Book written in collaboration with Nicola McCloy.
I had always watched the TV series ‘Sensing Murder NZ’ since my late teens. Once I realised the production team had co-written a book about the show, highlighting certain cold cases, I knew I had to read it. However, obtaining a copy now (2026) was difficult. I was lucky to buy a used copy online. It was a little battered, so I decided to highlight it. That developed into a YouTube reading vlog (broken up into parts) and these written blog posts.
20th January 2026
Having already started reading three books that month, I started wandering down the true crime rabbit hole again. This is normal for me and my reading; it happens often. If you aren’t aware of the TV series ‘Sensing Murder NZ.’ The New Zealand TV series first aired 21 years ago (2005) when writing this review. There was an Australian series under the same name roughly two years earlier. As I read further, a Ninox Television member says that, despite the Australian series airing under the same name, there’s no connection. It was actually a Danish TV show that Ninox states inspired the idea for the New Zealand series. Not to say to viewers that they should or shouldn’t believe in the work of the physics, but according to the production company, the reason why the show got greenlit was the idea of getting coldcases back into the public eye in the hope new clues and possibly new witnesses would come forward to move the case forward or even reopen a case to be reinvestigated.
The Book!
The book was first published when Ninox Television aired Season 3 of the show, which was roughly 18 years ago (2008), when I am writing this. Plus, at that time, I was in New Zealand with my family for a funeral. Looking back on that now as an adult, it’s very strange.
At the time, with psychics Kelvin Krookshank, Sue Nicholson, and Deb Webber, there were three regulars selected to look at particular cold cases. The program, to this day, has created controversy, but the question I want you to consider is, can you ignore the power of the media? At the very least, it will get people talking about the cases among themselves. Think about (here in the UK) Crimewatch UK/Crimewatch Live and the impact that it has had on the public. I have no doubt ‘Sensing Murder NZ’ does the same, that’s the very least.
Regardless of whether or not you believe in psychic phenomena or not, I certainly wouldn’t have been aware of these cases if it were not for the TV series existence. I’m not saying I don’t believe in psychic phenomena; I’m not saying I do. In my opinion, I am on the fence; some things I believe happen, and others I think are nonsense. As I mentioned, the TV series first aired in New Zealand twenty-one years ago (2005). Who would have thought two new seasons would air eight years after the final series (2018)? That’s exactly what happened. Here in the UK, I know of only a few places you can watch the program. The odd episode sometimes appears on YouTube; you can watch it on Amazon Prime, or I recommend Pluto TV (completely free, but you must create an account). Whilst the odd episode of the Australian series is available on YouTube (UK), I have yet to find a platform where I can watch a full season of the program, first airing Down Under twenty-two years ago (2004).
“The connection was unnerving[…]I think sums up much of what happens regarding Sensing Murder” ( Sensing Murder, Introduction, PAGE 6).
The crew would be there throughout. The fact that the show’s producer and director describe the psychic readings as unnerving, and don’t immediately state whether they are sceptics, wasn’t the overall aim. Producers and the director wanted a television show that was engaging without compromising future prosecutions, which is why show creators always consulted a lawyer when filming the ‘Sensing Murder NZ’ series. This reminded me of the ‘Cold Justice TNT (now Oxygen)’ TV series (USA), where they have former lawyers and lawenforcement officers investigate cold cases in a span of seven days. Very similar in a strange way, but ‘Cold Justice’ nearly always has certain suspects already, and rarely do they not uncover a case where a suspect is unknown – completely the opposite of ‘Sensing Murder.’