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The Pain Tourist
A young man wakes from a coma to find himself targeted by the men who killed his parents, while someone is impersonating a notorious New Zealand serial killer … the latest chilling, nerve-shredding, twisty thriller from the author of The Quiet People…
James Garrett was critically injured when he was shot following his parents’ execution, and no one expected him to waken from a deep, traumatic coma. When he does, nine years later, Detective Inspector Rebecca Kent is tasked with closing the case that her now retired colleague, Theodore Tate, failed to solve all those years ago.
But between that, and hunting for Copy Joe – a murderer on a spree, who’s imitating Christchurch’s most notorious serial killer – she’s going to need Tate’s help … especially when they learn that James has lived out another life in his nine-year coma, and there are things he couldn’t possibly know, including the fact that Copy Joe isn’t the only serial killer in town…
James Garrett was critically injured when he was shot following his parents’ execution, and no one expected him to waken from a deep, traumatic coma. When he does, nine years later, Detective Inspector Rebecca Kent is tasked with closing the case that her now retired colleague, Theodore Tate, failed to solve all those years ago.
But between that, and hunting for Copy Joe – a murderer on a spree, who’s imitating Christchurch’s most notorious serial killer – she’s going to need Tate’s help … especially when they learn that James has lived out another life in his nine-year coma, and there are things he couldn’t possibly know, including the fact that Copy Joe isn’t the only serial killer in town…
462 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 10, 2022
About the author
Paul Cleave
41 books802 followersPaul Cleave is an internationally bestselling author who is currently dividing his time between his home city of Christchurch, New Zealand, where all of his novels are set, and Europe, where none of his novels are set. His work has been translated into fifteen languages. He has won the Ngaio Marsh award for best crime novel in New Zealand, he won the Saint-Maur book festival's crime novel of the year in France, has been shortlisted for the Edgar Award and the Barry Award in the US, and shortlisted for the Ned Kelly award in Australia. When he's not writing, he spends his time swearing on a golf course, swearing on a tennis court, or trying to add to his list of 25 countries where he's thrown his Frisbee.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 139 reviews
June 22, 2023
EXCERPT: James's thoughts as he lies in bed tend to gravitate toward what he's just watched or read - which isn't great if what he's just watched or read is a story about killer clowns hiding in the closet. Fully aware that night-time noises only make it harder for him to fall asleep, his parents keep their voices to a whisper and movements to a shuffle, but what he's hearing now are daytime noises: knocking on the door, followed by voices, followed by arguing, all at - he glances at his bedside clock - 11.00 pm. He can't make out what the argument is about, but he doesn't like how it sounds, nor does he like the thumps and bumps that follow.
What is going on down there?'
ABOUT 'THE PAIN TOURIST': A young man wakes from a coma to find himself targeted by the men who killed his parents, while someone is impersonating a notorious New Zealand serial killer … the latest chilling, nerve-shredding, twisty thriller from the author of The Quiet People…
James Garrett was critically injured when he was shot following his parents’ execution, and no one expected him to waken from a deep, traumatic coma. When he does, nine years later, Detective Inspector Rebecca Kent is tasked with closing the case that her now retired colleague, Theodore Tate, failed to solve all those years ago.
But between that, and hunting for Copy Joe – a murderer on a spree, who’s imitating Christchurch’s most notorious serial killer – she’s going to need Tate’s help … especially when they learn that James has lived out another life in his nine-year coma, and there are things he couldn’t possibly know, including the fact that Copy Joe isn’t the only serial killer in town…
MY THOUGHTS: I can always rely on Paul Cleave for an absolutely pulse-pounding thriller with a tricky moral dilemma thrown in for good measure. The Pain Tourist has the added bonus of a medical mystery which intrigued me no end. Somehow Cleave always manages to come up a totally new take on an old situation.
All the information you need on the plot is in the publicity blurb; the genius of his writing lauded by the best in the business. What more does it take to convince you to pick up a copy?
Paul Cleave has been firmly ensconced in my top five authors ever since I read his first book a number of years ago. He never fails to shock, appal and enthrall me.
⭐⭐⭐⭐.5
#ThePainTourist
I: @paul.cleave @upstart_press
T: @PaulCleave @upstartpressnz
#contemporaryfiction #crime #detectivefiction #familydrama #medicaldrama #mudermystery #suspense #thriller
THE AUTHOR: Paul Cleave is an internationally bestselling author who is currently dividing his time between his home city of Christchurch, New Zealand, where all of his novels are set, and Europe, where none of his novels are set. His work has been translated into fifteen languages. He has won the Ngaio Marsh award for best crime novel in New Zealand, he won the Saint-Maur book festival's crime novel of the year in France, has been shortlisted for the Edgar Award and the Barry Award in the US, and shortlisted for the Ned Kelly award in Australia. When he's not writing, he spends his time swearing on a golf course, swearing on a tennis court, or trying to add to his list of 25 countries where he's thrown his Frisbee.
I own my copy of The Pain Tourist.
What is going on down there?'
ABOUT 'THE PAIN TOURIST': A young man wakes from a coma to find himself targeted by the men who killed his parents, while someone is impersonating a notorious New Zealand serial killer … the latest chilling, nerve-shredding, twisty thriller from the author of The Quiet People…
James Garrett was critically injured when he was shot following his parents’ execution, and no one expected him to waken from a deep, traumatic coma. When he does, nine years later, Detective Inspector Rebecca Kent is tasked with closing the case that her now retired colleague, Theodore Tate, failed to solve all those years ago.
But between that, and hunting for Copy Joe – a murderer on a spree, who’s imitating Christchurch’s most notorious serial killer – she’s going to need Tate’s help … especially when they learn that James has lived out another life in his nine-year coma, and there are things he couldn’t possibly know, including the fact that Copy Joe isn’t the only serial killer in town…
MY THOUGHTS: I can always rely on Paul Cleave for an absolutely pulse-pounding thriller with a tricky moral dilemma thrown in for good measure. The Pain Tourist has the added bonus of a medical mystery which intrigued me no end. Somehow Cleave always manages to come up a totally new take on an old situation.
