Crime wave to strike Hamilton in February!

The programme for the 2012 Waikato Times Hamilton Garden Arts Festival has just been announced, and I'm very pleased to share that the organisers have picked up on the quality and growth of New Zealand crime writing, and have included what should be a terrific crime writing event.

The Waikato Times Hamilton Garden Arts Festival runs for the last couple of weeks of February, and consists of many terrific events, ranging from visual arts to music, comedy, film, theatre, dance, food and wine, and books. Held during what is often the best time of the New Zealand summer, it should be great.

There are four literary/books events at next year's festival, including a crime writing one. I say crime writing because it's a bit of a double header event, covering both true crime writing and crime fiction, with five fantastic New Zealand writers in attendance. At only $10 to attend, it's a complete steal. Here's the line-up of writers for the event:

Crime Writers
"Delve into the mind of crime"

Scott Bainbridge
New Zealand law means that all unsolved murder files are inaccessible for a period of 70 years. Even after this period, restricted access is rarely given. Bainbridge has been given unprecedented access to the police files for ten of New Zealand¹s most baffling unsolved murders.

Joan Rosier-Jones
In Joan's latest book, market gardener Chow Yat, lives on the outskirts of Whanganui in post-WWI New Zealand, a time of particularly rampant xenophobia. In 1922 this humble, hardworking Chinese man was brutally shot and the murder remained unsolved. Through sound enquiry Rosier-Jones single-handedly all but solves the case.

Ben Sanders
At 20 years of age, Ben Sanders fascination with crime fiction has paid off having just signed a two-book contract with HarperCollins Publishers. Ben's sophisticated and edgy writing style signals the emergence of a major new talent.

Vanda Symon
Vanda is the author of the Sam Shephard detective fiction series. Her latest novel Bound, went straight to number one in the New Zealand bestsellers lists.

Paul Cleave
At 24 Paul wrote The Killing Hour. A year later he wrote The Cleaner. In 2006, six years after it was written, The Cleaner was published. It became one of the biggest selling books ever to come out of New Zealand, picking up several international contracts within it's first year and introducing Joe, the 'loveable' serial killer who works at the Christchurch Police Department.

The Crime Writers event will be held at 5pm on Sunday 19 February 2012 at the Garden Terrace restaurant. Penny's Bookstore will be selling a range of the writers' books at the event.

Hope to see some of the North Island-based Crime Watch readers and crime fiction fans there on the night. Should be a great evening! Thanks to the organisers of the 2012 Waikato Times Hamilton Garden Arts Festival for embracing local crime writing in such a great way.

A nationwide crime spree: my tiki tour of New Zealand crime fiction for New Zealand Author magazine (full online version)

a nationwide crime spree

there’s been a noticeable growth in locally-written crime fiction in recent years. Craig Sisterson surveys the landscape from north to south, looking at the emerging hotspots

When the four finalists for the 2011 Ngaio Marsh Award for Best Crime Novel gathered in Christchurch recently for the well-attended “Setting the Stage for Murder” event, not only did they represent some of the best examples of contemporary Kiwi-written crime fiction, but also its geographic spread across the country: Alix Bosco (revealed as playwright and screenwriter Greg McGee) from Auckland, Neil Cross from Wellington, winner Paul Cleave of Christchurch, and Paddy Richardson from Dunedin.

From Northland to Southland and everywhere in between, it’s becoming clear that more and more we have a number of local storytellers who are capable of weaving top quality tales of mystery, murder, and mayhem. Writers who have something interesting to offer readers, here and abroad, who enjoy this most thrilling (and globally popular) of genres.

As can be seen, there’s a diverse array of storytelling, setting, and styles on offer – something for everyone, reading-wise – as we take a little ‘tiki tour’ around the country.

An archaeological dig amongst the beauty of the Kaipara Harbour was the setting for Waiheke Island resident Dorothy Fowler’s intriguing debut mystery What Remains Behind (Black Swan, 2009). Switching narratives between the sabotage-affected modern-day dig and diary entries detailing events prior to a 120-year-old tragedy, Fowler also evokes a good sense of rural small town Northland, then and now. Just down the road in Mangawhai, travel specialist and former journalist Roy Vaughan has also recently debuted on New Zealand bookshelves with The Mereleigh Record Club Tour of New Zealand (Eloquent Books, 2009), which centres on a group of 60-somethings who unwittingly get caught up with an international drug ring, and a police and customs sting, as they tour New Zealand trying to recapture the rock’n’roll days of their youth.

Gulf Harbour resident Michael Green is partway through penning a page-turning thriller trilogy focused on a small group of survivors of a global pandemic. The second instalment, Blood Bond (Arrow, 2009), is set locally, and in England and on the high seas and countries in between, and Green is currently working on the third book in the series.

Overseas, many the career of a bestselling crime writer has had as its spine the creation and crafting of an intriguing hero (or two) capable can carrying an ongoing series. Readers will follow a beloved character as much (if not more) than an author. As such, it’s been terrific to see two fascinating local protagonists emerge over the past couple of years in nascent but promising series set in our biggest and most cosmopolitan city. First, we were introduced to middle-aged legal researcher Anna Markunas in Cut & Run (Penguin, 2009), a terrific thriller kickstarted by the tabloid fodder murder of a famed rugby player while in the arms of a high-profile socialite. Markunas is a terrific creation; a troubled but likeable heroine, filled with inner conflict, contradictions, doubts and authentic emotions. Combined with Bosco/McGee’s vivid and pacy storytelling, and great touch for the Auckland setting (the glitz-gilded grittiness of the CBD to the ‘mean streets’ of the southern suburbs), it’s easy to see why Cut & Run was praised by Scottish crime fiction star Val McDermid at an event last year, and went on to win the inaugural Ngaio Marsh Award in November 2010. Markunas continued to develop as a fascinating and complex heroine in Slaughter Falls (Penguin, 2010), a finalist for the 2011 award, and readers will be hopeful the series continues in coming years.

Last year also saw the introduction of Detective Sergeant Sean Devereaux, the main character in local wunderkind Ben Sanders’ The Fallen (HarperCollins, 2010), which sat atop the bestseller list for several weeks and was one of the biggest-selling New Zealand books of 2010, and By Any Means (HarperCollins, 2011). Devereux is an enigmatic, intriguing hero, and his narration is peppered with pithy comments, asides, and observations. The talented Sanders, a 21 year old uni student, has a punchy, crisp prose style, and a good touch for both pace and ‘telling details’ that give you a great sense of character and place. Like Bosco/McGee, he evokes Auckland well as a gritty backdrop to his thrillers, providing international quality crime fiction in a decidedly local setting, with bodies found in Albert Park, motorway car chases, and drive-by shootings in the CBD.

The regions between our biggest city and our capital city currently provide slimmer pickings when it comes to contemporary crime fiction, despite what would seem like a plethora of intriguing landscapes, geographic and demographic, and issues that could provide great fodder and colour for a well-told thriller story. Back in the day, Dame Ngaio Marsh even brought her English gentleman detective Inspector Alleyn to the volcanic plateau in Colour Scheme (1943), a murder mystery tinged with war intrigue.

Nowadays, one pleasing exception to the central North Island crime fiction drought is Palmerston North teacher Ken Benn, who has begun a young adult thriller series with Lethal Deliveries (Penguin, 2010), an exciting tale of sports-loving teenagers who get caught up in the world of gangs and drug dealing. Shortlisted for the LIANZA Young Adult Fiction Award this year, Benn’s debut bluntly addresses the tough circumstances and troubling issues some Kiwi kids face, leaving readers on tenterhooks for book two.

