So Brilliantly Clever: Parker, Hulme and the Murder that Shocked the World

Awa Press reports:

Last night a large space on the ground floor of Wellington Central Library was cleared to accommodate an unprecedented crowd who had turned up to hear Peter Graham speak about his new book, So Brilliantly Clever: Parker, Hulme and the Murder that Shocked the World. By 6pm with over 150 people present it was standing-room only. For over an hour and a half the spellbound audience listened to Graham describe the fascinating real-life events surrounding the 1954 murder of Honorah Parker in Christchurch by her teenage daughter Pauline and Pauline’s friend Juliet Hulme.

Graham then responded to numerous questions from the floor, including one from a retired policeman who wondered if Graham knew what had happened to the murder weapon. There was, Graham said, an unconfirmed report the half-brick had been used for some time as a paperweight on a detective’s desk in the Christchurch police station.

Afterwards, there was a long queue of people wanting Graham to sign the book, and, as commonly happens in his talks, a number turned out to have a long-term interest in or connection with the case. One woman showed Graham a caricature she had drawn of him during the talk.

So Brilliantly Clever, published by Awa Press in November, sold out before Christmas and an urgent reprint is now hitting bookstores. It was selected as one of the best books of the year by the Listener, Sunday Star-Times and Dominion Post and has been optioned for a television drama.

Photo courtesy Wellington Public Library.