NOMINATED FOR THE 2014 EDGAR AWARD FOR BEST PAPERBACK ORIGINAL 'Cleave uses words like lethal weapons' New York Times Book Review 'A little Hannibal Lecter. A little Richard von Krafft-Ebing. A lot of gore' Kirkus Reviews Sometimes reality can really get in the way of a good story. Joe Middleton's story is this: He doesn't remember killing anyone, so there' s no way a jury can convict him of serial murder. He calls himself Joe Victim, trying, as he awaits trial, to convince the psychiatrists that he wasn't in control of his actions, trusting that the system will save him in the end. But others know Joe as the infamous Christchurch Carver and they want to see him dead. There's Melissa, Joe's accomplice in one of the murders, who plans on shooting him on his way to the courthouse before he gets a chance to start talking. Then there's Raphael, whose daughter was one of the Carver's victims. Though he's tried to move on with life as the leader of a counseling group for grieving family members, he'd like nothing more than to watch Joe pay. Finally there's Carl Schroder, the ex-detective who locked Joe up and is determined to put things right for the case of his career. To extract himself from this epic mess, Joe has come up with a desperate plan involving a television psychic who's looking to get rich by making people believe just about anything. It's a long shot, but it had better work before he becomes the poster boy for a death penalty that may be reinstated in New Zealand, which isn't quite the dramatic ending he is hoping for...

Author Biography

Paul Cleave is an award-winning author who divides his time between his home city of Christchurch, New Zealand, where all his novels are set, and Europe, where none of his novels are set. His books have been translated into over a dozen languages and have sold over a million copies. He's won the Ngaio Marsh Award three times, the Saint-Maur book festival's crime novel of the year award, and has been shortlisted for the Edgar, the Barry and the Ned Kelly Awards. When he's not at home with the stereo cranked up loud and working on his next novel, he can normally be found on a tennis court, a golf course, or throwing a Frisbee somewhere.