Paul Cleave Books In Order

Publication Order of Cleaner Books

Publication Order of Theodore Tate Books

Publication Order of Standalone Novels

Paul Claeve is a renowned writer who has created some of the best works of his time that received much appreciation worldwide. Originally being from New Zealand, Paul is currently spending most of his time in Europe and Christchurch- his home city. He received the prestigious Ngaio Marsh award in New Zealand for his work. He also won the Saint-Maur book festival award in France and was shortlisted for the Barry Award and Edgar Award. He was also shortlisted for the Ned Kelly award in Australia. So it can be said that he has shown his mastery in crime novels which has spread among the readers globally- something that is not so easy to achieve. His works have been translated into fifteen different languages over the years. Although mostly being busy working on his books, Paul also spends time in the tennis court or golf course. He also loves travelling and is adding more countries to an interesting list of places where he has thrown his Frisbee.

“The Cleaner” is the very first novel that Paul published through Random House in 2006 and it turned out to be an instant success. “The Cleaner” soon became the international best seller with more than 500,000 copies being sold in different countries. It was the top selling crime novel in Germany through Amazon. The story spans around a character named Joe who works as a janitor at the police department. The story starts to unfold with the rise of a serial killer under the name- “Christchurch Carver” who is believed to be responsible for the killing of seven women whereas Joe is aware of the fact that the killer is responsible for the murder of six and plans to find out the second killer who has killed the seventh woman. Joe is determined to find the second killer and wishes to punish him and frame him for the other six killings.

Besides Joe, the story also has few other notable characters including his mother and Sally- one of his colleagues who wants to fill his dead brother’s shoes by placing Joe in those. The story adds another character named Melissa who is somewhat mysterious but yet reads Joe quite well. One of the major aspects of “The Cleaner” is that despite being a crime novel that comes with a dark side, it also includes a mix of humor which allowed it to stand out among the conventional novels from this genre. Paul Cleve is renowned for being the creator of “Theodore Tate”- a talented Christchurch detective and an ex-policeman. “Cemetery Lake” is the first novel from Tate series where the detective first shows his class as an investigator to reveal a crime that will also haunt his past. The Novel was first published in New Zealand back in 2008 and later on soon became a popular choice as a crime novel among international readers. Despite exploring the dark sides of human nature, the novel also mixes rich sense of humor as the story continues to unfold. Cleve tried to portray a universal struggle in this novel which reflects the battle that one is forced to fight with himself.

The other novels of the author from the Tate series include- “Collecting Cooper” (published on 2011), “The Laughter House” (2012) and “Five Minutes Alone” (2014). All these novels unfold fictions that took place in New Zealand where Theodore Tate was forced to get involved to catch the perpetrator from the strong sense of ethics and in many cases because the situation forced him to. Paul Cleve’s seventh novel “Joe Victim” was published in 2013 and was quick to catch a lot of attention as this is directly connected to his first novel “The Cleaner”. The story of “Joe Victim” starts where “The Cleaner” has ended. The story once again unfolds the complexity of a human mind and the desperate attempt of Joe- the notorious serial killer to save himself from facing a possible death penalty or being slaughtered by his accomplice or others who has hatred towards him for his past crimes that he claims not to remember.

Once again, Cleave managed to mix tension, struggle, climax and humor together to create one of his epic novels that got accepted by the international community with high regards. Though not being a part of any of the Cleave series, “Blood Men” is considered by many to be the greatest work of this writer so far. Being published by Black Swan on 2010, “Blood men” soon attracted the attention of thousands of readers who are fond of a crime novel with loads of twists and turns that are simply unimaginable. “Blood Men” focuses on a character named Edward Hunter who has an almost perfect life with his wife and a daughter but yet can’t stop feeling haunted by the fact that his father was a notorious serial killer who is currently serving in jail with no hope of returning to a normal life. The tension starts to unfold as Hunter starts to suspect that he might soon become just like his father- a man of blood and needs his help to come out of the nightmare.

Paul Cleave has successfully pulled out the dark side of human nature in his books and tried to show how and why they act in a certain way. Cleave’s works have successfully unfold a rather unknown face of New Zealand in the world of crime novels where he shows that this is not only a place of beautiful natural views and nice and clean cities. It is also a place that is full of mysteries, horrors and there are people out there who have darkness within. But what makes his works even more special might be the fact that he is highly capable of twisting the stories and mixing it with a rich sense of humor that always overwhelms the readers in one way or another.

Cleave being accepted as an internationally recognized crime novelist is a clear proof that his works are not meant to entertain the people from a certain cultural setting, they are good reads for all who loves crime novels. his works seem to reveal the darkest nature of a human being that they carries since the ancient times. But at the same time, this author also shows us hope that there are still goo men out there ready to fight for justice and for the people.

One Response to “Paul Cleave”

1. Susan: 2 months ago

   Hi Paul, I’ve just read The Quiet People and wanted to let you know how much I enjoyed it. I am taking my personal review of it to my local book club. I would be thrilled if you could give me your thoughts on how you craft the twist turns in the book. Do you begin with the ending?
   It’s a book that kept me reading – not able to put it down – what will happen next, who is the villain?
   Thank you and good luck with any future writing. I intend to follow your progress.
   Susan

   Reply