Murder, global conspiracies, and... cows?

It's great to see more writers joining the small but growing crime fiction wave we have here in New Zealand. This week saw the release of Nelson-based writer Matt Hammond's debut thriller, MILKSHAKE, on Amazon and Smashwords. I understand it will soon be available in print copy as well.

Hammond works for the New Zealand government, having immigrated from the UK with his wife and kids in 2002, "inspired by the scenery and the laidback lifestyle". He has been working on the manuscript that became MILKSHAKE for several years, and it has evolved into a "fast-paced, ecologically focused thriller":

On the day David Turner is supposed to emigrate to New Zealand, he witnesses a savage murder and becomes caught up in ruthless global conspiracy.

A thirty year-old technological discovery threatens his own future and jeopardises the lives of millions of others as David discovers that starting a new life is about to become a deadly game of cat and mouse... and, somewhat surprisingly, cows.

Modifying milk so that ethanol can be processed from it could be the solution to an impending global oil crisis, but drinking it will kill you. Can the truth be uncovered before an entire country is sacrificed to satisfy the world's demand for bio-fuel?

It's kind of cool that Hammond has brought the dairy industry into his conspiracy thriller, as it is quite a big part of the New Zealand landscape. Although little old New Zealand only has about 0.06 per cent of the world's population (ie 1/1500th), we are responsible for around 30 per cent (ie 500/1500ths) of the global dairy export industry, which is pretty 'wow'; punching above our weight 500 times over.

Since I've had a fairly good experience with some books first published on Smashwords (eg MURDER IN THE SECOND ROW by Bev Robitai) - belying the small publisher/ebook publisher prejudices - I'm going to give MILKSHAKE a go too.

Do you like the sound of a global thriller set in the agricultural industry?