Marlborough Book Festival author explores ‘grey areas’

The duel between law enforcement and lawbreakers transcends time and place.  From Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Agatha Christie to Stieg Larsson and Patricia Cornwell, crime writers tap into a seemingly endless mine of inspiration for thrilling stories.

Chris Stuart is one of them. A Nelson-based author featuring in the upcoming Marlborough Book Festival, she draws on years living internationally, particularly in Australia and the Middle East, for novels blending criminology and social issues.

Her first book, For Reasons of Their Own, won the 2021 Ngaio Marsh Award for debut novel and got short-listed for NZ Book of the Year. It introduced Detective Inspector Robbie Gray, the protagonist she carried over to her second book, The Glasgow Smile.

Chris will come to Blenheim for the whole festival, 24-26 July, and share her experiences during a session titled “Crime and Conscience” on the final afternoon. She attended previously but not as a presenter.

“This is the first time I’ve been asked!” she laughed. “I’m absolutely delighted to be among such prestigious New Zealand writers, and the Marlborough festival is becoming known as one of the big reading festivals of the year.”

The list of invited authors includes two winners at the 2026 Ockham New Zealand Book Awards: Ingrid Horrocks, recipient of the Jann Medlicott Acorn Prize for Fiction; and Elizabeth Cox, the BookHub Award for Illustrated Non-Fiction.

Chris hoped she might deliver a talk on a mailboat sailing around the Sounds – “that was a dream,” she shared. “They don’t do that anymore.” On shore will suffice for the South Island native.

Genre bending

With her third book on the way, Chris has quite a story to tell about her authorial journey. She’s read crime novels avidly for most of her life – 25 years of which she globetrotted as a health aid worker in countries including Oman, Saudi Arabia and Iraq.

“I saw some pretty incredible things,” she recalled, “and I had always wanted to write, and I was always a very good storyteller.”

She started to pen an autobiography after returning to Australia. “Interestingly enough, I thought I was really boring,” Chris chuckled, “I need to [spice] it up a bit. This is basically my story, but I’ll add a murder into it.

“I was seeing a lot of deaths, and when you’re working in international development, there are grey areas between murder and collateral damage. I was seeing a lot of ambiguities, a lot of things that were unsettling.”

Integrating elements of conscience into stories of crime became her calling card.

“If my books can help people understand injustices and still be an exciting read,” Chris added, “I’m really happy.”

Marlborough Book Festival
When: 24–26 July
Where: Whitehaven Theatre and Marlborough District Library, Blenheim
Programme and tickets: marlboroughbookfest.co.nz