Hello, my dear Frankies!
Isn’t it incredible how many creative people we have living right here in Franklin? I’m constantly amazed that I can have lived here for so long, and even grown up here, and still discover brilliant new artists, singers, authors, photographers and makers almost every week.
This week’s feature is on Waiuku mystery writer Naomi Kuttner, whose books are being read all around the world and have received tens of thousands of ratings on Goodreads. I’ve just finished the first book in her Retired Assassin’s Guide series, and I’m already excited to start the next one.
And in a very Franklin illustration of just how small our small towns can be, I also recently realised that Naomi’s dad was the doctor when I was born at Pukekohe Hospital. How cool is that?
It did get me thinking, though. How many other wonderfully talented people are tucked away across Franklin, quietly creating incredible things? And who do you know who deserves a little more local love?
Reply to this email and tell me about your favourite local artists, writers, musicians, photographers and makers. I’d love to start shining a light on even more of them.
I’ll see ya out there!
R. and the Frankie team xx
P.S. We’re almost at the end of our Japan adventure! We’ll be back in Franklin in just three weeks, and we cannot wait to visit all our favourite local spots again. ♥
The Waiuku writer putting murder, ghosts and small-town New Zealand on bookshelves around the world!
Dante Reid has moved to the small coastal town of Te Kohe for one reason: to disappear. After a career involving rather more dead bodies than he would like to discuss, the retired assassin wants a quiet garden, a private life and absolutely no involvement in anyone else’s problems.
Unfortunately, small towns are not particularly good at leaving newcomers alone...
Te Kohe may be fictional, but its creator is very real and very local. Naomi Kuttner is a writer, mum and, as she puts it, “Waiuku local from way back” whose super original Retired Assassin’s Guide series is taking the beaches, gardens, cafés, chip shops and curious characters of small-town New Zealand to readers around the world ♥
Naomi has loved mysteries since she was a child, beginning with the adventures of the Famous Five and Sherlock Holmes before moving on to Agatha Christie, Dorothy Sayers, Alexander McCall Smith, Laurie R. King and urban-fantasy writer Ben Aaronovitch.
The first novels she wrote were urban fantasy, but the idea for a mystery began forming during a particularly exhausting chapter of her own life.
“When my twins were born, I started reading The Thursday Murder Club at 3am, or 4am, or 2am, or whenever I got woken up,” Naomi says. “It was a combination of ‘I’d like to write a mystery’ and ‘I need an outlet for my murderous impulses.’”
And so, The Retired Assassin’s Guide to Country Gardening began.
So the retired assassin and the ghosts came first. Then Naomi needed somewhere to put them. She knew she wanted Dante’s story to take place in New Zealand, even though she was advised to choose somewhere more central and recognisable to international readers, such as the United Kingdom.
“Glad I didn’t change my mind,” she says.
That decision has become one of the series’ greatest strengths. Te Kohe does not feel like a generic little town that could exist anywhere. It has a gorgeous New Zealand heart, shaped by Naomi’s memories of the country she grew up in.
“When I started writing, I had this huge nostalgia for the New Zealand I grew up in,” she says. “The endless beaches, the cafés, the chip shops, the rivers and the mountains. I wanted to bring that all into the story.”
While Te Kohe is not simply Waiuku renamed, Franklin locals may recognise a few familiar ingredients. Naomi admits the Kentish Hotel has found its way into the fictional town, along with the wild West Coast and the particular closeness of small-town life. She has also borrowed pieces from Raglan and Russell, two of her favourite coastal towns.
The result is a place that feels familiar without being an exact copy of anywhere: a town where people know one another, news travels quickly and nobody can be entirely sure what their neighbours are getting up to.
And that, of course, makes it an excellent place for murder.
“You never know what goes on in small towns. I’ve heard some stories,” Naomi says. “My lawyer would like me to say that any resemblance to real people is entirely coincidental.”
She pauses before adding, “Actually, I don’t have a lawyer, but it makes you think, right?”