The capital’s king of contemporary crime fiction is undoubtedly acclaimed screenwriter and novelist Neil Cross, who from his home in the Wellington suburbs has penned a number of terrific psychological thrillers, as well as creating the award-winning BBC TV crime drama Luther, starring Idris Elba (The Wire) in the titular role. While Cross sets his crime stories, books and TV, in his native Britain rather than his adopted home, he is a key part of the local crime fiction landscape: a twice finalist for the Ngaio Marsh Award (for Burial (Simon & Schuster, 2009) and Captured (Simon and Schuster, 2010)); a popular speaker at various arts and books festivals here and abroad; and serving as an example that New Zealand-based writers can succeed on the world stage.

Cross is a master of brooding, slightly off-kilter tales in bleak yet menacing settings populated with characters neither starkly good nor evil, but smudged shades of grey. Although his novel Always the Sun, a frightening tale of the steps a gentle man takes after learning his child is being bullied, was longlisted for the 2004 Booker Prize, Cross has said that he is continually irritated and baffled by the idea that books labelled ‘literary’ are often considered superior or “more important” than books labelled ‘popular’ or ‘genre’ fiction, regardless of quality. “All that’s important is that I tell an interesting and engrossing story,” he says. Books can delve into a variety of deep themes, and should be informed by a writer’s views and how they see the world, but such complexity and insights “should come through the telling of the story” – something done very well by the best crime fiction writers here and overseas– rather than being “stapled onto the book”.

Last year, TV writer-producer Donna Malane joined Cross in the Wellington crime writers’ fraternity when her debut novel Surrender (NZSA, 2010) was published to good reviews after winning the NZSA-Pindar Publishing Prize. Powered by a vivid and captivating narrative voice (first person, through the eyes of heroine Dianne Rowe), Surrender has an absorbing mystery storyline as Rowe delves into the seedy underbelly of Wellington; a drug-fuelled world of strip clubs, sex workers, and hidden dangers.

Earlier this year, Upper Hutt author Cat Connor added to her series starring FBI Agent Ellie Conway, available in e-book form from the likes of Amazon and iTunes, with an exciting third instalment, Exacerbyte, which brings Conway and her colleagues to New Zealand, on the trail of an elusive child trafficker. Wellington is also home to maritime expert Joan Druett, who has marvelously combined mystery and history in four novels and several short stories starring her part-Maori seaman Wiki Coffin.

Heading across the Cook Strait to the sun-drenched Top of the South brings us to horse-loving poet, playwright, and children’s author Lindy Kelly’s debut adult thriller Bold Blood (HarperCollins, 2009). The Nelsonian’s tale of assaults, arsons, horse theft and murder set in the high stakes world of horse breeding proved popular with readers, and hit #1 on the local bestseller list. Nelson is also home to iconic New Zealand author Maurice Gee, who over the decades has penned dozens of beloved tales, ranging from children’s to adult, fantasy to realism, and the occasional dip or two into psychological crime and thriller with the likes of In My Father’s Den and Crime Story. His latest (and perhaps last) adult novel, Access Road (Viking, 2009) scratches at the surface of a fictionalised West Auckland, revealing the menace beneath the mundane as an elderly everywoman searches for the historic reasons behind her bedridden brother’s silence.

Down the (west) coast we find ourselves amongst some of New Zealand’s most spectacular scenery for former national park worker Trish McCormack’s debut mystery, Assigned to Murder (Poutini Press, 2009), which is being taken to the Frankfurt Book Fair this year. Glacier guide Philippa investigates the murder of her old flatmate in an intriguing mystery packed with complex human relationships and stunning landscapes.

Several modern-day New Zealand crime and thriller writers call Canterbury home, the most prominent of which is Paul Cleave, winner of the 2011 Ngaio Marsh Award for his fourth dark Christchurch-set thriller Blood Men (Random House, 2010). Cleave’s acclaimed locally-set and written crime novels have been translated into many languages, and appeared on bestseller lists in several countries, including Germany, France, and Turkey, selling several hundred thousand copies abroad. Like Dame Ngaio herself, Cleave is succeeding abroad as a crime writer while being somewhat overlooked or underappreciated by the wider books community here at home. And, like Cross, he is showing that New Zealand crime writers can excel on the world stage, and that we should not feel any ‘cultural cringe’ about our own writing. Recently, his fifth novel, Collecting Cooper (Atria, 2011), perhaps his best novel yet, became his second book published in the United States. It sees the return of former cop and private eye Theo Tate, who after being released from prison finds himself reluctantly on the trail of a dangerous killer, and a missing student. It’s easy to see why Cleave’s writing has attracted international attention: his vivid prose crackles with energy, his characters are compelling and complex, and he delves deeply into psychology and other issues while never taking his foot off the storytelling accelerator.

Joining Cleave in calling Canterbury home are contemporary thriller writers Steve Malley – Poison Door (Createspace, 2011), a gritty Christchurch-set thriller featuring a tough cop, a troubled teen, and a vicious drug kingpin, is now available on Kindle and Smashwords.com – and Grant Shanks. The latter writes thrillers under the name Andrew Grant, including the Ngaio Marsh Award longlisted spy tale Death in the Kingdom (Monsoon Books, 2007), and its sequel Singapore Sling Shot (Monsoon Books, 2009), both of which have recently become more readily available here in New Zealand.

Heading further south we find ourselves in another hotbed of contemporary Kiwi crime fiction, as several talented authors call Dunedin home; Vanda Symon, Paddy Richardson, Liam McIlvanney, and Andrew Porteous. Earlier this year Symon, a previous Ngaio Marsh Award finalist, released Bound (Penguin, 2011), the fourth and possibly best instalment yet in her acclaimed series starring Sam Shepard, who has risen through the police ranks from sole-charge Mataura cop in Overkill (Penguin, 2007) to put-upon junior detective for the Dunedin CID. Symon hasn’t yet been published as broadly as Cleave or Cross internationally, but her storytelling skills, snappy dialogue, vivid characters and settings, and flashes of humour have impressed readers and reviewers here and abroad.

Symon was joined in the Dunedin crime family by Paddy Richardson in 2008 (creepy psychological thriller A Year to Learn a Woman), recent Scottish immigrant Liam McIlvanney in 2009 (superlative thriller All the Colours of the Town, set amongst the sectarian violence of Glasgow and Belfast) and Andrew Porteous in 2010 (A Political Affair, which was published after winning a UK-based unpublished manuscript award, and introduced part Maori Dunedin detective Lachlan Doyle).

Clearly there’s something in the water down south. Richardson has also penned Hunting Blind – a superb tale melding family drama and psychological suspense as a woman tries to uncover what happened to her kid sister, many years go – and will soon have another book hitting shelves. Traces of Red, a psychological thriller centred on a failed TV journalist who believes a convicted triple murderer is innocent, is released in November. McIlvanney is also reportedly working on another thriller starring journalist Gerry Conway, and like himself, may even emigrate his hero to New Zealand in future.

Without a doubt, New Zealand crime fiction has experienced pleasing growth in recent times, numbers and quality-wise, thanks to the books and authors mentioned here, and a few more. The snowball has started rolling down the hill, and it will be fascinating to see just how big it can get, here and abroad, if local readers who enjoy a bit of mystery and thrills in their reading become more willing to discover the talents we have right here.

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Craig Sisterson writes for a variety of publications in several countries. He is the Judging Convenor of the Ngaio Marsh Award for Best Crime Novel, and the creator of Crime Watch, a website focused on New Zealand crime and thriller writing: http://www.goldenglobenominees.blogspot.com//.