All the information you need on the plot is in the publicity blurb; the genius of his writing lauded by the best in the business. What more does it take to convince you to pick up a copy?
Paul Cleave has been firmly ensconced in my top five authors ever since I read his first book a number of years ago. He never fails to shock, appal and enthrall me.
⭐⭐⭐⭐.5
#ThePainTourist
I: @paul.cleave @upstart_press
T: @PaulCleave @upstartpressnz
#contemporaryfiction #crime #detectivefiction #familydrama #medicaldrama #mudermystery #suspense #thriller
THE AUTHOR: Paul Cleave is an internationally bestselling author who is currently dividing his time between his home city of Christchurch, New Zealand, where all of his novels are set, and Europe, where none of his novels are set. His work has been translated into fifteen languages. He has won the Ngaio Marsh award for best crime novel in New Zealand, he won the Saint-Maur book festival's crime novel of the year in France, has been shortlisted for the Edgar Award and the Barry Award in the US, and shortlisted for the Ned Kelly award in Australia. When he's not writing, he spends his time swearing on a golf course, swearing on a tennis court, or trying to add to his list of 25 countries where he's thrown his Frisbee.
I own my copy of The Pain Tourist.
December 26, 2023
THE PAIN TOURIST [2022] By Paul Cleave
My Review Five Stars*****
I first ran across this novel (and “discovered” the likes of New Zealand’s Paul Cleave) when I was glancing through a recent newsletter from Crime Fiction Lover. It was a win-win for me when I purchased the novel. The first “win” was reading perhaps the best crime fiction novel I have read this year. I knew that this was the case right away because I felt the not unpleasant sensation of feeling my reading speed slow down which was accompanied by a pleasing thrill and emotional investment which translated into a message I felt translated quite clearly as it penetrated my thoughts. Simply put, I wanted this story to last and was acutely aware that I was consciously prolonging my sense of intrigue and enjoyment.
That may sound like the ramblings of a mystery lover who is a little touched if you get my drift. However, if you have ever thought to yourself “I don’t want this book to end” then you understand. The second “win” is finding this “new-to-me” author who is a gifted storyteller, demonstrates the mental dexterity to juggle multiple serious plot threads, exhibits nearly perfect pacing of the momentum, and positions pulse pounding “cliffhangers” at the end of several chapters when the action is reaching a crescendo.
Perhaps most impressive of all is his character development skills. The main characters of Dent and Tate are so real that I expected them to walk off the page at any time. The complexity of these characters is the unshakable foundation of this sensational novel with its multiple storylines of multiple murderers. His ability to create believable and altogether plausible flawed characters is just as vibrantly demonstrated. The novel is populated with numerous colorful characters and most of them are morally corrupt to some extent. But this is a novel with three threads that involve serial killers, so the author fleshes out the villains enough to say it was adequate as well.
Part One of the book begins with a brutal home invasion into the residence of Frank and Avah Garrett by four violent perpetrators who have obtained false information that the Garrett’s have a safe in their home that contains valuables. The 11-year-old son James hears the raised voices downstairs and silently makes his way to the top of the stairs out of sight to eavesdrop and see what is happening. His parents are bound, beaten, and bloody but hold fast to the truth that they do not own a safe. One of the men are sent upstairs to bring the children down, and James slithers away and promptly wakes up his 16-year-old sister. Valuable time is lost when she does not believe that there is any threat. James pushes her through the upstairs window of her room where she covertly makes her way to the back door of their neighbors to get help. The gunman grabs James and drags him downstairs where the parents are summarily executed with a shot to the head while James awaits his fate. One of the men fire a shot to the boy’s head and the world goes dark for the him. Hazel reaches safety and sounds the alarm which forces the four killers to abandon the search for her and get out of Dodge. The neighbor is a doctor and keeps little James alive long enough for the ambulance to arrive. He flatlines several times in surgery and emerges from the operation comatose. Nine years will pass before 11-year-old James awakens in a man’s body and opens his eyes to what he believes is the same night he was shot. His sister Hazel, now 25 years old, has been devoted to her brother and stayed by his side never giving up hope he would come out of the coma state. DI Carl Schroder and DI Theodore Tate were the investigative homicide detectives who worked the case. Initially there are promising leads, but eventually the case went cold.
Nine years later when James awakened from his coma Schroder was dead, and Tate was retired and employed as a licensed PI. The author does an admirable job of character enrichment for our two sympathetic protagonists James and his sister Hazel. Our voyeuristic view into the night their family was destroyed renders our hearts primed to accept these young victims and their pain. DI Rebecca Kent is assigned to reopen the cold case file and investigate the near decade old murder of the Garrets. The stone-cold killers had been confident James would never come out of his coma but now they target him and his sister for elimination. She elicits Tate’s help with the cold case due to his familiarity with the original investigation.
In Part Two of the novel, more plot lines are developed, in addition to the reopening of the Garrett case. There is also the reference to the Christchurch Carver, a serial killer who had terrorized the city for years before being apprehended. He was identified as Joe Middleton, a man who had hidden in plain side while working as a janitor at the police department during the same period he hunted and murdered innocent women. The infamous “Carver” had escaped from custody following a prison break and was still at large when the story begins. He had been in the wind for at least three years at the time.
Third person POV introduces an unidentified man who is desperate to see a woman dead (“Jess”) but primarily is disgruntled, bewildered, and filled with resentment and hate for the loss of an achievement and a life he was convinced he deserved but never materialized as he envisioned. He had been the one who was supposed to have apprehended the “Carver,” gained fame and fortune, perhaps even offered royalties and a part in the film adaptation. He decides to resurrect New Zealand’s most infamous serial killer.