The humour running through Naomi’s interview is also threaded through her books. The series takes the comforting ingredients readers love about cosy mysteries, including close communities, recurring characters, amateur investigations and a mystery that can be neatly unravelled, and adds a hero whose previous occupation was anything but cosy.
Dante has come to Te Kohe wanting peace, privacy and a new life. Instead, the town steadily draws him in, surrounding him with people, problems and relationships he never intended to have. Beneath the murders and paranormal mischief is a story about belonging and the way a community can make room for someone, even when that person is doing his best to avoid it.
The first book, The Retired Assassin’s Guide to Country Gardening, was followed by The Retired Assassin’s Guide to Orchid Hunting (book two is next on my reading list!). Naomi is now working on the third instalment, The Retired Assassin’s Guide to Amateur Theatrics, which brings the drama of a local production of Macbeth to Te Kohe.
The books may feel unmistakably New Zealand, but their readers are spread much further afield.
“I was surprised how many people in the USA really loved it,” Naomi says. “I get emails from people all over the States now, as well as cat photos and book club photos. It’s great.”
Some of the most meaningful messages, however, have come from people who discovered the books during difficult periods in their lives.
“People write in to say the books have helped them through really stressful times,” she says. “I think that’s what cosy mysteries are about. You get to escape and enjoy solving a mystery for a few hours, and hopefully return to real life with your faith in humanity somewhat bolstered.”
That ability to offer readers a place to escape may be part of what makes the genre so enduring. There is a murder to solve and danger to confront, but there is also the reassuring sense that order can be restored, people can surprise us with their goodness and even a retired assassin might find a community worth belonging to.
Naomi’s own writing days are less country gardens and peaceful cups of tea, and more a constant negotiation between creativity and family life.
“Everyday life is a combination of child wrangling and writing,” she says. “That’s about all there’s time for.”
Still, somewhere among parenting twins and the demands of ordinary life, she has created an entire town filled with ghosts, gardeners, amateur actors, secrets and suspicious deaths, and found readers thousands of kilometres from the place that helped inspire it.
For local readers picking up one of her books, Naomi hopes the experience is simple: “A fun read and a new appreciation for not getting away with murder.”
As for what comes next, Dante’s adventures do not appear to be ending anytime soon. Naomi is currently finishing book three and suspects there may be more stories in the pipeline.
Her own immediate plans after finally hitting publish are considerably less murderous.
“A glass of vino and a good eight hours’ sleep,” she says. “I hope.”
Make sure you follow our own cosy mystery author
Love a good mystery?
☕ Follow our local mystery writer, Naomi Kuttner, on Facebook and Instagram for book news, behind-the-scenes updates and more from Te Kohe.
📚 Keep up to date with all her books on her website!
🔎 You can explore Naomi’s books and find the Amazon links here.
slatoca notw
Unscramble the letters above to find the Franklin-related phrase! Answer at the bottom of the newsletter!
Calling all Franklin artists!
Applications are open to join the Franklin Arts Trail 2026, a brilliant opportunity to connect with other local artists and share your work with the community. Complete the online form by 3 August to take part.
Help Finding Franklin Bats capture our critically endangered long-tailed bats on camera! Vote for EcoQuest Centre for Indigeneity, Ecology and Creativity in the Environment category of the Canon Grants by 5pm Wednesday 29 July to help fund camera and printing equipment for this important local conservation project.
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Thursday
🧠 Thursday Quiz Night Pukekohe Golf Club, 6.30–8.30pm. Test your general knowledge at this weekly quiz night. More info here
🎱 Housie 78 Nelson Street, Pukekohe, 11am–1pm. Join in for a fun morning of housie with the local community. Check it out!
🍸 Cocktail Happy Hour Little Ed, Pukekohe, 6–7pm. All your favourite cocktails, just a little bit cheaper!
