Just why isn’t crime writer Paul Cleave better known?
The Quiet People by Paul Cleave (Upstart Press $37.99)
Reviewed by Greg Fleming Christchurch’s Paul Cleave is one of the stars of the second wave of crime fiction in Aotearoa. His deft, clever stories have deservedly generated a large international following and won numerous awards.
But perhaps the greatest mystery surrounding Cleave is: Why he isn’t better known here?
The Quiet People spells out its premise on the cover: ‘‘Can crime writers get away with murder?’’ This time Cleave adds another dimension of horror, as the victim here is the husband and wife crime writing duo’s seven-year-old son.
At first, it appears Zach has been kidnapped by a stranger. Then the police suspect the scene has been staged and the prime suspects are the parents. Cleave gives readers a prologue that points to their innocence but who, in Cleave’s world of unreliable narrators, can you trust?
It hasn’t helped that our protagonist, semi-successful, now fading, mid-career author Cameron Murdoch, had manhandled children in a bouncy castle the day before.
Things get worse when a high-profile journalist and sworn enemy of the pair focuses on the case. That leads to a disastrous press conference on live TV where Cameron loses all public sympathy.
Nor are the couples’ protestations of innocence helped by their comments on various book panels during the years, which soon surface. There they boast about their crime IQ and the deficiencies of the police: ‘‘Kidnapping is all about becoming a magician. You get the police to look here instead of there.’’
Soon there are protestors outside their house carrying placards labelling them child killers, not to mention the multitude of one-star reviews and online abuse on their social media channels. Murder isn’t always good for business.
Though The Quiet People is strictly based in the real-world, at times Cameron dialogues with a dark alter-ego he calls ‘‘Mr What-if,’’ a voice that must sit uncomfortably on many crime writers’ shoulders as they work. It’s one that’s vital to dream up ever more horrific crimes to satiate a waiting audience.
The ‘‘quiet people’’ of the title refers to that moment when a reporter interviews the astonished neighbour of a crime scene: ‘‘We can’t believe he killed his boss. He was always so quiet, always keeping to himself.’’ But perhaps Cleave has his readers in mind, too.
Although it’s difficult to say more without spoilers, prepare for an action-packed second half where Mr What-if gets the upper hand and the volume’s amped to 10. How you respond to that sudden metamorphosis, and some rather bizarre motivations from a key character we’ve never really got to know, will determine whether you judge this another Cleave success or a promising premise mishandled.