Detective Inspector Rebecca Kent and Acting Superintendent Eric Wilson are summoned to the murder scene of Denise Laughton, who had been residing at an eerily familiar address, notably the same house where the “Carver” had murdered one of his eleven known female victims. DI Kent suspects that the murder scene at the Laughton’s was not the work of the “Carver” but rather a meticulous staging of the original crime that was too perfect in its attention to detail. She feels intuitively that it is the work of a copycat killer. It is at this time that Kent is apprised that James Garrett has awakened from his coma and Acting Superintendent Eric Wilson assigns her to follow up on the double murder and attempted murder.
“The Pain Tourist” (Title of Book) is derived from observations made by one of the characters in the novel, notably Matthew Durry the owner of the house where the “Carver” had murdered his wife Angela, now the scene of a second slaughter of another woman (Denise Laughton) the first victim of the Copycat Killer, later dubbed Copy Joe.
He asserted that “pain tourists” were fascinated by Joe Middleton, the serial killer, and would devour all the TV shows, podcasts, books, and then start trying to collect souvenirs at crime scenes. The concept was more generalized in that “pain tourists” at the simplest level were “people who revel in the misery of others.” This is hardly a new phenomenon but a sad commentary. How many people do we see “rubberneck” driving past automobile crash sites, and with the convenience of cell phones, photograph the scenes of car accidents. The morbid curiosity about the horrific scene of screams and unnatural death will always attract “pain tourists.” This point is driven home by the bags of fan mail that killers receive while incarcerated. No one is surprised anymore by women professing their love and devotion to convicted murderers, especially notorious serial killers who are imprisoned.
DI Kent, with the assistance of PI Theodore Tate investigate the original Garrett home invasion, the murders committed by “Copy Joe”, and if that was not enough a major part of the novel revolves around James, his older sister Hazel, and the surgeon who saved the boy’s life. It appears that James has lived out another life during the nine years he lay motionless in the coma ward of the hospital. The concept of the boy’s “Coma Life” is both extraordinary and fascinating. James leads the police to the trail of a sinister multiple murderer who has eluded suspicion prior to now. He reports things that he could not possibly know.
“The Pain Tourist” is nearly unputdownable, the original and imaginative complex plot brilliantly executed, perfectly paced, and rich with characters that are so fully realized in the author’s masterful storytelling that you feel their pain and hold your breath when they are in danger. I loved every minute I spent spellbound by this top shelf psychological thriller.
PAUL CLEAVER’S PAIN TOURIST IS A PERFECT BLEND OF PSYCHOLOGICAL SUSPENSE AND CRIME FICTION
My Review Five Stars*****
I first ran across this novel (and “discovered” the likes of New Zealand’s Paul Cleave) when I was glancing through a recent newsletter from Crime Fiction Lover. It was a win-win for me when I purchased the novel. The first “win” was reading perhaps the best crime fiction novel I have read this year. I knew that this was the case right away because I felt the not unpleasant sensation of feeling my reading speed slow down which was accompanied by a pleasing thrill and emotional investment which translated into a message I felt translated quite clearly as it penetrated my thoughts. Simply put, I wanted this story to last and was acutely aware that I was consciously prolonging my sense of intrigue and enjoyment.
That may sound like the ramblings of a mystery lover who is a little touched if you get my drift. However, if you have ever thought to yourself “I don’t want this book to end” then you understand. The second “win” is finding this “new-to-me” author who is a gifted storyteller, demonstrates the mental dexterity to juggle multiple serious plot threads, exhibits nearly perfect pacing of the momentum, and positions pulse pounding “cliffhangers” at the end of several chapters when the action is reaching a crescendo.
Perhaps most impressive of all is his character development skills. The main characters of Dent and Tate are so real that I expected them to walk off the page at any time. The complexity of these characters is the unshakable foundation of this sensational novel with its multiple storylines of multiple murderers. His ability to create believable and altogether plausible flawed characters is just as vibrantly demonstrated. The novel is populated with numerous colorful characters and most of them are morally corrupt to some extent. But this is a novel with three threads that involve serial killers, so the author fleshes out the villains enough to say it was adequate as well.
Part One of the book begins with a brutal home invasion into the residence of Frank and Avah Garrett by four violent perpetrators who have obtained false information that the Garrett’s have a safe in their home that contains valuables. The 11-year-old son James hears the raised voices downstairs and silently makes his way to the top of the stairs out of sight to eavesdrop and see what is happening. His parents are bound, beaten, and bloody but hold fast to the truth that they do not own a safe. One of the men are sent upstairs to bring the children down, and James slithers away and promptly wakes up his 16-year-old sister. Valuable time is lost when she does not believe that there is any threat. James pushes her through the upstairs window of her room where she covertly makes her way to the back door of their neighbors to get help. The gunman grabs James and drags him downstairs where the parents are summarily executed with a shot to the head while James awaits his fate. One of the men fire a shot to the boy’s head and the world goes dark for the him. Hazel reaches safety and sounds the alarm which forces the four killers to abandon the search for her and get out of Dodge. The neighbor is a doctor and keeps little James alive long enough for the ambulance to arrive. He flatlines several times in surgery and emerges from the operation comatose. Nine years will pass before 11-year-old James awakens in a man’s body and opens his eyes to what he believes is the same night he was shot. His sister Hazel, now 25 years old, has been devoted to her brother and stayed by his side never giving up hope he would come out of the coma state. DI Carl Schroder and DI Theodore Tate were the investigative homicide detectives who worked the case. Initially there are promising leads, but eventually the case went cold.