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This article was first published in the October/November issue of New Zealand Author magazine, the official publication of the New Zealand Society of Authors. It is reprinted in full here with the kind permission of Editor Adrian Blackburn.

New Zealand crime fiction to be showcased at the 2012 New Zealand Arts Festival

Last month I shared that international crime stars Jo Nesbo and Denise Mina would be part of the 2012 New Zealand Arts Festival in Wellington next March. It's great to see New Zealand books and arts festivals including crime fiction amongst the literary content on offer. Now, I'm very pleased to be able to share that there will also be a New Zealand crime fiction event at the 2012 New Zealand Arts Festival.

Three terrific New Zealand crime writers will be part of the event; Vanda Symon, Paul Cleave, and Paul Thomas? What, you say - Paul Thomas? But he hasn't put a crime novel out in years. That's right - but in another piece of excellent news, the King of Kiwi crime writing during the late 1990s and early 2000s is making a welcome return to the page next year with DEATH ON DEMAND, his first Detective Ihaka tale in more than a decade (read more about Thomas's crime writing here).

Here's the official blurb for the New Zealand crime fiction event:

PAUL CLEAVE, PAUL THOMAS, VANDA SYMON
New Zealand crime fiction

Three of New Zealand’s best contemporary crime writers talk about mixing violence and humour, and bringing one of the world’s most popular forms of storytelling into a distinctly New Zealand setting.

Paul Cleave’s Christchurch-set thrillers have made bestseller lists and drawn critical acclaim around the world. His debut, The Cleaner, is one of the biggest selling novels ever to come out of New Zealand, and has been optioned for film adaptation. Blood Men, a novel about a man forced to confront his violent genealogy as he hunts his wife’s killers, won the Ngaio Marsh Award. Paul Thomas dragged local murder mysteries into modernity with several critically acclaimed thrillers in the late 1990s and early 2000s. His second Detective Ihaka tale, Inside Dope, won the inaugural Ned Kelly Award. After a decade-long hiatus, Thomas and Ihaka have returned with Death on Demand. Vanda Symon is the creator of the bestselling Sam Shephard series, set in Otago and Southland. A previous finalist for the Ngaio Marsh Award, her latest novel, The Faceless, is a standalone thriller told from multiple perspectives.

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There will be an official launch of the Writers and Readers week programme on 26 January, with tickets for all events going on sale on the 27th. Hope to see some of you there!

It's terrific to see more New Zealand books and arts festivals including crime fiction. I understand that there will also be New Zealand crime fiction events at several other festivals in 2012, including the Hamilton Garden Arts Festival early in the year, and the Christchurch Writers Festival in August/September. I haven't yet heard anything about the Auckland Readers and Writers Festival, but hopefully it too will include some crime fiction, international and/or local, in its 2012 line-up.

Booklover interview: Paul Cleave

Each week in the Herald on Sunday (one of the New Zealand publications I review crime fiction for), books editor Nicky Pellegrino includes a quickfire 'Booklover' interview with an author or other famous person - asking them about the books they're reading, their favourites of all time, and more.

This past weekend, along with my monthly round-up of crime fiction picks (read here), the Booklover interview was also crime fiction-centric, with 2011 Ngaio Marsh Award winner Paul Cleave sharing his thoughts on various books. Cleave's most recent novel, COLLECTING COOPER, was published in the USA a few months ago, and I understand has just been released in Germany under the title DIE TOTEN SAMMLER (and has already hit the bestseller list there).

In the interview Cleave shares that the book that changed him was MIND HUNTER by John Douglas, a former FBI criminal profiler. "He's the guy who helped create the FBI Behavioural Science Unit," says Cleave, who at the time was concentrating on horror fiction as a budding author. "I read that book about 12 years ago. This guy pointed out that the real horror is crime. I read his books and then wrote The Cleaner."

You can read Cleave's full Booklover interview, including comments on the books he loves most, is reading now, will read next, and more, on the Herald website here.

Vanda Symon reports on "Setting the Stage for Murder"

Last Sunday, the second-ever Ngaio Marsh Award for Best Crime Novel was presented in Christchurch, to Paul Cleave for his dark thriller set in a near-dystopian version of that very city, BLOOD MEN. The Award was part of "Setting the Stage for Murder", a fantastic event put on by the Christchurch Writers Festival, as part of the 2011 Christchurch Arts Festival. It was great to have so many crime writers, and readers, in one place - a rarity for New Zealand. The event had six authors on stage (internationals John Hart and Tess Gerritsen, followed by the four Ngaio Marsh Award finalists: Paul Cleave, Paddy Richardson, Neil Cross, and Alix Bosco/Greg McGee), and several others at the event, in the audience, and at the post-match lunch.

2010 finalist Vanda Symon came up from Dunedin for the day to support her fellow crime writers, 2011 longlistee Ben Sanders came down from Auckland (fellow longlistee Andrew Grant was also in the audience), and others from the books and writing world were also in the audience. It's great to see such support for locally-written crime fiction - hopefully things will get even bigger and better in future years.

Symon has today shared her own report of the big day. You can read it in full at her blog, Overkill, here.

The photo above was taken at the post-event lunch at Kate Sheppard house - quite possibly the most crime writers all in one place, ever, in New Zealand. Unfortunately Andrew Grant/grant Shanks, Alix Bosco/Greg McGee, and Ben Sanders had already left by the time this photo was taken, but it's still a fairly murderous line-up! Left to right: a bashful Neil Cross, Paul Cleave, Craig Sisterson (myself), Vanda Symon, Tess Gerritsen, Paddy Richardson, and John Hart. I must be the only one there that's not a serial killer (in a literary sense, I mean, of course). It was a terrific day, and hopefully is just the start of things to come.

Comments welcome.

Is Paul Cleave too dark for New Zealand bookstores?

It was great to see 2011 Ngaio Marsh Award winner Paul Cleave get some good coverage in yesterday's Herald on Sunday (see right). Cleave was interviewed by acclaimed author Nicky Pellegrino, who edits the books pages for the Herald on Sunday, and he was quite upfront about how he feels overlooked in New Zealand, despite his international success.

I think it's good to see an author speaking his mind, rather than just being politic with his comments - New Zealand is a very small market, so sometimes I think people don't address issues because they're worried about making waves - they're worried about putting certain people off-side. The New Zealand books industry is filled with fantastic, enthusiastic, passionate people, but there are plenty of things that could be done better, and if no-one talks about them, nothing will change.

In his interview with Pellegrino, which you can read in full online (click here), Cleave mentions how frustrated he is that he sells hundreds of thousands of novels in Europe, and yet his books can be hard to find in many bookstores in his home country. He has been told by one bookstore that a reason might be that his books are "too dark" - which is interesting because I know that bookstore chain stocks plenty of novels by Stephen King, Dean Koontz, Mo Hayder, Stuart MacBride, Karin Slaughter, Val McDermid, and many other authors who go to some very dark places. But maybe because they are international 'big names', that 'rule' doesn't apply to them?

Personally, I think bookstores in New Zealand should be proud to stock Cleave's books - he's a Kiwi writer doing great things on an international stage, who largely gets good and great reviews from readers and critics alike (although as he notes in Pellegrino's article, readers do tend to 'love or hate' his writing) - we should be supporting Cleave and other writers like him, rather than shunning his work because it doesn't fit into some narrow idea of what local fiction should be. If indeed that was a real reason given, rather than just an excuse from a staff member at that particular large chain, which has had plenty of problems in the past few years.

