Interview

Q&A: Scott Bainbridge

Interviewed by Vaughan Rapatahana

VR: Why does your latest book, The Missing Files, have only some new cases, i.e. why is there rather a lot of repetition of cases from your previous two books on missing Kiwis, namely Without Trace (2005) and Still Missing (2008)?

Scott Bainbridge is one of New Zealand’s foremost investigative and True Crime authors. His first two books; Without Trace and Still Missing about missing persons, led to several cold-cases being re-opened, and inspired the acclaimed TVNZ series, The Missing. In his third book; Shot in the Dark, Bainbridge accessed old murder files to examine unsolved NZ murders of the 1920s and 30s, dispelling decades-old myths and uncovering hidden truths. His latest book is The Missing Files.

Scott: When I re-visited those two earlier books and the television series, The Missing, which followed on from them, I realised that there had been progress since then, across several of the cases. For example, in the Marion Granville case, her own Mum had no idea that Marion was on heroin, and was dealing in it too…

I also now have less of a closed shop reaction from the NZ Police. I obtained far more details.

So, my new book is an update from these earlier books.

More, I feel that I have now moved on from these cases.

VR: ‘Realistically’, for which cases from The Missing Files do you see any resolution? For example, the cases of Heidi Charles? Sydney Patrick Fisk? Craig Hampton, all of which I found rather intriguing.

Scott: I had a meeting with Missing Persons Bureau last month and we had what is termed ‘anniversary reviews’ of certain cases, yet – unlike previously – there was no new information forthcoming from any source as a result of this new book.

However, in some cases there has been some progress. For example, a whānau desire to resolve the case. The Wharton whānau want to find Betty. The belief is that indeed she is buried on a Tatuanui farm property.

About Heidi Charles, I have no idea. There is still a strong lead in the tale of her husband attending a boy scout camp and supposedly threatening his son there that he would do to him (the son) what he did to his mother, although the son has no such recollection about this comment. Heidi may well have left Rotorua willingly – after all she did have NZ$400, which would be worth several thousand dollars back then (1977)…

VR: Was there perhaps a serial killer in Rotorua? For example, what about the case of Olive Walker?

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Book Review

Mini Whinny: Happy Birthday to Me Written by Stacy Gregg and illustrated by Ruth Paul (Scholastic, $17.99)

Reviewed by Melinda Szymanik

It’s all about Mini Whinny! This charming picture book is about a rather self-absorbed little pony who makes a very important discovery about the benefits of a joy shared.

All the horses are excited by the birthday party preparations going on their stables, except for young Mini. If you are a horse born in this part of the world, your birthdate is automatically designated August 1st. All the pretty decorations, the fun party games and the delicious birthday cake, which look oh, so wonderful, must be shared with every other horse and pony.  However, the idea of sharing her birthday with all the other horses does not sit at all well with Mini.  Just this once she wants to have this special day to herself. She devises a clever plan to achieve her goals, but in the process discovers one very important thing. But all is not lost…

Appealing, soft illustrations in youthful birthday party tones, perfectly express Mini’s emotional journey. Her annoyance and frustration, her stubbornness, her scheming and subsequent disappointment when her plans don’t turn out as she expects. I especially loved how Mini Whinny is playing with her own ‘my little ponies’ on the front end-papers. Despite her naughtiness, it’s impossible not to fall in love with her irrepressible spirit, and parents and children alike will recognise how seductive and overwhelming the whole idea of a birthday party can be for a youngster.

Together, the text and illustrations neatly capture the little pony’s petulance – ‘Mine’, ‘Mine’, ‘Mine,’ she starts every sentence, as she goes about putting her plan into action – and her dawning realisation that maybe it wasn’t such a good idea after all. I enjoyed the sly and not so sly nods to the language of the horse world – for example  the name ‘Palomina’ for one of the key adult horse characters, and the phrase, ‘as the horses hit the hay’ when they (nearly) all turn in for the night. This is a great first book for the emerging horse lover in your family, and the perfect story for all those children still getting to grips with how birthday parties work, even when it’s their own.

Book Review

A Change of Key by Adrienne Jansen (Escalator Press, $28)

Reviewed by Judith Morrell Nathan

Adrienne Jansen, a Wellingtonian, teaches on the creative programme at Whitireia Polytechnic. She and a group of Whitireia colleagues and students founded and run the Escalator Press which published this book.

With years of experience as an ESOL teacher, Jansen has worked extensively with immigrants to New Zealand and written for and about them.  She has used her experience to create a diverse cast of migrants for this novel and for its predecessor, The Score.  She has also written some non-fiction such as Migrant Journeys, which was based on conversations with immigrant taxi drivers.