Nine years later when James awakened from his coma Schroder was dead, and Tate was retired and employed as a licensed PI. The author does an admirable job of character enrichment for our two sympathetic protagonists James and his sister Hazel. Our voyeuristic view into the night their family was destroyed renders our hearts primed to accept these young victims and their pain. DI Rebecca Kent is assigned to reopen the cold case file and investigate the near decade old murder of the Garrets. The stone-cold killers had been confident James would never come out of his coma but now they target him and his sister for elimination. She elicits Tate’s help with the cold case due to his familiarity with the original investigation.
In Part Two of the novel, more plot lines are developed, in addition to the reopening of the Garrett case. There is also the reference to the Christchurch Carver, a serial killer who had terrorized the city for years before being apprehended. He was identified as Joe Middleton, a man who had hidden in plain side while working as a janitor at the police department during the same period he hunted and murdered innocent women. The infamous “Carver” had escaped from custody following a prison break and was still at large when the story begins. He had been in the wind for at least three years at the time.
Third person POV introduces an unidentified man who is desperate to see a woman dead (“Jess”) but primarily is disgruntled, bewildered, and filled with resentment and hate for the loss of an achievement and a life he was convinced he deserved but never materialized as he envisioned. He had been the one who was supposed to have apprehended the “Carver,” gained fame and fortune, perhaps even offered royalties and a part in the film adaptation. He decides to resurrect New Zealand’s most infamous serial killer.
Detective Inspector Rebecca Kent and Acting Superintendent Eric Wilson are summoned to the murder scene of Denise Laughton, who had been residing at an eerily familiar address, notably the same house where the “Carver” had murdered one of his eleven known female victims. DI Kent suspects that the murder scene at the Laughton’s was not the work of the “Carver” but rather a meticulous staging of the original crime that was too perfect in its attention to detail. She feels intuitively that it is the work of a copycat killer. It is at this time that Kent is apprised that James Garrett has awakened from his coma and Acting Superintendent Eric Wilson assigns her to follow up on the double murder and attempted murder.
“The Pain Tourist” (Title of Book) is derived from observations made by one of the characters in the novel, notably Matthew Durry the owner of the house where the “Carver” had murdered his wife Angela, now the scene of a second slaughter of another woman (Denise Laughton) the first victim of the Copycat Killer, later dubbed Copy Joe.
He asserted that “pain tourists” were fascinated by Joe Middleton, the serial killer, and would devour all the TV shows, podcasts, books, and then start trying to collect souvenirs at crime scenes. The concept was more generalized in that “pain tourists” at the simplest level were “people who revel in the misery of others.” This is hardly a new phenomenon but a sad commentary. How many people do we see “rubberneck” driving past automobile crash sites, and with the convenience of cell phones, photograph the scenes of car accidents. The morbid curiosity about the horrific scene of screams and unnatural death will always attract “pain tourists.” This point is driven home by the bags of fan mail that killers receive while incarcerated. No one is surprised anymore by women professing their love and devotion to convicted murderers, especially notorious serial killers who are imprisoned.
DI Kent, with the assistance of PI Theodore Tate investigate the original Garrett home invasion, the murders committed by “Copy Joe”, and if that was not enough a major part of the novel revolves around James, his older sister Hazel, and the surgeon who saved the boy’s life. It appears that James has lived out another life during the nine years he lay motionless in the coma ward of the hospital. The concept of the boy’s “Coma Life” is both extraordinary and fascinating. James leads the police to the trail of a sinister multiple murderer who has eluded suspicion prior to now. He reports things that he could not possibly know.
“The Pain Tourist” is nearly unputdownable, the original and imaginative complex plot brilliantly executed, perfectly paced, and rich with characters that are so fully realized in the author’s masterful storytelling that you feel their pain and hold your breath when they are in danger. I loved every minute I spent spellbound by this top shelf psychological thriller.
PAUL CLEAVER’S PAIN TOURIST IS A PERFECT BLEND OF PSYCHOLOGICAL SUSPENSE AND CRIME FICTION
Read
December 15, 2023Dnf at 50 %
February 26, 2023
THE PAIN TOURIST is a suspense thriller by bestselling New Zealand author Paul Cleave. This was an amazing read!
His standalone novels include:
Trust No One (2015)
A Killer Harvest (2017)
Whatever It Takes (2020)
The Quiet People (2021)
The Pain Tourist (2022)
This is my review of The Pain Tourist. Pain tourists are people who are attracted to the pain and suffering of others.
Eleven -year-old James Garrett hears his parents downstairs pleading that their lives be spared. Slowly he crawls to the top of the stairs and observes three strangers, in dark clothing with ski masks, beating up his parents. James helps his older sister, Hazel escape through the bedroom window to get help, but he is dragged downstairs to his parents, where he witnesses his parent’s execution, before he himself was shot, before the monsters escaped.
Detectives DI Tate and DI Schroder show up at the scene.
James is rushed to the hospital where he undergoes brain surgery for his critically injury, which is touch and go. Now he is fighting for his life.
James has been in a coma for nine years. He wakes from a coma to find himself targeted by the men who killed his parents, while someone is impersonating a notorious New Zealand serial killer. No one expected him to wake up from the coma. When he does, Detective Inspector Rebecca Kent is assigned to the case after DI Tate had retired and failed to solve the case.
But Kent needs Tate’s assistance while hunting for Copy Joe, who is imitating Christchurch’s most notorious New Zealand’s serial killer, Joe Middleton.
But they both learn that James had lived out another life in his nine-year coma, where his parents didn’t die, which he called “Coma World”. He wrote about this in nine notebooks, one for every year he was in a coma. There were things that James couldn’t possibly know, including the fact that Copy Joe isn’t the only serial killer in town…
This was a fast-moving thriller which kept me guessing throughout. Loved it!
Many thanks to the author, courtesy of Orenda Books, and The Book Club Reviewer Request Group (FB) for my digital copy.