I would point out that I have seen (or heard about) good stock levels of Cleave's Christchurch-set thrillers in other bookstores in New Zealand, such as the excellent Unity Books in Auckland, Penny's Bookstore in Hamilton, Page & Blackmore in Nelson, and even the Borders store on Queen Street, Auckland. UBS Canterbury also had plenty of stock at the Setting the Stage for Murder event last weekend. And of course Kiwi readers can readily purchase Cleave's books online from places such as Fishpond and Mighty Ape.

What do you think? Are Cleave's books too dark for New Zealand bookstores, even though they are gobbled up by European readers? Should we - bookstores, festivals etc - be more supportive of our quality local writers, regardless of what they write? Should authors speak out about issues in the book industry, or just keep writing? I'd love to get your opinions on some of these issues

Writer slays competition: Christchurch's Paul Cleave featured in today's The Press newspaper

There is a nice story about Kiwi crime writer Paul Cleave winning the 2011 Ngaio Marsh Award in today's issue of The Press, the South Island's biggest newspaper. It's great to see some hometown media support for and celebration of Cleave's achievement (and a nice big pic of Cleave with the Award too), as the internationally bestselling author has been a little overlooked here in New Zealand by many in the books world; for example bookstores and event organisers, etc, in the past - despite his tremendous (and growing) overseas success.

It's been quite a year for Cleave - in recent months he has largely been based in Europe, and has also travelled to North America; meeting agents, editors, publishers, film companies and others as his writing career goes from strength to strength.

Cleave's books have now been signed up for publication in 19 countries (the most recent being Spain, Korea, and Bulgaria), and have been translated into more than a dozen languages. He has secured high spots on bestseller lists in France, Germany, and Turkey. Over the next year he will be appearing at books festivals in several countries, and recently and in the next few months he's had (or will have) further books come out in Italy, Brazil, the United States, France, Turkey, Taiwan, and Germany.

In short, Cleave is becoming a bona fide international crime writing star - and hopefully more and more of his compatriots will begin to catch on too. As Kiwis, we're often proud (deservedly so) of the achievements of our sportspeople, film makers, musicians, and others on the world stage - despite the fact they come from a small country at the end of the world - but we've been a little less vocal about the quality and success of our writers. Hopefully that will continue to change in future, perhaps led by the likes of Cleave.

You can read the full news story from The Press here.

Have you read BLOOD MEN, the Ngaio Marsh Award winning novel, or any of Paul Cleave's other dark thrillers? Were you at yesterday's event (or wish you were)? Do you think New Zealand should be prouder and more supportive of its writers, including its crime writers? Comments welcome.

And the winner is...

The winner of the 2011 Ngaio Marsh Award for Best Crime Novel is BLOOD MEN by Paul Cleave. The award was presented at the end of the fantastic "Setting the Stage for Murder" event in Christchurch on Sunday afternoon (I apologise for the delayed post - I had no Internet access the past 36 hours). It was a truly terrific event, with a great crowd first enthralled by Tess Gerritsen and John Hart (a session chaired by Ngaio Marsh Award judge Graham Beattie), then the four Ngaio Marsh Award finalists: Cleave, Paddy Richardson, Neil Cross, and Alix Bosco (Greg McGee).

Here are some of the judges' comments about BLOOD MEN:

• "Cleave is an original, a writer with his own distinctive voice"


• "Incredibly well written ... Excellent pace & black humour. It has stayed with me for ages"


• Cleave tells a gruesomely gripping story in clean, sharp prose, with authentically laconic dialogue and flashes of very dark humour. The twists and turns of the fast-moving plot are often surprising but never illogical. This is world-class writing."


• "Cleave's prose crackles with energy. He gets you deep inside the head of a troubled man, and takes you on a great ride, story-wise, with plenty of twists in plot and character to keep you on your toes."


• "This thriller moves at a furious pace. Paints a detailed, dystopian picture of Christchurch which I hope is not accurate."

More details, and photos from the event, to follow. You can read a short news story from The Press about Cleave's win (from today's paper) here, and also more from the Christchurch City Libraries Blog here.

So, who's going to win then?

With the 2011 Ngaio Marsh Award for Best Crime Novel about to be presented this weekend, I thought it was time to ask you - my knowledgeable Crime Watch readers, which of the books you think might win the Award in its second year.

We have four truly terrific finalists this year, that represent quite a diverse range of styles, settings, and storytelling. Each is a very good read in its own way, although readers will each have their own favourites, based on their own preferences, of course. But who will win? Who will the judges - international and New Zealand crime fiction experts - prefer?

Here's my summarised take on what's good and great about each of the four finalists (listed alphabetically), as shared with the Herald on Sunday last weekend:

Blood Men by Paul Cleave (Random House)
Cleave's prose crackles with energy in this dark tale told from the skewed viewpoint of Edward, an accountant trying to track those responsible for shattering his family. Cleave gets you deep inside the head of a troubled man, and takes you on a great ride story-wise, with plenty of twists in plot and character to keep you on your toes.

Captured by Neil Cross (Simon & Schuster)
Cross vividly takes readers into some uneasy places as dying Kenny seeks to set right past mistakes, discovering that an old friend is missing, her husband suspected but free. It's a page-turner with terse prose powering a pacy story that touches on wider themes like justice, the importance we sometimes place on fleeting events, memory and reality, and concerns about what legacy each of us may leave behind.

Hunting Blind by Paddy Richardson (Penguin)
Richardson's tale of a woman who is trying to uncover what really happened to her sister years ago expertly melds family drama and psychological suspense. Highlights of this novel include the evocation of the South Island scenery, a lingering sense of unease, and the way Richardson delves into the complexity of human relationships and the aftermath of high-profile tragedy; uncovering the very real and ongoing effects after the media circus leaves.

Slaughter Falls by Alix Bosco (Penguin)
Anna Markunas is an intriguing heroine - middle-aged and multi-layered - who finds herself investigating a puzzling death from a Queensland holiday. There's plenty of the tension (personal and plot) and vivid action-packed moments that readers (and judges) enjoyed in Cut & Run, but Bosco has amped up the personal, character-based parts of the story, and developed Markunas further as a series character.

The judging panel praised all of these crime novels highly - they really are a great representation of quality contemporary Kiwi crime writing. The judges praised BLOOD MEN as “a gruesomely gripping story” told “in clean, sharp prose, with authentically laconic dialogue and flashes of very dark humour”; said CAPTURED was “fascinating”, with “amazing twists and turns” and a “main character who was drawn so well”; rated HUNTING BLIND highly for its “sense of downright creepiness” and “some fascinatingly complex characters”; and were impressed by “the depth and complexity” and “well-executed plot unfolding at a good pace” in SLAUGHTER FALLS.

Each of the four novels would be a worthy and deserving winner. And each has been listed as a 'favourite' by various crime fiction readers I know. I really don't think the judges can go wrong, no matter which of these books ends up winning the Ngaio Marsh Award this year. But I'd really love to read what you think about the finalists, which ones you've read, and which one(s) you like best. Please share your thoughts.

Who do you think will or should win the 2011 Ngaio Marsh Award for Best Crime Novel?

Setting the Stage for Murder - 21 August 2011 - full details

Further to my post of earlier today revealing that Alix Bosco would appear in person at the upcoming 2011 Ngaio Marsh Award for Best Crime Novel event in Christchurch, here is an official press release with more details about "Setting the Stage for Murder", which should be a fantastic event. Hope to see many New Zealand-based crime fiction readers and writers there on the day!

