Gulf Harbour author Robyn Cotton is preparing to launch the third novel in her Hauraki Gulf Crime Series, following The Jibe (2024) and The Boat Shed (2025). The series follows Auckland Maritime Police detective Frank Smythe.
Robyn and her husband Geoff have lived in Gulf Harbour for eight years, keeping their Beneteau 390 yacht, Sano Diyo, at the marina. The Hauraki Gulf, remains a major inspiration for her writing.
Her writing career began with A Skylark Flies, inspired by a personal experience and developed through a creative writing course. Following her diagnosis with early-onset Parkinson’s disease, she wrote Mary & Me; Two Women with Parkinson’s Disease Two Hundred Years Apart to inform and encourage others living with the disease. She then turned to crime fiction with The Jibe, introducing detectives Frank Smythe and Anahera Raupara. Reader demand led to The Boat Shed, and her latest novel, Dead Adrift, is due for release in October.
A keen mystery reader, Robyn says crime writing offered a new cognitive challenge. Her love of sailing and deep knowledge of the Hauraki Gulf provide rich material for her stories. She credits Maritime Police vessel Deodar III with inspiring Frank Smythe and is grateful to the Maritime Police for allowing her access to their headquarters and vessel for research.
Each book draws on real-life experiences and issues. Robyn’s novels are known for credible plots, realistic characters and a strong Kiwi flavour, brought to life through their distinctive Hauraki Gulf setting.
As an independent author, she admits she finds marketing the most challenging aspect of publishing. You can buy books via her website: www.hatheropbooks.wordpresscom