His standalone novels include:
Trust No One (2015)
A Killer Harvest (2017)
Whatever It Takes (2020)
The Quiet People (2021)
The Pain Tourist (2022)
This is my review of The Pain Tourist. Pain tourists are people who are attracted to the pain and suffering of others.
Eleven -year-old James Garrett hears his parents downstairs pleading that their lives be spared. Slowly he crawls to the top of the stairs and observes three strangers, in dark clothing with ski masks, beating up his parents. James helps his older sister, Hazel escape through the bedroom window to get help, but he is dragged downstairs to his parents, where he witnesses his parent’s execution, before he himself was shot, before the monsters escaped.
Detectives DI Tate and DI Schroder show up at the scene.
James is rushed to the hospital where he undergoes brain surgery for his critically injury, which is touch and go. Now he is fighting for his life.
James has been in a coma for nine years. He wakes from a coma to find himself targeted by the men who killed his parents, while someone is impersonating a notorious New Zealand serial killer. No one expected him to wake up from the coma. When he does, Detective Inspector Rebecca Kent is assigned to the case after DI Tate had retired and failed to solve the case.
But Kent needs Tate’s assistance while hunting for Copy Joe, who is imitating Christchurch’s most notorious New Zealand’s serial killer, Joe Middleton.
But they both learn that James had lived out another life in his nine-year coma, where his parents didn’t die, which he called “Coma World”. He wrote about this in nine notebooks, one for every year he was in a coma. There were things that James couldn’t possibly know, including the fact that Copy Joe isn’t the only serial killer in town…
This was a fast-moving thriller which kept me guessing throughout. Loved it!
Many thanks to the author, courtesy of Orenda Books, and The Book Club Reviewer Request Group (FB) for my digital copy.
October 19, 2022
Another excellent twisty thriller from Paul Cleave - this one has so many layers all pitch perfectly managed and absolutely brilliant
The group dynamic is clever with terrific characters both good and evil that you fully engage with. Both mystery and thriller there's a fair bit of edge of the seat action in The Pain Tourist and it is one of the most addictive novels I've read this year.
Absolutely superb on every level I highly recommend this. A top ten of the year contender.
The group dynamic is clever with terrific characters both good and evil that you fully engage with. Both mystery and thriller there's a fair bit of edge of the seat action in The Pain Tourist and it is one of the most addictive novels I've read this year.
Absolutely superb on every level I highly recommend this. A top ten of the year contender.
September 26, 2022
I think you could happily agree that it’s a mark of a good book when, as a reader, I don’t even bother to wait to get to the end of the story to head off and try and track down the author’s back titles. That is exactly what happened at about the 30% mark of The Pain Tourist by Paul Cleave. It’s a book which really hits the ground running in terms of tension and suspense, putting readers on edge from the very opening chapter, and giving us very little chance to relax until we hit that very last page.
The Pain Tourist is the kind of book that causes sleep depravation. Not because it is unnecessarily gruesome or scary, but just because it is so damned addictive you will struggle to put the book down. I tried, in vain, to kid myself I could stick to that ‘one more chapter’ resolution, but after my tenth ‘just one more’ moment, I stopped lying to myself and read right to the end. Yes, I was tired the next day, but by god, it was worth it.
This is the story of a home invasion gone wrong. Wrong house, wrong family, absolutely devastating result. At least … it is in part. That in itself is pretty terrifying prospect, and whilst the scenes are not especially graphic, they are intense enough to elicit a real reaction out of you - one of shock in the first part and an absolute hunger for more in the second. I say, it is about a home invasion in part, as that is only one element of the story, one which draws former Detective Theodore Tate right into the heart of the story, with a desire to close the one case that eluded him and his partner nine years earlier.
This part of the story, the way in which James Garret life, and that of his sister, are changed irrevocably, becomes quite emotional, and in some respects seems almost unbelievable and out of keeping with the serious nature of the murder investigation which dominates the remainder of the novel. I loved the slightly off-kilter angle that Paul Cleave uses to present James’ story, and how he examines that whole series of unknowns about patients in a come - what they do and don’t hear and understand. But it is so carefully woven into the plot, James story established so slowly and in such an empathetic way, that it was impossible not to become invested in James’ future and, ultimately, his safety.
A significant part of the book is given over to the murder investigation that Detective Rebecca Kent is tasked with solving, one which bears all the hallmarks of one of the author’s most notorious characters (and one of the key reasons I sought out his other titles so quickly). You don’t need to read the other series - and there are two of them, one following Tate and one this particular miscreant, but I suppose if you want absolute secrecy over what is to possibly come in this book, you may want to start the other books first. I didn’t and I had no issues keeping up with what was going on and who the other characters were. I think long terms fans will be very happy, newcomers, like me, quite content to join in here and catch up later. It’s a self contained story with echoes of the past, but one that really did intrigue me enough to want to see what I have missed.
The book is packed with tension, with characters who make the blood boil, warm the heart and ultimately pull at the heart strings. I became invested in both Detectives and victims very quickly. Paul Cleave is a master at creating an atmosphere which keeps you on edge but also draws you deeper into the mystery. I had plenty of assumptions about the who, what and where of all of the separate threads, but remained surprised throughout, with the author managing to hide the bad guys in plain sight. There is much sleight of hand, high levels of misdirection, but also a trend which really makes me worry a touch about law and order in New Zealand … 🤔
There is a third story to be investigated, one that is drawn from part of James Garrett’s amazing story and which Kent engages Tate’s involvement in to resolve. I loved the way in which all three investigations intersect, the way that they inform and disrupt each other, but also the sense of everything building to a crescendo with each and every page turn. And what a crescendo it it. Just when you think it is safe to take a breath, Paul Cleave throws in another grenade or two, taking us, and his characters, right to the limit, the stories reaching such a dramatic climax that it keeps the pulse banging out a very fast pace.