Setting the Stage for Murder

Tuesday, 9 August 2011, 3:09 pm
Press Release: Christchurch Writers' Festival
Media Release

In the country’s biggest crime writing event, the 2011 Ngaio Marsh Award for Best Crime Novel will be presented alongside a session featuring two of the world’s best crime authors on Sunday, 21 August.

Award-winning American crime writers, Tess Gerritsen and John Hart, will join forces in a gripping session as they discuss their latest thrillers with crime aficionado and well-known book man, Graham Beattie. Before the 2011 winner of the Ngaio Marsh Award for Best Crime Novel is announced, crime fiction expert Craig Sisterson will talk with the four finalists, Paul Cleave, Neil Cross, Paddy Richardson and Alix Bosco. It is fitting that the award will be presented in Christchurch, the hometown of New Zealand’s doyenne of the mystery writing genre, Dame Ngaio Marsh, who was renowned worldwide as one of the four ‘Queens of Crime’ in the Golden Age of Detective Fiction, and whose books are still in print today.

In a satisfying plot twist, the winner of the inaugural Ngaio Marsh Award in 2010, Alix Bosco, has announced that he or she will appear at this year’s event. The name is a pseudonym for a well-known New Zealand writer, who works in a variety of other media and until now has wanted to keep his or her crime-writing persona separate.

The International Writers
In her latest novel, The Silent Girl, internationally bestselling author Tess Gerritsen, who has sold more than 20 million books worldwide, uses her own medical background and Asian-American experience to deliver a story of murder and mystery in Boston’s Chinatown, featuring her popular protagonists, homicide detective, Jane Rizzoli, and medical examiner, Maura Isles.

Ex-lawyer John Hart, author of three New York Times bestsellers, won the prestigious Edgar Award for his novels Down River (2008) and The Last Child (2010) - the first author in history to win the ‘Oscar of crime writing’ with consecutive novels. His latest book, Iron House, illustrates once again why he has quickly moved into the top rank of thriller writers.

The Finalists in the Ngaio Marsh Award for Best Crime Novel 2011
Christchurch writer Paul Cleave has achieved huge international success, with his debut The Cleaner, becoming the top-selling crime/thriller title of 2007 on Amazon Germany. His books have been bestsellers in Europe and Australasia, and have been translated into nine languages, His fourth novel, Blood Men, was one of the New Zealand Listener’s 100 Best Books for 2010, and is described as ‘a gruesomely gripping story’ told ‘in clean, sharp prose, with authentically laconic dialogue and flashes of very dark humour’.

Neil Cross, from Wellington, is a TV screenwriter and Booker-longlisted author of several acclaimed novels. He has been lead writer for acclaimed television series, Spooks, and created and wrote the BBC show Luther, for which he won an Edgar Award earlier this year. Neil was also a finalist for the 2010 Ngaio Marsh Award. The judges describe Captured as ‘fascinating’, with ‘amazing twists and turns’ and a ‘main character who was drawn so well’.

Dunedin writer Paddy Richardson has made the cut with her third novel, and second thriller, Hunting Blind. The story of a woman trying to find out what happened to her kid sister, who disappeared years before was one of the New Zealand Listener’s 100 Best Books of 2010, and has been highly acclaimed by the Ngaio Marsh Award judges for its ‘sense of downright creepiness’ and ‘some fascinatingly complex characters’.

Auckland writer Alix Bosco has impressed the judges with ‘the depth and complexity’ and ‘well-executed plot unfolding at a good pace’ in his/her second novel, Slaughter Falls. Bosco, a pseudonym for a “successful writer in other media” won the inaugural Ngaio Marsh Award for Best Crime Novel in 2010 for his/her debut, Cut & Run, which introduced heroine Anna Markunas. This will be Bosco’s first public event.

The winner of the 2011 Ngaio Marsh Award for Best Crime Novel will receive a distinctive handcrafted trophy designed and created by New Zealand sculptor and Unitec art lecturer Gina Ferguson, a full set of all 32 Ngaio Marsh novels, along with Ngaio Marsh’s autobiography and Joanne Drayton’s biography of Marsh, Ngaio Marsh: Her Life in Crime, courtesy of HarperCollins, and a cheque for $1000 provided by the Christchurch Writers Festival Trust.

Sunday 21 August, 11.00am
TelstraClear Club, Events Village, Hagley Park, Christchurch
Tickets $20
To book: www.artsfestival.co.nz/crimefiction -
Door sales will be available on the day.
Presented as part of the Christchurch Arts Festival

News flash: All four Ngaio Marsh Award finalists to appear at 2011 event, including the elusive Alix Bosco!

The line-up for "Setting the Stage for Murder" has now been confirmed, with the news that all four of the Ngaio Marsh Award finalists will be at the event on 21 August. That's right, the line-up will include the 2010 winner, the mysterious 'Alix Bosco'. So head to the Christchurch Arts Festival website and grab your tickets now, and secure your spot at a crime fiction event that just gets better and better: six great crime writers, two international superstars, four terrific Kiwi authors, the announcement of the winner of the 2011 Ngaio Marsh Award, and the first ever public event for 'Alix Bosco' - meet the person behind the mystery.

Review of COLLECTING COOPER by Paul Cleave

Collecting Cooper by Paul Cleave, (Atria, 2011)

Reviewed by Craig Sisterson

There’s a significant change in Cantabrian Paul Cleave’s latest dark thriller, which hit booksellers’ shelves (online and actual) in the United States this week. For those who’ve read and enjoyed Cleave’s internationally bestselling crime novels, don’t worry – Collecting Cooper is still packed with his usual crackling prose, taut pacing, compelling characters, moments of brutal violence, dashes of black humour, and undercurrents of unease. It’s just that this, his fifth novel, sees the return of troubled ex-cop turned private investigator Theo Tate (from Cemetery Lake); the first time Cleave has had a recurring ‘hero’, as such.

While supporting characters and storylines have overlapped and intertwined, each of Cleave’s previous books have been told through the eyes of a different troubled character, with troubled being a huge euphemism in many cases: serial killer Joe masquerades as a developmentally-challenged police janitor in The Cleaner; Charlie tries to uncover whether he witnessed or perpetrated a brutal double-murder in The Killing Hour; Tate spirals into alcoholism and worse in Cemetery Lake; and accountant Edward fears he’s inherited his imprisoned father’s violent streak as he chases his wife’s killers in Blood Men.

Cleave has become an absolute master at getting readers inside the head of someone with a view well and truly askew, of getting us to care enough about such people (or at least be fascinated by them), despite their failings and faults, to keep us engaged and the pages whirring as we follow their viewpoint throughout his helter-skelter storylines.

Collecting Cooper opens with Tate walking free from Christchurch Prison, where he found himself thanks to bad choices made in Cemetery Lake, into a sweltering heatwave on the outside. Broke and directionless, his plans of avoiding his past life come to nought when first an ex-colleague, Detective Schroder, then the father of the girl a drunken Tate hurt in a car crash, come to him for help finding people who’ve disappeared. Schroder wants Tate to help track a murderer known as Melissa X, an associate of the Christchurch Carver (Joe in The Cleaner). Lawyer Donovan Green wants Tate to find Emma, the girl Tate went to prison for almost killing. Emma’s disappeared, as has her university psychology professor, Cooper Riley. As Tate takes up the trail, he discovers a link to an abandoned mental institution on the outskirts of the city; a place where very bad things happened, years ago.

Cleave’s work definitely sits at the darker end of the crime fiction spectrum, far away from the cosy country house killings of fellow Cantabrian Dame Ngaio Marsh, whose name and likeness adorns the New Zealand crime writing award that Cleave is a finalist for this year.

