Paul Cleave (born 10 December 1974) is a crime fiction author from

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

Life

Paul Cleave is an internationally bestselling author who is currently dividing his time between his home city of

Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon Rive ...

, New Zealand, where all of his novels are set, and Europe. His work has been translated into 18 languages. He has won the

Ngaio Marsh Award The Ngaio Marsh Awards (formerly Ngaio Marsh Award), popularly called the Ngaios, are literary awards presented annually in New Zealand to recognise excellence in crime fiction, mystery, and thriller writing. The Awards were established by jour ...

for best crime novel in New Zealand three times, he won the Saint-Maur book festival's crime novel of the year in France, has been shortlisted for the Edgar Award and the Barry Award in the US, and shortlisted for the

Ned Kelly Award The Ned Kelly Awards (named for bushranger Ned Kelly) are Australia's leading literary awards for crime writing in both the crime fiction and true crime genres. They were established in 1996 by the Crime Writers Association of Australia to rewar ...

in Australia.

Writing

His first published novel, ''The Cleaner'', was released by

Random House Random House is an American book publisher and the largest general-interest paperback publisher in the world. The company has several independently managed subsidiaries around the world. It is part of Penguin Random House, which is owned by Germ ...

in 2006 and became an international best-seller with sales exceeding 500,000. It was the top-selling crime/thriller title for 2007 on Amazon in Germany. It was also shortlisted for the

Ned Kelly Awards The Ned Kelly Awards (named for bushranger Ned Kelly) are Australia's leading literary awards for crime writing in both the crime fiction and true crime genres. They were established in 1996 by the Crime Writers Association of Australia to rewar ...

for Crime Writing. In September 2009, Cleave's novel ''Cemetery Lake'' was published in the United Kingdom by Arrow Books. When talking about setting his books in Christchurch in an article in '' Crime Time'' magazine, Cleave said: "Christchurch is a great setting for crime – it has two sides to it, there's the picture perfect setting you see on postcards everywhere, but there's also a dark, Gotham City feel here which has, sadly, turned this city into the murder capital of New Zealand. I love making Christchurch a character for the books, creating an 'alternate' version of the city, where the main character often muses that 'Christchurch is broken'." His fourth novel, ''Blood Men'', was released in February 2010. In 2011, Paul was nominated as a finalist in the Ngaio Marsh Best Crime Novel Award, alongside fellow authors,

Neil Cross Neil Cross ( Neil Claude Gadd; born 9 February 1969) is a British novelist and scriptwriter, best known as the creator of the drama series ''Luther'' and ''Hard Sun''. He is also the showrunner for the TV adaptation of '' The Mosquito Coast'', ...

, Paddy Richardson, and Greg Mckee aka

Alix Bosco Greg McGee is a New Zealand writer and playwright, who also writes crime fiction under the pseudonym Alix Bosco. Biography McGee was born in 1950 in the South Island town of Oamaru. In his early 20s McGee played rugby as a Junior All Black and ...

. Cleave won the award for the book ''Blood Men'', which was published in 2010. His fifth novel, entitled ''Collecting Cooper'' (2011), is again set in his home town of

(the setting for all his novels) and sees the return of Theodore Tate, who was introduced in ''Cemetery Lake''. His sixth novel, ''The Laughterhouse'' (2012), features Theodore Tate tracking down a crime that started 15 years earlier when he was a rookie officer. His seventh novel, ''Joe Victim'' (2013), features Joe Middleton (from ''The Cleaner'') and follows his story from the moment that ''The Cleaner'' ends. His eighth novel, ''Five Minutes Alone'' (2014), features former Detective Carl Schroeder and Theodore Tate locking horns in a cat and mouse chase to find a killer who is allowing rape victims to exact revenge on their attackers. ''Trust No One'' is a stand alone novel featuring a retired crime writer, Jerry Grey, who has developed Alzheimers. He confesses to crimes that he wrote about - but the lines between what happened in his books and what is happening start to blur. ''A Killer Harvest'' follows the story of Joshua who receives an eye transplant after his fathers dies. He has been blind from birth but due to a medical mishap, he receives two different eyes, and learns about a thing call cellular memory. He can see images and memories from two different people - his father and a killer.

Bibliography

Joe Middleton novels

The books focus on Joe Middleton, a serial killer who works as a janitor for the Christchurch police department. * 2006: ''The Cleaner'' * 2013: ''Joe Victim''

Theodore Tate novels

* 2008: ''Cemetery Lake'' * 2011: ''Collecting Cooper'' * 2012: ''The Laughterhouse'' * 2014: ''Five Minutes Alone'' * 2022: ''The Pain Tourist''

Standalone novels

* 2007: ''The Killing Hour'' * 2010: ''Blood Men'' * 2015: ''Trust No One'' * 2017: ''A Killer Harvest'' * 2019: ''Whatever It Takes'' * 2021: ''The Quiet People''

Reviews

"Most people come back from New Zealand talking about the breathtaking scenery and the amazing experiences. I came back raving about Paul Cleave. These are stories that you won’t forget in a while: relentlessly gripping, deliciously twisted and shot through with a vein of humour that’s as dark as hell. Cleave creates fictional monsters as chilling and as charming as any I’ve ever come across. Anyone who likes their crime fiction on the black and bloody side should move Paul Cleave straight to the top of their must-read list."

Mark Billingham Mark may refer to: Currency * Bosnia and Herzegovina convertible mark, the currency of Bosnia and Herzegovina * East German mark, the currency of the German Democratic Republic * Estonian mark, the currency of Estonia between 1918 and 1927 * Fin ...

, award-winning crime writer “...an eccentric, intriguing and rather gory story." – Alison Pressley, '' Good Reading'' “Cleave also has an excellent ability to keep the surprises coming as the book unfolds, and at the same time has carefully and cleverly mapped out the journey of a criminally insane mind unravelling." – Lucy Clark, '' Sunday Telegraph'' "Paul Cleave... is a talent to watch" – ''

The Courier-Mail ''The Courier-Mail'' is an Australian newspaper published in Brisbane. Owned by News Corp Australia, it is published daily from Monday to Saturday in tabloid format. Its editorial offices are located at Bowen Hills, in Brisbane's inner northe ...

'' “It's an exceptional debut by young New Zealand writer Paul Cleave whose concept of telling a story from a mass murderer's viewpoint is compelling." – Ray Chesterton, ''Saturday Daily Telegraph'' "Cleave's writing is uncompromising, unpredictable, and enthralling... Made me vomit – seriously, it's that good" – Jack Heath, author, ''THE LAB'' "...an impressive novel from a talented writer..." Craig Sisterson, ''Good Reading'' "If ever a debut novel deserved the description of 'a tour de force', THE CLEANER by New Zealander Paul Cleave is it.", Denise Pickles, Mary Martin Books, Australia.Mary Martin website.

References

External links

Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cleave, Paul New Zealand male novelists New Zealand crime fiction writers People from Christchurch 1974 births Living people 21st-century New Zealand novelists 21st-century New Zealand male writers