Renee ONZM, Ngati Kahungunu, is one of Aotearoa's writing rangatira, turning 93 in 2022. A novelist, poet and playwright, she was awarded the Prime Minister's Award for Literary Achievement, the Playmarket Award for significant artistic contribution to New Zealand theatre and the Nga Tohu a Ta Kingi Ihaka for a lifetime contribution to toi Maori. Blood Matters is her second crime novel. Renee lives in Otaki.