Author: Mark Hotton

Shame on the high seas

The Catch, by Michael Field (Awa Press $40): The tagline on this book is “How fishing companies reinvented slavery and plunder the oceans”, and that’s exactly what it’s about. Michael Field has done an outstanding job outlining the disgraceful state…

Gangland killings a shock

The Bassett Road Machine-Gun Murders, by Scott Bainbridge ($37 Allen & Unwin): This book was published to mark the 50th anniversary of a shocking crime that drew a line in New Zealand’s criminal history and heralded a more sinister era.…

‘Bluebells’ takes the cake

Bluebells Cakery, by Karla Goodwin (Random House, RRP $50): You have probably looked at the covers of dozens of cookbooks and thought “I could never make that”. Looking at the cover of Bluebells Cakery, at a six-tier pastel-coloured cake, decorated…