Everything about this book worked. It left me with a real smile on my face at the end, even if some things may have not reached the conclusion I might have expected. But it was the one that fit the book. Echoed the undulating and unceasing tension and uncertainty which makes this such an addictive read.
Tense, suspenseful, emotional and jam-packed with unforgettable characters, whether you are a fan of the author’s earlier series, or brand new to the team, this book is most definitely recommended. Everything I look for in a book and so much more. And most certainly a red hot, sleep stealing, pulse pounding read.
November 10, 2022
"First-rate! Powerhouse international bestselling crime thriller author Paul Cleave knows how to keep readers turning the pages, and he is in 'top form' with his latest—THE PAIN TOURIST."
INTERVIEW: Check out my fun #AuthorElevatorSeries Interview with Paul, where we go behind the scenes of the book and the author!
"Pain Tourists" —people who revel in the misery of others. Those who find personal satisfaction in visiting people or places associated with tragedies. And when the TV shows, podcasts, and books aren't enough for them, they break into houses to collect souvenirs.
This riveting thriller begins in Christchurch with a home invasion under the disguise of a wounded cop (three monsters) gone bad (wrong house). Frank and Avah Garrett are both real estate agents with two children.
Leaving two parents murdered and James, their eleven-year-old boy, shot in the back of the head and left for dead. While fourteen-year-old sister, Hazel manages to escape with her little brother's help.
Detective Inspectors Theodore Tate and Carl Schroder (from previous books) are on the case. The case was not solved.
James managed to be alive; however, the surgeons lost him four times. Finally in a coma for nine years with his sister Hazel by his side. Then one day, after nine years, he comes out of his coma.
James was an imaginative young boy with an eidetic memory and always wanted to be a writer. During his nine years in a coma, he created a world called Coma World.
He can visit Coma World whenever he likes (the warehouse with cabinets (his parents purchased in his dreams). He can clearly remember those moments, as though he is transported into them. Everything outside of the Coma World (one of happiness) is The Real World (one of fear).
There, he can access the vast warehouse filled with hundreds of file cabinets—a place where he can lock away the painful memories and a place of solace where he can reimagine the story with a more happy ending.
James cannot speak due to his brain injuries, now age twenty, and he quickly writes, filling notebooks full of happenings during these nine years. His sister is now thirty-two and supportive of her brother in every way.
His surgeon, Doctor Wolfgang McCoy, quickly realizes in James' Coma World; memories are details and dates that coincide with the real world, including information about a possible murder.
CASE ONE: James may be able to help solve the case of his parent's death nine years earlier.
CASE TWO: While in a coma, there was a woman in his room (Georgia), and he overhears the husband (Nathaniel) confessing to attempted murder. (she later dies after being in a coma). How many other murders did he commit?
CASE THREE: Enter Detective Inspector Rebecca Kent, charged with solving another case—Copy Joe, the serial killer.
Years ago, there was Joe Middleton, dubbed the Christchurch Carver (previous book), who terrorized the city for years picking off women while working as a janitor at the police department. He was arrested and then escaped, and no one knows if he is still in Christchurch or New Zealand.
Is Joe back, or is this a copycat? Copy Joe.
Kent is now juggling all three cases.
She consults with Shroder and Tate; neither is still on the force, but they want to be involved. They work with a TV show, The Cleaner, filmed in Christchurch that follows the lives of two crime-scene cleaners finding themselves solving the crimes they're there to clean up. Solving cases the police can't. There is also a show called Crime Busters. The show has produced a steady income for Tate as a liaison between the TV studio and the police department.
How do these three cases connect?
The Garrett Family
Copy Joe, serial killer
Nathaniel and Georgia Perry
Pain Tourists go where the Joes of the world have been.
Tate, Kent, Hazel, and James are all now in danger. Can they stay one step ahead of the monsters who want to take them down? Who can they trust?
Many villains and monsters hide in plain sight, those who are pain tourists, delighting in others' pain and tragedy—some who seek notoriety, filled with greed and revenge. Some are disguised as cops, law-abiding citizens, colleagues, or friends with connections.
There are past and present detectives, some with troubled, haunted pasts trying to capture the monsters. Some are still grieving and struggling with the moral consequences of the crimes they investigate, and then there are survivors and heroes.
However, at its center is the greatest hero of all— we find in the unforgettable character of James Garrett. Brilliantly crafted, he and his sister, Hazel, are the "stars" of this show and ones you will remember long after the book ends.
Those who like their crime thrillers infused with humanity are richly rewarded!
This complex story has many moving parts, but Cleave has a confident and steady hand. His skills as a master storyteller are on full display.
Readers will be immersed in the suspenseful, alternating three investigations (storylines) and will not want them to end.
Perfect for crime junkies, true crime fans, and dark, well-written thrillers and procedurals that explore human nature.
Multi-layered, complex, cleverly plotted, and wildly entertaining! Packed with non-stop action, twists, turns, emotion, and heart, THE PAIN TOURIST is CRIME fiction at its most THRILLING.
If you enjoyed Cleave's The Quiet People, you will devour his latest. I am a long-time huge fan and have read all his books. One of my favorites —I highly recommend it along with his entire backlist.
Relentlessly suspenseful and furiously paced, a searing, unforgettable novel with a seamless blend of twisty police procedural, ingenious psychological thriller, gritty crime thriller, captivating literary fiction, suspense, mystery, and action—THE PAIN TOURIST has it all!
When combined, you get the best literary fiction which blends plot and story with character development to envelop you in a compelling work of art.
If you are a Cleave fan (like myself), you will enjoy catching up with familiar characters from previous books. However, the novel can be read easily as a standalone—new fans will delight. And if you haven't yet read him, this is the moment. Do not miss this one.
For fans of authors: Michael Connelly, Michael Robotham, Linwood Barclay, Karin Slaughter, Lisa Gardner, and Dean Koontz.
