Cemetery Lake

My husband and I lived in Christchurch in 2006, and Paul Cleave perfectly captures the atmosphere of the city. I'm a huge mystery fan, and I look forward to more from Mr. Cleave.

If you like your crime fiction dark, you'll love Paul Cleave. His third Christchurch-set novel begins with private eye Theo Tate graveside, holding a front row ticket to an exhumation - courtesy of his former police colleagues being too busy chasing the Christchurch Carver, the grisly serial killer from Cleave's debut, THE CLEANER. Tate's simple task evaporates when three bodies bubble up from the cemetery lake, followed by the coffin revealing the wrong occupant - more Carver victims, or a second psychopath on the loose? Sucked into a vortex of stolen evidence, police accusations, suspicious priests, the sins of his own past, suicide and murder, Tate gradually devolves into a horrific version of himself. CEMETERY LAKE is an impressive novel from a talented writer. Mixing pitch-black humour with compelling characters, Cleave entices the reader to follow Tate through even the worst acts and most outlandish places. He evokes a dark version of Christchurch, giving the setting a character-like shadow; a city full of gardens and glue-sniffers, of long-held secrets and closeted debauchery hidden behind Victorian architecture and suburban doors. Cosy-only mystery fans beware. But for everyone else, the pages will whir as Cleave pulls you hurtling through to the end. And then you'll want more.