From the Christchurch noir series featuring Carl Schroder and Theodore Tate, formerly known as the "coma cops," for both being in comas at the same time as the result of work-related injuries. Theo is back at work now, but Carl is still at home, disabled by a bullet delicately lodged in his brain. As cops, the two men had often heard victims (or survivors of victims) say that they wish they could just have five minutes alone with the perpetrators of the violent crimes against them. Now someone appears to be doing that: criminals newly released from jail or never convicted are turning up dead all over Christchurch.
This is a complex thriller, intricately plotted, and though we know whodunnit almost from the beginning, we can't imagine how Cleave is going to resolve all the plot threads. He handles it wonderfully with lots of twists and turns and ups and downs. ( )

Note: While this is Book 4 in the series, it works pretty well as a stand alone. There are some reveals about what happened to certain characters in previous books. Also, this series is part of the bigger overall Christchurch murder mysteries, which has intersecting timelines.

Have you ever read a headline about some horrible crime and thought, ‘Well, the victim or their loved ones should get five minutes alone with the culprit!’. That’s the central plot to this book. A convicted rapist turns up dead and the Christchurch (New Zealand) cops aren’t too enthusiastic in investigating who might be responsible. Still, they have a job to do. Get ready for an intense cat and mouse game between avenging killer and reluctant yet dedicated detectives.

Wow! This book was super intense! I really enjoyed it and it was difficult to put down in order to sleep for a few hours before picking it up again. Theo Tate is back on the force, having been sober for a year. He’s the king of second chances, as some call him. He’s messed up plenty of times and yet he always means well. His new partner is Rebecca Kent, who recently recovered from her own injuries which she received while on duty. They catch the the case involving the recently released convicted rapist and aren’t too excited about it.

Meanwhile, Carl Schroeder, who also recently recovered from a serious injury, just isn’t the same. He’s no longer on the force but he’s got his own work keeping him busy. His story arc for this series is the most interesting so far! I’m really impressed with Cleave’s writing on this one! Schroeder was the guy that helped keep Tate on the side of good (most of the time). Now, Schroeder may be the one needing Tate to act the conscience for him.

I was pleasantly surprised to see that Tate’s wife had a significant role in this book. If you’ve read the earlier books, then you know she has been mostly out of the picture. Now her presence brings Tate both joy and anxiety. I don’t want to say too much because I do my best to avoid spoilers. Just know that Cleave is upping his game by bringing Bridget into the mix.

There’s also Warren the spider, a kind of pet to one of the characters. His cheeky remarks provided some humor to this dark and gritty tale. I was a little sad to see that Warren will probably not be in further novels.

The plot was intense! I now, I already mentioned that, but I really mean it! There was never a dull moment. As the reader, we know right away who this mysterious avenging killer is. At first, I was rooting for this person, but as the story unfolds, this vigilante makes mistakes and good people start dying. With the first accidental death, I was ready to forgive the vigilante, because, hey, we all make mistakes. But the bodies kept piling up and it became obvious that this type of justice has a cost. Cleave is clever in that he doesn’t stop there. Instead, through these gripping characters, he asks the question of whether this cost is less or more than the cost society and victims pay under the current justice system. The cat and mouse game continues as each of our main detectives have to weigh the answer for themselves.

This was an excellent murder mystery turned thriller. I really wasn’t sure where Cleave would take the story on the final stretch. In the end, I was very satisfied, feeling that a kind of justice was meted out while staying true to overall feel of the book. I look forward to seeing what he does next. Theo Tate already needs plenty of therapy.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via Audiobook Jukebox.

Narration: Paul Ansdell did a pretty good job. His individual voices started off crisp and distinct, though well into the book Tate and Schroeder started to sound the same. From there forward, it was off and on with the clear distinction between these two. However, the text is often very clear about who is talking, so that made it easy for most of the book to keep things straight. Ansdell has believable female voices unless they are sad and anguished. His voice tends to drop several notes when he mimics a woman in deep sorrow or distress. For the purposes of the story, that doesn’t really matter. Ansdell does a great job imbuing the characters with emotion. ( )

As usual, I can't put a Paul Cleave down.