Verdict: Simply the best crime fiction you will read this year! Highly creative, filled with intriguing turns, surprising revelations, and a compelling cast of characters who leap from the page— THE PAIN TOURIST is Cleave's most electrifying, provocative, gritty, and suspenseful novel yet!
His superb writing is captivating, raw, powerful, and utterly gripping, yet written with humor, tenderness, and empathy that will break your heart—making him one of the "best" crime thrillers of today.
A special thank you to #OrendaBooks for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Also purchased a copy.
TV ADAPTATION: Congrats! Look for the upcoming TV adaption six-part series of Paul's debut novel "The Cleaner" called "Dark City," coming in 2023 to be filmed in Christchurch!
Blog Review Posted @
www.JudithDCollins.com
@JudithDCollins | #JDCMustReadBooks
Pub Date: Nov 10, 2022
My Rating: 5 🌟 STARS +++
Nov 2022 Must-Read Books
Top Books of 2022
INTERVIEW: Check out my fun #AuthorElevatorSeries Interview with Paul, where we go behind the scenes of the book and the author!
"Pain Tourists" —people who revel in the misery of others. Those who find personal satisfaction in visiting people or places associated with tragedies. And when the TV shows, podcasts, and books aren't enough for them, they break into houses to collect souvenirs.
This riveting thriller begins in Christchurch with a home invasion under the disguise of a wounded cop (three monsters) gone bad (wrong house). Frank and Avah Garrett are both real estate agents with two children.
Leaving two parents murdered and James, their eleven-year-old boy, shot in the back of the head and left for dead. While fourteen-year-old sister, Hazel manages to escape with her little brother's help.
Detective Inspectors Theodore Tate and Carl Schroder (from previous books) are on the case. The case was not solved.
James managed to be alive; however, the surgeons lost him four times. Finally in a coma for nine years with his sister Hazel by his side. Then one day, after nine years, he comes out of his coma.
James was an imaginative young boy with an eidetic memory and always wanted to be a writer. During his nine years in a coma, he created a world called Coma World.
He can visit Coma World whenever he likes (the warehouse with cabinets (his parents purchased in his dreams). He can clearly remember those moments, as though he is transported into them. Everything outside of the Coma World (one of happiness) is The Real World (one of fear).
There, he can access the vast warehouse filled with hundreds of file cabinets—a place where he can lock away the painful memories and a place of solace where he can reimagine the story with a more happy ending.
James cannot speak due to his brain injuries, now age twenty, and he quickly writes, filling notebooks full of happenings during these nine years. His sister is now thirty-two and supportive of her brother in every way.
His surgeon, Doctor Wolfgang McCoy, quickly realizes in James' Coma World; memories are details and dates that coincide with the real world, including information about a possible murder.
CASE ONE: James may be able to help solve the case of his parent's death nine years earlier.
CASE TWO: While in a coma, there was a woman in his room (Georgia), and he overhears the husband (Nathaniel) confessing to attempted murder. (she later dies after being in a coma). How many other murders did he commit?
CASE THREE: Enter Detective Inspector Rebecca Kent, charged with solving another case—Copy Joe, the serial killer.
Years ago, there was Joe Middleton, dubbed the Christchurch Carver (previous book), who terrorized the city for years picking off women while working as a janitor at the police department. He was arrested and then escaped, and no one knows if he is still in Christchurch or New Zealand.
Is Joe back, or is this a copycat? Copy Joe.
Kent is now juggling all three cases.
She consults with Shroder and Tate; neither is still on the force, but they want to be involved. They work with a TV show, The Cleaner, filmed in Christchurch that follows the lives of two crime-scene cleaners finding themselves solving the crimes they're there to clean up. Solving cases the police can't. There is also a show called Crime Busters. The show has produced a steady income for Tate as a liaison between the TV studio and the police department.
How do these three cases connect?
The Garrett Family
Copy Joe, serial killer
Nathaniel and Georgia Perry
Pain Tourists go where the Joes of the world have been.
Tate, Kent, Hazel, and James are all now in danger. Can they stay one step ahead of the monsters who want to take them down? Who can they trust?
Many villains and monsters hide in plain sight, those who are pain tourists, delighting in others' pain and tragedy—some who seek notoriety, filled with greed and revenge. Some are disguised as cops, law-abiding citizens, colleagues, or friends with connections.
There are past and present detectives, some with troubled, haunted pasts trying to capture the monsters. Some are still grieving and struggling with the moral consequences of the crimes they investigate, and then there are survivors and heroes.
However, at its center is the greatest hero of all— we find in the unforgettable character of James Garrett. Brilliantly crafted, he and his sister, Hazel, are the "stars" of this show and ones you will remember long after the book ends.
Those who like their crime thrillers infused with humanity are richly rewarded!
This complex story has many moving parts, but Cleave has a confident and steady hand. His skills as a master storyteller are on full display.
Readers will be immersed in the suspenseful, alternating three investigations (storylines) and will not want them to end.
Perfect for crime junkies, true crime fans, and dark, well-written thrillers and procedurals that explore human nature.
Multi-layered, complex, cleverly plotted, and wildly entertaining! Packed with non-stop action, twists, turns, emotion, and heart, THE PAIN TOURIST is CRIME fiction at its most THRILLING.
If you enjoyed Cleave's The Quiet People, you will devour his latest. I am a long-time huge fan and have read all his books. One of my favorites —I highly recommend it along with his entire backlist.
Relentlessly suspenseful and furiously paced, a searing, unforgettable novel with a seamless blend of twisty police procedural, ingenious psychological thriller, gritty crime thriller, captivating literary fiction, suspense, mystery, and action—THE PAIN TOURIST has it all!
When combined, you get the best literary fiction which blends plot and story with character development to envelop you in a compelling work of art.
