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A City Possessed – Lynley hood’s epic tome investigating the Christchurch Civic Creche child abuse case – shot straight into the top 10 New Zealand books on the Booksellers’ best-seller list on release in October. It was lauded by reviewers as one of the most important books published in New Zealand, as waiting lists for the book formed at Christchurch libraries.

By November several of our top legal figures were endorsing Hood’s findings of serious flaws in the judicial procedures which found Peter Ellis guilty, and were backing her demands for not only a pardon for Ellis but an inquiry into the justice system per se.

However, a spokesperson for Justice minister Phil Goff said Goff hadn’t and was unlikely to read the book. Goff had previously said he was satisfied no further action was needed.

Hood labelled Goff’s stance “moral cowardice”. She has been frustrated at how state broadcasting media “haven’t touched the book – which is very odd given the importance print media has given it”. She says it makes lip service of the government’s broadcasting policy “to fully deal with political and social debate”.

Hood has finally been relaxing a little, enjoying time in her Dunedin garden, after the years of all-encompassing work the book involved. And she’s started her next “more lightweight” writing project, despite swearing she would never write another book after the tribulations of A City Possessed.