I was wrestling with the title and just wasn't concise
in my explanation.
Tony (Chadds Ford, Pa) captured it so well....Check out his quote.
"Here’s the premise: People who have been violated in one way or another all wish for some kind of payback, or revenge against their assailant. What if there was a person who facilitated that payback, and helped to permanently eliminate that threat?" ( )

The 4th Theodore Tate novel, FIVE MINUTES ALONE sees author Paul Cleave continuing to pull together connections from many of his previous novels - this series and the Christchurch Carver books. Must admit some of these connections, and the continuation in these books fascinate this reader. But then I've been amazed, fascinated, confronted, discomforted and flat out frightened by most of them.

The FIVE MINUTES ALONE of the title is a reference to that oft-quoted reaction of loved ones, and victims of, violent offenders. It's a hard sentiment to argue with - five minutes alone with an offender to even some scores. Whilst it's more normal for cops to politely deflect the request, this time, an ex-cop is only too happy to oblige, even instigate.

"And that did it. At the mention of the Carver he felt something stir inside him. It was like an old car that hadn't run in years was being started. Only the fuel was bad, the engine was half-seized, there was enough juice for the engine to try and turn over, but that was all, a hint of life and then nothing."

Perhaps it's the bullet lodged in Schroder's head that's made him lose his moral compass, then again, there's only so much depravity, cruelty and downright nastiness that some people are able to deal with. Schroder's reached his limit and given he's out of the police, and living a lost life he's quite "content" to take up a cause.

"There they were. Two small words. Why should, and a future opened in front of him, just like that, a doorway to a world of possibilities. That was the moment he realized he was a man searching for something."

Tate, on the other hand, has returned to the job. His own injuries healed, he's dealing with two major problems - his wife has not recovered fully from the car crash that killed their daughter, and her memory is patchy. Dangerously so for him. Somebody is also killing violent and nasty rapists and whilst initial suspicion seems to indicate victims or their families, it's not long before Tate has other ideas.

"Four weeks after joining the land of the living, Bridget's memory came back. All of it - minus the few hours before and during the accident. Then two weeks ago the problems started. Small problems. Painful problems. My wife wakes up into the morning of the accident. She thinks that everything is as it was three years ago. It's the school holidays and she's taking Emily to the movies and Schroder is my partner and the world, to her, hasn't moved on."

There's such strength in the portrayal of these characters. Whilst the reader knows from the start who the killer is, and why they are doing it, there's much that is sympathetic about him. There's something real and sympathetic about all of these main characters - all of them battle-weary, many morally ambiguous, these people have things to admire about them, as much as things to dislike.

There's also a powerful sense of pace, and action, and some memorable confrontation scenes - particularly in the Gothic old asylum where you'd be tempted to say "only in a Paul Cleave novel". That sense of pace is part of the strength of all these books, as are the flawed characters and the slightly crazy scenarios.

Because of the complicated connections that FIVE MINUTES ALONE is drawing together it's obviously going to work a lot better if you've at least read the earlier Tate novels. Having said that, readers who are willing to accept that "stuff happens in the past" even without knowing the ins and outs, will still get a lot from this book. Especially if that reader is interested in the outsider, the why, the "what happens when the wheels fall off", the ambiguous, and the "not everything always ends up happy ever after".

http://www.austcrimefiction.org/review/review-five-minutes-alone-paul-cleave ( )

A special thank you to Atria Books and NetGalley for an ARC and the introduction to this impressive author, in exchange for an honest review.

FIVE MINUTES ALONE is the "best of the best"! A true gripping, riveting, intense, suspenseful fast-paced crime thriller. Brilliantly written, an award winning author, and predicted "crime thriller of the year!"

Set in Christchurch, New Zealand, someone is helping rape victims get revenge on their attackers. An intense, edge-of-your-seat, holding your breath, cat-and-mouse chase between old friends- detectives Theodore Tate and Carl Schroder. These two, labeled “The Coma Cops” by the media, are finally getting their lives back into shape (think again). Tate has returned to the police force and is grateful to be back at home with his wife, Bridget. For Schroder; life, not so much.