Despite the darkness, Cleave is no schlock-meister; the blood and brutality amongst his pages is merely one part of a compelling tale (although it may be too much for some). He even raises important issues such as violence against women, the lack of support for those with mental difficulties, and the public’s fascination with serial killers – but rather than screaming such issues from the rooftops, they’re just woven through a tale that fizzes with ferocity. They’re texture, not message, in an exciting book where characterisation, such as Tate’s stumble vaguely towards some sort of redemption, shines brightest of all.

Collecting Cooper by Paul Cleave was released in the United States this week. It is available through Amazon and Book Depository, and locally it is available from online booksellers like Fishpond.co.nz, and some bookstores, such as Penny’s in Hamilton, who are importing it directly.

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This article was first published in the 29 July 2011 issue of NZLawyer magazine, and is reprinted here with permission.
 
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Have you read any of Paul Cleave's novels? Does COLLECTING COOPER sound like a novel you'd be interested in? Comments welcome.

Ngaio Marsh Award finalists announced

THE FINALISTS for the 2011 Ngaio Marsh Award for Best Crime Novel, which will be presented as part of the upcoming Christchurch Arts Festival, have now been announced today.

The award, now in its second year, is made annually for the best crime, mystery, or thriller novel written by a New Zealand citizen or resident. Its namesake, Dame Ngaio Marsh, is renowned worldwide as one of the four iconic “Queens of Crime” of the Golden Age of Detective Fiction. The award was established last year with the blessing of Dame Ngaio’s closest living relatives.

Over the past two months an expert panel consisting of seven local and international judges has been considering the best examples of locally written crime and thriller fiction published in New Zealand during 2010. The judges are now pleased to announce that the finalists are:

• BLOOD MEN by Paul Cleave (Random House);
• CAPTURED by Neil Cross (Simon & Schuster);
• HUNTING BLIND by Paddy Richardson (Penguin); and
• SLAUGHTER FALLS by Alix Bosco (Penguin).

The judges praised BLOOD MEN as “a gruesomely gripping story” told “in clean, sharp prose, with authentically laconic dialogue and flashes of very dark humour”; said CAPTURED was “fascinating”, with “amazing twists and turns” and a “main character who was drawn so well”; rated HUNTING BLIND highly for its “sense of downright creepiness” and “some fascinatingly complex characters”; and were impressed by “the depth and complexity” and “well-executed plot unfolding at a good pace” in SLAUGHTER FALLS.

This year’s winner of the Ngaio Marsh Award for Best Crime Novel will be announced at a ceremony at the conclusion of the “Setting the Stage for Murder” event at the TelstraClear Club in North Hagley Park on the afternoon of Sunday 21 August 2011. New York Times bestselling international crime writers Tess Gerritsen and John Hart will also be appearing at the event. The winner will receive a distinctive handcrafted trophy designed and created by New Zealand sculptor and Unitec art lecturer Gina Ferguson, a set of Ngaio Marsh novels courtesy of HarperCollins, and a cheque for $1,000 provided by the Christchurch Writers Festival Trust.

“The four finalists are a great representation of both the quality and depth of contemporary Kiwi-written crime fiction,” said Judging Convenor Craig Sisterson. “It was a particularly tough decision for the panel this year, as judges were impressed by each of the books on the longlist, and there was a real diversity of storytelling, settings, and styles. There were some very good local crime novels published in 2010 that haven’t become finalists, but that’s a good sign of the growing strength of our own indigenous interpretation of a genre that’s popular around the world.”

Like Dame Ngaio in her heyday, local crime writers are now showing that they can stand shoulder-to-shoulder, quality-wise, with their more well-known international contemporaries, said Sisterson. “We should be proud of our best crime writers, and support and celebrate their success, just like we are justifiably proud of other New Zealanders who achieve great things in their chosen field.”

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For more information, please contact:
Craig Sisterson, Judging Convenor: craigsisterson@hotmail.com

Paul Cleave talks about his latest dark thriller, COLLECTING COOPER, and more

A little amour for Paul Cleave in France

While New Zealand booksellers and our book buying public have been a touch slow to catch on to Paul Cleave's world-class dark thrillers set in Christchurch, the authors and his books have done very well with audiences in continental Europe, where he has become an international bestseller in translation.

I remember being in Cologne, Germany for Christmas 2009 and seeing a large stack of Cleave's CEMETERY LAKE (entitled DIE TOTEN SCHWEIGEN NICHT) at the airport bookstore, right alongside Stephen King, Peter James, Lee Child and many other big-name international bestsellers. Honestly, it was a larger stack of Cleave's novels than I've ever seen in any New Zealand bookstore. The book hit the #2 spot on release on Amazon.de, slotting in just behind Dan Brown's latest at the time. And of course Cleave's debut, THE CLEANER, was the #1 bestselling crime/thriller title on Amazon.de in 2007, and #10 bestselling book of any kind that year.

A quick aside - Germany is a bit of a 'canary in the coalmine' when it comes to crime fiction - they've embraced several authors in the past decade prior to the author becoming widely popular in English-speaking countries, including Stieg Larsson and Linwood Barclay, amongst others.

I've also heard that European readers, reviewers, and book judges aren't quite so 'snooty' when it comes to the literary fiction vs genre fiction divide (created more by marketers than any sort of quality distinction) as their counterparts in Commonwealth countries.
Back to the matter at hand. Cleave's debut THE CLEANER was released in France late last year (entitled UN EMPLOYE MODELE, pictured above), and hit #1 on Amazon.fr's Police/Suspense charts. And now the book has been listed by Le Parisien as one of the top crime reads for summer. I don't speak any French whatsover, but relying on Google translator, I can see phrases such as "irresistable black humour" and "a coup" being used to describe Cleave's debut in the article. It's great to see Cleave getting a little amour (love) in France. He's in pretty good company on the list of best crime novels too, alongside the likes of Michael Connelly, Jo Nesbo, Arnaldur Indridason, Mo Hayder and Don Winslow.

Having read more than 200 crime novels since I returned to New Zealand in late 2008 and was first introduced to Cleave's writing when I picked up a copy of CEMETERY LAKE, I can honestly say that in my opinion Cleave thoroughly deserves to be mentioned alongside writers of that calibre. I think he is a world class writer, and hopefully at some point New Zealanders will recognise, and be just as proud of, our world-class crime writers as we are of our world class sportspeople, world class moviemakers, and others.

Cleave is also in store for some more amour in France, as his Facebook page says he's heading there tomorrow for a series of interviews. Here's his latest comment:

"I'm heading back to Paris tomorrow for three days. Sweet! I love Paris! I have a bunch of interviews to do for Blood Men, which comes out there in October - it's the first time I've ever done a series of interviews other than in NZ, and it's exciting to have been asked. All this travel is stopping the rewrite on book six, though. Maybe I should get an assistant... somebody to either write or travel for me."

Great to see. I'm currently reading an advance copy of COLLECTING COOPER, Cleave's fifth novel, which will be released in the US later this month. It's terrific - a noticeable step up from much of the crime fiction I've been reading lately, and one of the very best books I've read so far this year (out of 53 books).

You can follow Paul Cleave on Facebook here.

For those overseas, you can pre-order COLLECTING COOPER here.

For those in New Zealand, I understand that although the book is being released in the US this year but is not yet scheduled for Australia/New Zealand publication, that local bookstore Penny's in Hamilton will be specially importing the US book, and you can order it from them - contact Linda on (07) 854 8389 or linda@pennysbookstore.co.nz.