Friday
🎨 Watercolour & Ink Pen Workshop with K Chase Artist Artist Alcove, Waiuku, 10.20am. Create a clover and butterfly artwork step by step in a relaxed small class with all materials provided — no experience needed, $50pp, booking essential. All the details here
Saturday
🛍️ Tuakau Community Market Central Park (corner of George St & Jellicoe Ave), Tuakau, 9am–1pm. Browse local stalls at this friendly community market.
🖼️ Mid Winter Artisan Market Franklin Arts Centre, Pukekohe, 9.30am. Discover handmade goods from local artisans at this cosy winter market. More info here
🔧 Repair Cafe Waiuku Zero Waste, 10am. Bring along your broken items and get them fixed rather than binned. Check it out!
🕺 Coloured Brushes & Bhangra Beats Pukekohe Intermediate School, 10.30am–12.30pm. The Franklin Indian Cultural Club and Little Picasso team up for a FREE morning of art classes and Bhangra dancing for kids — registration essential as spaces are limited. All the details here
💆 Myofascial Release for Everyday Pain Seminar Living Being Well, 14 Nelson Street, Pukekohe, 2pm. Learn practical techniques to ease everyday aches and pains. More info here
🎵 Sonic Boom – A Concert for Kids PIA Events Centre, 6pm. A fun, high-energy concert made just for the little ones. Check it out!
🏑 Kohekohe Hockey Club Quiz Fundraiser Waiuku Cossie Club, 6.30pm. Support Waiuku's local hockey club at their quiz night — email admin@kkhc.co.nz or phone/text Jeanette on 027 553 5002 to book your table.
Sunday
🥕 Franklin Country Market Pukekohe Park Raceway, 8am. An UpMarket experience with homegrown produce, handmade crafts, antiques, food trucks, live music and car boot bargains. All the details here
🧘 Sunday Stretch Sessions RxFitness235, 42 Belgium St, Waiuku, 9am. A 45-minute guided stretch session with The Stretch Collective — booking required. Check it out!
🚣 Learn to Row Mercer Rowing Club, 10am. A FREE five-week introduction to rowing for Franklin students in Year 9 and up, starting with this orientation session — email bevan.cameron@heb.co.nz to register.
monday
🏃 The Wellness Run Club Your Local Coffee, West Street, Pukekohe, 5.45am. A 5km loop to start your week right — all levels welcome.
🍳 Good Food, Bright Minds Cafe Queen, Waiuku, 7–9am. Cafe Queen and Sanctuary Retreat team up every Monday during term time to give Waiuku school kids a nourishing brekky.
🧠 Monday Quiz Night The Good Home, 65 Edinburgh Street, Pukekohe, 7pm. Gather your team for a fun night of trivia — booking recommended.
Tuesday
🤝 Lunch & Leverage Pukekohe Appetite, Pukekohe, 11.30am–1.30pm. A networking lunch designed for real connections, with practical growth strategies from guest speaker Sarah Davies of Sweet Spot Business Coaching — strictly limited to 40 seats. All the details here
🎨 Painting Club Franklin Arts Centre, 6–8pm. Bring whatever you're working on for two hours of dedicated painting time and connect with other local artists — term time only.
👟 STRIDE TRIBE Run Club 21 Martyn Street, Waiuku, 7pm. A fun, free and pressure-free 3km walk or run — go at your own pace, everyone welcome! More info here
Wednesday
📚 Anti-Social Social Club for Teens Pukekohe Library, 12 Massey Avenue, 3.30pm. A safe and inclusive after-school hangout where teens can be as social (or not!) as they like, with fun activities each week. Check it out!
🔥 Fire Station Run Club Fire Station Eatery, Pukekohe, 5.30pm. Choose the 2.5km or 5km option, with spot prizes and bar menu discounts afterwards.
🍻 Malt N Steel Quiz Night Malt N Steel, Waiuku, 7pm. Grab a team of 2–8 and battle it out for prizes — book now! All the details here
🎶 Beats by Bingo Little Ed, Pukekohe, 7.30pm. Music-themed bingo for a fun midweek night out. More info here
Word Scramble answer: Coastal Town
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