and Louise Ward (Penguin Random House, $28)
7 All Her Lives by Ingrid Horrocks (Te Herenga Waka University Press, $35)
The author recently chaired Elizabeth Knox at an event in Wellington, and I am told that Knox was “enchanting” and that Horrocks was “downright fantastic”.
8 Julia Eichardt by Lauren Roche (Flying Books Publishing, $36.99)
9 Slash by Gavin Strawhan (Allen & Unwin, $37.99)
10 The Book of Guilt by Catherine Chidgey (Te Herenga Waka University Press, $28)
I briefly ran into the author at the NZ Booksellers annual book trade awards at Rydges Auckland on Saturday night, where her novel The Book of Guilt was awarded the Booksellers Choice Award. It was decided in a vote by booksellers as the book they’ll always keep on the shelf. La Chidge is pictured below.
NONFICTION
1 One Last Question, Prime Minister by Barry Soper (HarperCollins, $39.99)
In my report on the NZ Booksellers annual book trade awards at Rydges Auckland on Saturday night, I divulged that Soper’s runaway bestseller was selling about 300 copies a week. I received a grave message from NielsenIQ BookData the following day. “If there is a publisher that is sharing sales charts with you then they are in breach of their contract,” I was told. “BookScan data is confidential, copyrighted and proprietary – therefore not for the general public – and not available to you to support your general book trade articles without express permission or a different kind of subscription.”
I hope that the three publishing representatives and five booksellers who tittle-tattled in breach of their contract are thoroughly ashamed of themselves.
2 The Valley by Asher Emanuel (Bridget Williams Books, $39.99)
3 Uncomfortable Economics by David Schnauer (Mary Egan Publishing, $40)
No, I’ve never heard of him, either, but according to the book’s blurbology, “David is a retired lawyer with degrees in law and economics. He and his wife Patricia established and ran Schnauer and Co, a successful law firm on Auckland’s North Shore, for 25 years. Between them they have four children and seven grandchildren.
“David has spent much of his life frustrated by his country’s economic underperformance. That frustration, and a genuine belief that New Zealand can do better, led him to write this book. An occasional newspaper columnist, he offers here a set of positive, long-term policies aimed at lifting New Zealand’s economic performance over the next 75 years. In his view, the challenge is not identifying what needs to change. It is finding the political and societal courage to do it.”
4 Ringside by Mike Munro (Upstart Press, $39.99)
A free copy of the very popular political memoir is up for grabs in this week’s giveaway contest.
Munro, a spin doctor for Helen Clark and Jacinda Ardern, was interviewed recently by Jack Tame on Q+A. The subject turned, inevitably, to Winston Peters. Tame asked, “What advice would you give the current PM about managing the relationship with Winston Peters?”
Munro replied, “Winston is such a sort of singular person. He’s got a lot worse in terms of his cantankerousness. But Winston used to be quite entertaining once upon a time. His contrariness was quite entertaining, but it’s just got a bit more of an edge to it these days.
“He’s quite a standoffish person in many ways when it comes to personal relationships and politics. Jacinda didn’t know him well and we actually organised a couple of dinners, just Winston and Jacinda, where they sat down and chewed the fat. I just think you’ve got to spend a lot of time with him so you understand his point of view. I don’t know whether the current Prime Minister has done a lot of that.”
To enter the draw to win a copy of Ringside, share your ideas on what advice you would give the current PM about managing the relationship with Winston Peters, and send it to stephen11@xtra.co.nz with the subject line in screaming caps THE WINSTON QUESTION by midnight on Sunday, August 2.
5 Lessons on Living by Nigel Latta (HarperCollins, $39.99)
Latta’s wife, Dr Natalie Flynn, was presented with a special achievement award recognising the author’s contribution to the book industry, at theNZ Booksellers annual book trade awards at Rydges Auckland on Saturday night.
More than 250,000 copies of Latta’s books have sold since his first book was published in 2000. They include Politically Incorrect Parenting, Mothers Raising Sons, Fathers Raising Daughters and his most recent, Lessons on Living, which was published on 30 September 2025 – the day he died.
6 Become Unstoppable by Gilbert Enoka (Penguin Random House, $40)
7 A Place to Stand by Clare Ward (Allen & Unwin, $37.99)
From a rave review by Dr Peter Davis: “Clare Ward’s memoir A Place To Stand has the makings of a New Zealand classic. She came to the Hokianga 30 years ago as a Pākehā GP and a town dweller. She writes that becoming part of the Hokianga involved a rearrangement of her values. Her ancestors came from Ireland and England. For her The Treaty of Waitangi gave her a place to stand, hence the book’s title. There’s poetry, scriptural homilies, Māori sayings, evocative illustrations all interspersing a carefully curated collage of the author’s reflections and impressions. It’s a multi-dimensional story, as well as a rich and textured ethnography.”
8 “What Were You Thinking!?” by Nathan Wallis (Allen & Unwin, $39.99)
9 A Different Kind of Power by Jacinda Ardern (Penguin Random House, $40)
Ardern was presented with the award for the biggest-selling New Zealand title in 2025 at the NZ Booksellers annual book trade awards at Rydges Auckland on Saturday night. She appeared on videolink sitting on an orange banquette to say thanks.
10 The Hollows Boys by Peta Carey (Potton & Burton, $39.99)
