It's not just sharp and compelling drama it's a sociology class wrapped up in down-and-dirty observation. And if I had to compare Behind The Hood to celluloid, I would say it most closely resembles The Wire. Think George Pelecanos and Richard Price - but executed with a Kiwi flair and sensibility. It's incredibly precise in the the way it examines the minutiae of street life the daily beats of the turf wars the struggles of the underclass.

And she hammers her point home with prose that's punchy, gritty and unsentimental. So she understands intimately and instinctively what it means to be young and desperate in a South Auckland ghetto. Where razor-sharp realism reinforces a propulsive narrative that's so gut-wrenchingly harrowing, it can only have come from the mind and soul of someone who's actually been there and done that. The kind of story that I like to call 'faction'. On impulse, I picked up her novel, Behind The Hood, even though she didn't ask me to.īehind The Hood is tough, gritty and uncompromising. And we immediately connected because we're both Kiwis writing urban fiction set in New Zealand. Goodreads, of course, is the largest networking site for readers and writers. Hansen when we bumped into each other on Goodreads. Graffiti Heaven is a prequel series based around Ash Rata when he was younger.I first encountered Marita A. Unless you're a crime, social realism, or street lit reader, my suggestion is to start from book 2, then read book 3, and if you like those two then you could try book 1. The Rata brothers are minor characters in book 1 and major characters from book 2 onward. It has different main characters from book 2 and 3. 18+Īdditional notes: This book has no M/M. WARNING: Language and sexual references are graphic. Live the carnage through multiple viewpoints as the tale unfolds to a bloody climax. In this South Auckland neighbourhood where gang culture, drink, drugs, sex and violence is already a way of life, a vicious attack on a teenage girl sparks a ripple effect of revenge and fury. 'The novel shines a light on a cultural sector rarely addressed in fiction writing, and the fast-paced narrative befits a contemporary thriller fiction novel.' -HarperCollins.

See additional notes at the bottom of the blurb.

PLEASE NOTE: This is not a romance book, if you want romance start from book 2.

Behind the Hood by Marita A. Hansen