We are very pleased to be giving away two copies of Riley Chance’s book ‘Weeping Angels’, 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 Weeping Angels
Inspired by personal experience, New Zealand author Riley Chance turns his attention to the topic of family violence in this page-turning thriller.
‘No one will invest in a business focussed on family violence – it’s the opposite of sexy.’
Lauren Brown, owner of Weeping Angels, smiled. ‘Maybe to men.’
Business is booming for Weeping Angels – an agency that helps victims of family violence obtain protection orders. Lauren, who ambitiously wants to fix the justice system, contacts journalist Grace (‘Ace’) Marks to increase pressure on the government. A woman who obsessively guards her privacy and her past, Lauren knows she needs to step out of the shadows where she has lived her entire life.
When Lauren disappears after visiting a friend, and the police list her as ‘just another’ missing person, a mystified Grace investigates. But who is Lauren? Is that her real name? Why does nobody know where she lives? And why doesn’t she exist outside Weeping Angels?
What sinister forces are at work in her disappearance? Have they come from her work combating family violence, or has her past reached out from the shadows?
‘Riley Chance is producing high-quality local thrillers with a strong political thread, touching on significant issues facing New Zealand society in the modern world.’ – Editor Geoff Walker
‘Weeping Angels is a gripping thriller that shines a light on the tough topic of family violence, but in such an engaging way it will have you frantically turning the pages and cheering on the resourceful protagonists. Original and thought-provoking.’ – NZ Booklovers
Author Note:
‘When I started dating by current partner of over a decade, I witnessed and experienced family violence – I became a target. I watched the justice system in action (inaction). I was always going to write a story shining a light on family violence, it took longer than I anticipated for the right plot to emerge.
Family violence is a subject that gets little airtime. It’s an uncomfortable topic, one we would prefer didn’t exist. But it exists, and, ashamedly, New Zealand has the highest rate of intimate partner violence against women in the OECD (Newsroom, 6/12/2020).
It’s a narrow path to create an engaging, page-turning novel while confronting readers with an issue they seldom confront or want to confront. But I’m a firm believer that fiction, that storytelling, has the power to change the world.’
About the author:
Riley Chance, whose first novel – Surveillance – was short-listed for the Ngaio Marsh awards, is passionate about giving readers fast-paced, page-turning novels that also provide a window into societal issues.
Since being made redundant in 2001, Riley has juggled raising a family, work and life. A seasoned, but unenthusiastic, member of the precarious workforce, Riley has had a myriad of jobs – computer programmer, IT manager, consultant, project manager, mentor, senior lecturer and, of course, writer.
When headspace allows, Riley follows politics keenly, often visiting parliament to watch question time. It is within the political sphere where society can be changed for the better (or worse) and fiction can be a catalyst for change.
To read an article Riley has written for GrownUps, click here
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 19th June 2024, winners will be notified via email by 20th June 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.