It is not necessary to have read The Score to enjoy A Change of Key which tells its story against a background of the difficulties that migrants, divorced from their inherited culture can encounter in adjusting to our country, from housing to employment to understanding idiomatic English.  Most of the characters live in a block of council flats, several off the same corridor.  They have varied reasons that drove them to New Zealand, from Portugal, Bulgaria, Serbia, Iraq or Sudan. An Indian taxi driver and a Polish bookseller also feature in the story.  Some of them have deep personal secrets based on traumatic experiences that almost broke them psychologically and drove them deliberately to seek “the ends of the earth”. This is particularly so for Marko, the Bulgarian violinist who is the main character and also for Stefan, the Portuguese piano tuner who makes a lot of efforts to get Marko’s life back on track.

This is not a dark, heavy-going novel; rather it is a very readable, worthwhile, multicultural mystery story that revolves around a series of issues that Marko and his neighbours are grappling with. Who has accused Marko of being a former KGB spy?  How did the accuser find out about the encounters that lie behind this accusation?  What, if anything, should he do about it?  Do the neighbours believe Marko’s version of events? Why did he leave Bulgaria?

In a subplot, the residents plan and carry out various activities designed to stop a threatened rent increase that would prevent many of them continuing to live there.  Music plays a significant part in the story, as intimated in the title, with several characters playing a variety of instruments together, but at times it brings back memories that are too painful for some of the individuals to continue playing.

There are some unlikely touches, for example hauling grand pianos up to the fourth floor for Stefan to repair.  But these are details.  They do not detract from the fact that this is an unusual novel dealing with migrants – a topical New Zealand issue – and I would recommend reading it.

Book Review

Monsters of Virtue by L.J. Ritchie (Escalator Press, $28)

Reviewed by Emily Brill-Holland

Alternative History. Eugenics. Teenagers. Plato. Utopia. Vicious. Brilliant.

The title slashes across the cover; the two nouns abruptly incongruous and it is this fine line that is played throughout the novel. Who are the virtuous? Who are the monsters? Can one be both?

Also – what happens when you tell a group of children they are the brightest of the bright and then leave them alone?

Monsters is an alternative history, looking at a critical point in New Zealand’s history – the early 20th-century eugenics movement.

Eugenics is the theory and practice of controlled breeding to increase desirable traits as applied to humanity. Methods to exclude undesirable traits include sterilisation. Hitler would be the most well-known advocate for it in the early 20th century, however, eugenic research was being carried out all over the world. In 1928, eugenics became sharply relevant to New Zealand with the Mental Defectives Amendment Bill plus a pro-sterilisation clause being put before Parliament.

It is this moment in history that Ritchie focusses on.

In our reality, the significant clause was removed, and the Bill passed.

In Monsters of Virtue, the Bill is passed with clause removed but Parliament reaches a compromise with its prominent and wealthy eugenics supporters. A Eugenics Department is established, and construction starts quietly on a private utopian settlement north of Wellington, owned by secretive millionaire Walter Hannay.

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Book Review

Circus Hearts 1: All The Little Bones by Ellie Marney (Bearded Lady Press, 2018)

Reviewed by Rachel Stedman

I’ve been aware of Ellie Marney for some time. Based in Australia, Marney straddles the difficult divide of traditional and independent publishing. She’s won the Scarlet Stiletto Award for short crime writing in 2010 and has been shortlisted for a number of prestigious Australian awards, including the Gold Inky Award. Some of her works are published by Allen and Unwin or HarperCollins; others she publishes herself through her own imprint, Bearded Lady Press. Marney also helped spearhead the awesome #LoveOzYA movement – yes, the hashtag is obligatory – so when I saw she had a new book coming out, I was dead keen to try it.

Plus, her new book is about circuses, and what’s not to love in a circus?

Okay, so here’s a bit about All the Little Bones.

Seventeen year old Sorsha Neary and her friend Colm MacKay are on the run. Escaping from a crime Sorsha never meant to commit, they’re travelling south to Klatsch’s Karnival. Sorsha is a trapeze artist and Colm’s a trainee strongman, so with luck the carnival will have enough room for both of them. But the question for Sorsha and Colm isn’t if the police will catch them – it’s when…

All The Little Bones is the first in the three-part series Circus Hearts. The second in the series, All Fall Down, has just been released. The third will be coming soon, so if you’ve got a voracious teen reader, this series is a perfect read for them.

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