Meet a few of the main characters:

Detective Theodore (Theo) Tate has lived through a nightmare; however, what he is about to experience will be even worse. His daughter Emily has been killed, his wife, Bridget has lost part of her memory; and often thinks she is living in a world - three years prior to the accident. Theo cannot leave her alone, as she still sets a place at the breakfast table for their daughter. Formerly known as the Coma cop, serving time in jail due to a drunk driving accident, he is now back on the force with his partner Rebecca Kent, which has also been disfigured with tortures of her own.

Kelly Summers’ life changed five years ago and will never be the same. Her world intersected with Dwight Smith, a rapist cutting her face, and disfiguring her, inside and out; she still sees him creeping around every corner of her life, day and night. She fears every day and needs to stay numb with pills to keep the evil at a distance. Her worst nightmare comes true – Dwight is now out of prison.

Peter Crowley, was unable to protect his family. Years ago, his wife was brutally raped repeatedly by two brutal brothers, in front of their young daughter Monica. Unable to live with the past, it drove her to suicide. Even though years later, Peter has remarried, while Monica is now a troubled teen. At the time Peter begged for five minutes alone with the killers, willing to even pay for it. He was never granted the request. Now years later, the rapists are out of prison. Does he still want his five minutes, if given the choice?

Former ex-cop Carl Schroeder has seen it all and a man of many names. Over the last few years the city has had many criminals and he has been involved with them all. The Christchurch Carver, the Burial Killer, the Gran Reaper, even Melissa X. Every one of them a psychopath, a killer. There is the Old Him before he was fired, lost his job, his family, his life, and before he attained the scar, and a bullet lodged in his brain-a time bomb waiting to explode or dislodged which will kill him). The New Him (numb, he talks to Warren, a spider on his wall, he cannot taste anything, has no emotion, or social skills; he just eats to live, and to be honest, he does not care if he lives). Will getting even, provide him with motivation to move on and will he be a hero?

What if . . . every relative or close friend of a murder victim could be granted five minutes alone with the killer? Would it offer them closure, revenge? If granted, soon after the murder, or say, five, ten, or twenty years later? Would the outcome be any different? Would the anger still be fresh, or would time lessen the obsession? What would happen in those five minutes, if left alone with this murderer?

To further complicate, the new death penalty will brought back-will this change the level of violence in the country? The Old Him had been about men like Dwight Smith, and the Christchurch Carver and getting up every morning fighting a never ending fight, dedicating himself to the cause, against violence. What about the New Him?

However, when these criminals get put behind bars, they get out, in a few years, and then are free to kill again. Why should these criminals get a second chance? After all, he never got a second chance.

When rapists and killers begin to show up dead, there seems to be a connection. Could it be a cop or an inside job? It appears someone is one step ahead of the cops. Schroeder and Tate were a team in the past, after all, they have been through the good times and the bad together.

Could Schroeder be behind this madness? Is he playing God, has he completely lost it? He has to stop his friend, as he is out of control, as now the Five Minute Man is involving the past victims. However, one big problem; Schroeder has something on Tate – will he use this information to keep Tate from busting him? Blackmail . . . karma bites!

My first read by Paul Cleave, (was blown away), and could not purchase the previous books in the Christchurch Noir Crime Series, fast enough! Joe Victim, Cemetery Lake, The Cleaner, The Laughterhouse, Blood Men, Collecting Cooper and The Killing Hour, as dying to learn the background of these intriguing characters!

Not only is this suspense complex, it is thought-provoking, with impressive plotting and character development; just when you think it is winding down, bang, another twist is around the corner!

Five Minutes Alone, offers heart pounding intense and fast-paced suspense, leaving you page-turning desperately, into the wee hours of the morning, dying to learn the fate of these troubled and flawed characters, as you sympathize with them all.

You have to read FIVE MINUTES ALONE. You will not be able to stop with just one. I read this as a standalone; however, if you are like me, you will want to read them all. Crime thriller fans will devour!

Atria definitely knows how to crank out the winners: Forty Acres (7/14) and now Five Minutes Alone (10/14), two of my favorite thrillers for 2014!

Judith D. Collins Must Read Books
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