We are very pleased to be giving away three copies of Marie Connolly’s book ‘Dark Sky’, to our GrownUps members.
All you need to do to enter the draw is be a GrownUps member, make sure you’re signed up to our newsletter and fill in your details near the bottom of the page!
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About Dark Sky
For lovers of books by Louise Penny or Elly Griffiths, Dark Sky is a page-turning murder mystery set in Aotearoa’s beautiful Mackenzie Country, from a fresh New Zealand talent to the crime genre!
Criminal psychologist Nellie Prayle loves solving murders. The more complicated, the better. But when a professor of astronomy is found dead at Tekapo’s Mt John Observatory during its internationally-attended 50th-anniversary conference celebrations and Detective Jack Simmons calls on Nellie to help with the police investigation, she soon realises that this is not your typical murder – and nor are these your usual suspects.
As Nellie and Jack venture into the Dark Sky Reserve in Aotearoa New Zealand’s beautiful Mackenzie Country, they uncover a universe of rivalries, infidelities and emotional turmoil that pushes people to the edge.
International intrigue and a tangle of motives unfold against a glittering backdrop of bright stars in this gripping tale of crime and passion, and as Nellie knows only too well, nothing in the world of academia is straightforward ….
The first in a murder mystery series with an unforgettable lead character in criminal psychologist Nellie Prayle! The Mt John Observatory is a fascinating setting for Dark Sky, and there is an International Exoplanet conference at Te Pae scheduled for March 2024, when the book is published.
About the Author
Marie Connolly has been an academic for over thirty years in university and government settings. An expert in child welfare she has published extensively, including twenty scholarly books, and has travelled the world undertaking research into child protection systems.
She began her academic career at the University of Canterbury and has worked at senior levels of government in New Zealand. In 2010 she moved to Australia to take up a professorial Chair at the University of Melbourne.
In 2019 she retired and returned to Aotearoa where she continues to write academic non-fiction, and has published six story books in the Our Backyard series of travel books for children. She has also contributed to and edited a book of Fantabulous Fables, published in 2023 by the Akaroa Community Arts Council.
She lives in Akaroa with her partner George, and Dark Sky is her first murder mystery.
Click here to read an exclusive article by Marie Connolly
Terms and conditions
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- You must be a GrownUps member and receive our newsletter to be eligible to win.
- Competition closes on the 8th May 2024, winners will be notified via email by 9th May 2024.
- It is your responsibility to ensure you correctly enter a New Zealand postal address where the prize can be sent. GrownUps will not take responsibility for prizes sent to incorrect addresses.
- Winners are drawn at random by the GrownUps administration team.
- GrownUps employees and family are not eligible to enter.
- By entering the giveaway, you approve for GrownUps to use your name on social media as winner of the competition.
- One entry per household.
- Prize in non transferrable.
- You must reside in New Zealand – the prize can only be redeemed within New Zealand.
- You must be over 50 years of age to enter, please check your details are correct in your membership dashboard.