Upcoming Kiwi crime : COLLECTING COOPER by Paul Cleave

The Kiwi crime fiction tap in 2011 continues to pleasantly flow, with several welcome new releases on the horizon from authors whose previous work has been both popular and highly praised, including Ben Sanders (BY ANY MEANS, the follow-up to his #1 bestselling debut THE FALLEN), Paddy Richardson (TRACES OF RED, her third thriller and first since last year's #1 bestseller HUNTING BLIND), the long-awaited return of Paul Thomas (Ned Kelly Award-winning author of THE IHAKA TRILOGY), and a new book from the current king of Kiwi crime, in a global sense, Paul Cleave.

New Zealand readers have remained slow to pick up on Cleave's dark but well-written tales, but the Christchurch-based author continues to go from strength to strength in Europe, where his books have been translated into several languages and sales are approaching 1 million copies - phenomenal for a Kiwi author.

Next month Cleave's fifth thriller, COLLECTING COOPER, is released in the United States (it will also be available on Amazon, including in Kindle edtion, for those not in the USA). It sees the return of Theo Tate, the troubled former cop and private eye from CEMETERY LAKE (2008).

Here's the Amazon blurb:

People are disappearing in Christchurch. Cooper Riley, a psychology professor, doesn’t make it to work one day. Emma Green, one of his students, doesn’t make it home. When ex-cop Theodore Tate is released from a four-month prison stint, he’s asked by Green’s father to help find Emma. After all, Tate was in jail for nearly killing her in a DUI accident the year before, so he owes him. Big time. What neither of them knows is that a former mental patient is holding people prisoner as part of his growing collection of serial killer souvenirs. Now he has acquired the ultimate collector’s item—an actual killer.

Meanwhile, clues keep pulling Tate back to Grover Hills, the mental institution that closed down three years ago. Very bad things happened there. Those who managed to survive would prefer keeping their memories buried. Tate has no choice but to unearth Grover Hills’ dark past if there is any chance of finding Emma Green and Cooper Riley alive.

For fans of Dennis Lehane’s Shutter Island, Thomas Harris’ Silence of the Lambs, and Jeff Lindsay’s Dexter series, Collecting Cooper is another “relentlessly gripping, deliciously twisted, and shot through with a vein of humor that’s as dark as hell” (Mark Billingham) novel by this glimmering new talent in the crime thriller genre.

'Glimmering new talent' - that's quite an apt description of Cleave, who continues to garner high praise from many of the best exponents of crime and thriller fiction worldwide (Tess Gerritsen, Mark Billingham, John Connolly, Simon Kernick, etc), along with many reviewers. It will be interesting to see how his readership accelerates as his books become more available in the English-speaking parts of the northern hemisphere.

An advance review from Publisher's Weekly calls COLLECTING COOPER, "“A pulse-pounding serial killer thriller.... The city of Christchurch becomes a modern equivalent of James Ellroy's Los Angeles of the 1950s, a discordant symphony of violence and human weakness. Cleave tosses in a number of twists that few readers will anticipate, but the book's real power lies in the complexity of its characters, particularly the emotionally tortured Tate.”

I am really looking forward to reading this book, although I understand a release date has not yet been set for Australia, New Zealand, and the UK, unfortunately. Like many, I may have to acquire myself a US version, as I don't think I'll be able to wait too long.

K is for THE KILLING HOUR

For my second go around at the Crime Fiction Alphabet (read my 2010 posts here), I've set myself the challenging task of focusing not only just on New Zealand-themed posts, but just on Kiwi crime fiction books (ie I won't do any author profiles etc this time around) - although sometimes it may be the author's name that is relevant to the letter of the week.

This week I'm featuring THE KILLING HOUR, by internationally bestselling Christchurch crime writer Paul Cleave. THE KILLING HOUR (2007) was Cleave's second published book, following on from his much-acclaimed debut, THE CLEANER, which ended up as the #1 crime thriller title on Amazon in Germany for 2007, and in the top 10 for all books.

Like his debut, Cleave's second novel is also told through the (perhaps more than slightly askew) eyes of a very troubled, even disturbed, protagonist, and has a nice sense of forebody - the setting casts a shadow over the story. While some crime writers have 'troubled' or 'flawed' protagonists that have a few things bothering them, Cleave has truly flawed and troubled protagonists, operating on a level beyond what many other writers would address, and does a fantastic job getting inside their heads - his writing really gets you seeing through their eyes, rather than just being a narrative about someone with some problems.

Here's the first paragraph of THE KILLING HOUR:
"They come for me as I sleep. Their pale faces stare at me, their soft voices tell me to wake, to wake. They come to remind me of the night, to remind me of what I have done. They do not smile, they do not accuse me; they are just there, looking. I wish only to be alone, only to forget, but I have no voice to ask them to leave. I fear what they want, though I already know. They are here to blame me. To hate me. And I share their feelings. They cannot touch me because they are merely ghosts. I cannot touch them either, cannot push them aside, and words alone will not make them disappear. I stare into their eyes and see the guilt they want me to feel, and I do feel it, I barely feel anything else, and when I wake it is with a scream in my throat that I just manage to hold in. It tastes like blood and death. I pull myself out of the nightmare but nothing changes. It is five o'clock in the afternoon and I am bathed in sweat."

In THE KILLING HOUR, Charlie has a problem. A big one. He doesn’t know what he has done. He is covered in blood, there's a bump on his forehead and on the news it says the two young women he was with last night were brutally murdered. Charlie knows Cyris is the murderer — except the police don’t believe Cyris exists. Nor does Jo, Charlie's ex-wife. He wants desperately for her to believe in him, because, the thing is, he doesn’t know if Cyris exists either. And now Charlie’s on the run with Jo bound and gagged in the car boot while the killing hour approaches yet again . . .

In an interview for a feature in Good Reading magazine ("Scary Tales", March 2010), Cleave told me he actually first wrote the THE KILLING HOUR prior to THE CLEANER, and that in a way it was a breakthrough for him as a budding author. "My friend at the time, when I was like nineteen, asked what I really liked, and I said I’d always wanted to be a writer and he said ‘well, why don’t you do it’," said Cleave. "And it was kind of like, ‘well, why don’t I?’"

"To me it was kind of obvious that if I did that I would fail, and you never get anywhere, and it’s too hard, and I can’t ever write 100,000 words, you know and if I can it’ll be crap. But I did it, and all of that happened; it was hard, and it was crap, but it was certainly worthwhile and I enjoyed the process, and then I wrote another one, and another one, and another one and I think about 6 or 7 attempts into it, after writing these kind of … then I wrote THE KILLING HOUR, kind of like my breakthrough thing, and then from that I wrote THE CLEANER – that’s the order I wrote them in."

Cleave also told me that THE KILLING HOUR was originally written as a horror. After writing the manuscript, Cleave read former FBI profiler John Douglas's book about serial killers, and came to the realisation that supernatural horror wasn't real horror. “The scariest stuff in the world is true stuff, stuff that’s real, like serial killers,” he told me. So he wrote THE CLEANER, told from the perspective of a serial killer, and then went back and re-wrote THE KILLING HOUR to make it more 'real', taking out some supernatural elements.

Like his other dark crime novels, THE KILLING HOUR is certainly a thrilling read, that gets you inside the head of a deeply troubled protagonist. If I'm being brutally honest, I probably prefer Cleave's other three novels, but THE KILLING HOUR is still a very good book, well worth a read by anyone who likes darker thrillers. Like others in the upper echelon of quality crime writing worldwide, all of Cleave's books are good to great, so I'm speaking relatively when I say that if I had to pick, THE KILLING HOUR would be my fourth favourite of the four (like saying that a particular Michael Connelly book isn't as good as some of his better ones). It's still an above average thriller that has lots of great aspects to it.

