Review: Rings on Water - Book #2 The Matakana Series - Madeline Eskedahl - May 2023 There’s something especially comforting about discovering a New Zealand author who writes mysteries that feel both grounded in place and quietly gripping in their tension, and Madeline Eskedahl has firmly become one of those authors for me. Rings on Water, the second book in The Matakana Series, arrived in my hands as a beautifully thoughtful gift from the author herself, complete with a personalised message and the most delightful magnetic butterfly bookmark. It clips neatly over the page and, in a small but meaningful way, stops me from doing my usual dog-earing of pages. It’s those little touches that make reading feel even more special. From the opening pages, Madeline Eskedahl wastes no time pulling us back into the world of The Matakana series where calm coastal life is shattered by darkness beneath the surface. A narcotics pick-up at sea goes disastrously wrong, a man is lost overboard, and the ...

Review: Blood on Vines - Book #1 The Matakana Series - Madeline Eskedahl - March 2021 There's something special about starting the new year with a physical book in hand, and Blood on Vines kicked off my 2026 reading perfectly. As always, I'm on a mission to clear my groaning bookshelves, and this New Zealand-set thriller was the ideal choice to begin that journey. What made this read particularly meaningful was its Martinborough setting, which transported me straight back to my childhood. When I was seven or eight, my family lived in Martinborough, and I have vivid memories of both my parents working on a vineyard during harvest season, picking grapes under the warm sun. Reading Madeline Eskedahl's descriptions of vineyard life felt like stepping back into those memories, and it added such a personal connection to the story that I hadn't anticipated. The plot kicks off with the murder of an ex-winemaker in Martinborough, a meticulously planned attack that signals the ...