Have you read any Paul Cleave novels? Do you like darker thrillers that get you inside the head of (very) troubled protagonists? Do you like crime that verges towards (real) horror? What other Kiwi crime novels would you like me to feature in the Crime Fiction Alphabet?

Christchurch earthquake - how you can help

As many of you will know, yesterday at 12:51pm NZT the city of Christchurch, which suffered a 7.1 magnitude earthquake in September last year, was struck by another massive earthquake - this time much shallower and more violent.

While the September earthquake caused significant infrastructure and property damage, there was fortunately no loss of life. The city has not been so lucky this time. The 6.3 magnitude earthquake has claimed many lives, and some people remain trapped in buildings which have come down with the force of the 'quake. Buildings facades have crushed cars and buses. The iconic Cathedral in the heart of the city, which survived the earlier 'quake and more than 1000 aftershocks, has been badly damaged (see photo), and many other historic buildings have been destroyed. The city, and the country, is in shock.

Thank you for all the messages of support I've received over email and Facebook etc. I now live in Auckland (far from the 'quake zone), but lived for five years in Christchurch, which is a wonderful city, and I have many friends who still live there. Some with young families. Those I have been able to contact thusfar are all safe, if badly shaken.

In terms of books and crime fiction related people in Christchurch, crime writer Paul Cleave has said he is okay, but feels devastated at the destruction and loss of life. Thriller writer Andrew Grant has confirmed he and his family are well, although some of his friends have lost their homes - he's taken some in. Thriller writer Steve Malley has posted on Facebook saying he is okay too. I have yet to hear from many of the fantastic people involved with the Christchurch Writer's Festival, the Ngaio Marsh Award, or the Ngaio Marsh House, but have my fingers crossed that they are all okay too. It's a terrible time for a great city, and we can only hope that the emergency service personnel continue to pull survivors from the rubble, not just bodies.

Many people from around New Zealand and around the world are watching on, concerned, feeling helpless, and wishing there was some way they could help. Christchurch is a great city, but it is going to be facing a long road to recovery. While in some ways I want to jump on a plane and go down to help hands-on, the fact is that there are many terrific, capable, expertly-trained people there (and heading there from our friends in Australia and elsewhere around the world, with many countries generously pitching in, immediately offering/sending help and resources) who are doing a great job in a tough, tough situation. Those urban search and rescue and Civil Defence volunteers are just doing an amazing job, in concert with the police, defence force, and other emergency service personnel. Let alone all the 'average citizens' who've just stepped up to help friends, colleagues, and random strangers in need. I, and many others who would like to help, would simply be getting in the way at this stage. So how can we help?

Well, a number of emergency and relief funds are starting to be activated, and many organisations are taking donations to help with relief. Prime Minister John Key has said the best way people from around New Zealand and the world can help is to make cash donations to help the city and its residents get back on their feet. Here is some donation and relief information, courtesy of the New Zealand Herald website:

Donations
People can make a donation to the Canterbury Earthquake Appeal either at an ANZ Branch (account number 01-1839-0188939-00) or at the National bank (account number 06-0869-0548507-00).

Donations can be made to the Red Cross online or via the GrabOne website, as the Red Cross site has been crashing.

Offers of goods or services can be sent to the National Crisis Management Centre in Wellington, email here.

Donations can be made to the Westpac Canterbury Care Fund, which is in partnership with the Salvation Army, either at branches nationwide or to the account number 03-0207-0617331-00.

People can donate to the Salvation Army Earthquake appeal online here or by calling 0800 53 00 00.

Donations can be made to the Rotary New Zealand World Community Service here.

Donations can be made to the Christchurch Earthquake Support Fund in ASB branches or online (account number 12-3205-0146808-00). Across the Tasman, the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, is also accepting donations for the New Zealand Red Cross.

The Christchurch SPCA has opened a Pet Emergency Earthquake Fund. You can donate money here or to the Westpac account 030802 0586429 00.

Vodafone users can donate to the Red Alert Canterbury Earthquake Appeal by texting "Quake" to 333 to make a $3 donation to the Red Cross Canterbury Earthquake Appeal.

Whether you are in New Zealand or overseas, I hope that you will find at least one organisation above that you feel comfortable contributing towards. Our friends in Christchurch are going to need a lot of help in the coming days, weeks, and months.

Sneak Peek: the prologue and first chapter from Paul Cleave's upcoming thriller COLLECTING COOPER

Last week I shared the news that Paul Cleave's fifth Christchurch-set thriller, COLLECTING COOPER, would be published in the United States on 26 July, and that it would see the welcome return of Theo Tate, the very flawed but intriguing protagonist from CEMETERY LAKE, Cleave's third novel. I am really enjoying how Cleave is building a 'world' in his novels - although he doesn't have a series with a recurring hero as such, his books overlap and share minor characters and timeframes etc - so you get a very real sense that all the stories occur in the same world.

Now Cleave has made the prologue and first chapter of his upcoming novel available at his website - read here.

You can also follow Cleave on Facebook here.

What do you think of the opening of COLLECTING COOPER? Have you read any of Cleave's other novels? Thoughts and comments appreciated.

Paul Cleave's COLLECTING COOPER to be released in the United States on 26 July

One of the very best novels I read in 2010 was BLOOD MEN, the fourth dark thriller by Christchurch's Paul Cleave. In fact it was one of three crime novels I highlighted in the Herald on Sunday's end-of-year round-up, saying:

"Kiwi writer Paul Cleave’s fantastic Blood Men further underline his world-class talent for scary thrillers that mix depth and darkness. Told from the skewed viewpoint of Edward, an accountant losing the plot and worried that he hears the same monstrous ‘voice’ as his serial killer father. Cleave’s writing crackles with energy. The pages whir, but there’s also plenty of sly humour and thought-provoking themes beneath the blood."

I'm not alone in my praise for Cleave, who is a rising star on the world stage (and deserving of much more attention by his compatriots). Award-winning and bestselling authors like Mark Billingham, John Connolly, Tess Gerritsen and others are postively effusive. Here's what Billingham had to say after reading Cleave for the first time (note - Billingham doesn't share a publisher with Cleave, so it wasn't one of those in-house 'quotes' arranged by marketers, but a genuine response to another author's work he came across and enjoyed):

"Most people come back from New Zealand talking about the 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."

Cleave's novels have been published (or signed up for publication) in several countries, including New Zealand, France, Australia, Germany, Czech Republic, Russia, Poland, Japan, Taiwan, Turkey, Brazil, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America, and have hit the bestsellers lists in continental Europe. Three of his first four novels have also made the prestigious Listener 100 Best Books annual list (a very rare occurence for a crime writer).

His next thriller, COLLECTING COOPER, will be released in the United States on 26 July 2011, Cleave's second novel to be published there (after BLOOD MEN). I understand it sees the return of the intriguing Theo Tate character from CEMETERY LAKE, who I found quite compelling, despite his questionable practices and decisions. So, understandably, COLLECTING COOPER is one of my 'most anticipated' books of 2011, along with Vanda Symon's BOUND (which didn't disappoint), Michael Connelly's THE FIFTH WITNESS, Ben Sanders' BY ANY MEANS (his follow-up to his very good debut THE FALLEN), and whatever several of my other favourite crime writers might share with us in 2011.

Cleave has also just shared an early version of the US cover (see above) for COLLECTING COOPER on his Facebook page. You can follow Cleave on Facebook here, or at his website here.

Thoughts and comments welcome.