If you are a Cleave fan (like myself), you will enjoy catching up with familiar characters from previous books. However, the novel can be read easily as a standalone—new fans will delight. And if you haven't yet read him, this is the moment. Do not miss this one.
For fans of authors: Michael Connelly, Michael Robotham, Linwood Barclay, Karin Slaughter, Lisa Gardner, and Dean Koontz.
Verdict: Simply the best crime fiction you will read this year! Highly creative, filled with intriguing turns, surprising revelations, and a compelling cast of characters who leap from the page— THE PAIN TOURIST is Cleave's most electrifying, provocative, gritty, and suspenseful novel yet!
His superb writing is captivating, raw, powerful, and utterly gripping, yet written with humor, tenderness, and empathy that will break your heart—making him one of the "best" crime thrillers of today.
A special thank you to #OrendaBooks for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Also purchased a copy.
TV ADAPTATION: Congrats! Look for the upcoming TV adaption six-part series of Paul's debut novel "The Cleaner" called "Dark City," coming in 2023 to be filmed in Christchurch!
Blog Review Posted @
www.JudithDCollins.com
@JudithDCollins | #JDCMustReadBooks
Pub Date: Nov 10, 2022
My Rating: 5 🌟 STARS +++
Nov 2022 Must-Read Books
Top Books of 2022
November 8, 2022
In November last year I read and reviewed The Quiet People by Paul Cleave which turned out to be one of my top books of last year. I've been looking forward to The Pain Tourist ever since and am delighted to say that I've not been disappointed.
There's an intensity to this author's plotting that leaves me breathless and feeling very tense at times. He doesn't pull punches, he doesn't ease his readers gently into things, it's full-on, high throttle and often exhausting, but in a very very good way.
The premise for the plot is like nothing that I've read before. A young boy sees his parents murdered in front of him, in their own living room. He is then shot in the head and rushed to hospital. Whilst on the operating table, this boy, James Garrett dies three times. Whilst doctors do revive him, he falls into a coma. For nine years.
Meanwhile, his elder sister Hazel who managed to escape that night has tried to make a life for herself. Never giving up on James, visiting him regularly whilst working to pay her way through college and fixing up the house.
When James finally wakes, there's jubilation. From the medical team and from Hazel. However, there are people out there who are not happy that he is conscious, and will everything they can to prevent him from remembering the events of that night.
However, James has lived his one 'Coma Life' whilst in hospital. His memories were made whilst laying in a bed, out cold, but are very different to real life, but his outstanding memory means he can recall every single moment of those nine years.
DI Rebecca Kent has two major investigations under way. She's been tasked with the cold case relating to the Garrett family murders and she's also trying to hunt down a killer known as 'Copy Joe' - so called because he's carrying out killings that are a copy of one the area's most notorious murderers.
Theodore Tate was the detective in charge of the original Garett investigation, and Rebecca needs to enlist his help. And what an awesome team these two make! Brilliant characters, two larger than life people who work so well together and who the reader will back all of the way.
It's a complex tale that is utterly gripping, unique and incredibly clever. The use of James' Coma-World and the slight cross-overs into the real world are imaginatively done, delivering twist after twist and are quite astounding.
This is addictive stuff, makes you want to turn the pages faster and faster, the closer to the end that you get. Thrilling. Another stand out crime novel from such a talented author.
There's an intensity to this author's plotting that leaves me breathless and feeling very tense at times. He doesn't pull punches, he doesn't ease his readers gently into things, it's full-on, high throttle and often exhausting, but in a very very good way.
The premise for the plot is like nothing that I've read before. A young boy sees his parents murdered in front of him, in their own living room. He is then shot in the head and rushed to hospital. Whilst on the operating table, this boy, James Garrett dies three times. Whilst doctors do revive him, he falls into a coma. For nine years.
Meanwhile, his elder sister Hazel who managed to escape that night has tried to make a life for herself. Never giving up on James, visiting him regularly whilst working to pay her way through college and fixing up the house.
When James finally wakes, there's jubilation. From the medical team and from Hazel. However, there are people out there who are not happy that he is conscious, and will everything they can to prevent him from remembering the events of that night.
However, James has lived his one 'Coma Life' whilst in hospital. His memories were made whilst laying in a bed, out cold, but are very different to real life, but his outstanding memory means he can recall every single moment of those nine years.
DI Rebecca Kent has two major investigations under way. She's been tasked with the cold case relating to the Garrett family murders and she's also trying to hunt down a killer known as 'Copy Joe' - so called because he's carrying out killings that are a copy of one the area's most notorious murderers.
Theodore Tate was the detective in charge of the original Garett investigation, and Rebecca needs to enlist his help. And what an awesome team these two make! Brilliant characters, two larger than life people who work so well together and who the reader will back all of the way.
It's a complex tale that is utterly gripping, unique and incredibly clever. The use of James' Coma-World and the slight cross-overs into the real world are imaginatively done, delivering twist after twist and are quite astounding.
This is addictive stuff, makes you want to turn the pages faster and faster, the closer to the end that you get. Thrilling. Another stand out crime novel from such a talented author.
October 14, 2022
"Pain tourists - people who revel in the misery of others."
James has lived multiple lives - there's the one before his parents cold-blooded execution during a home invasion when he was just a child, the one before everything went wrong, and then the one he lived during the nine-year coma he fell into after being shot that fateful night. And now, the latest life he gets to live after he manages to finally wake up.
Rebecca is driving herself into madness trying to catch Copy Joe - a prolific murderer who takes sick pleasure in mimicking the most horrific killers like the Christchurch Carver when she is tasked with taking up the cold case of James and the night he was shot. The very same case her colleague Theo Tate couldn't solve almost a decade ago and she isn't sure if she can either.
But as James starts to recover and open up to his Doctor about the mysterious life he led in his coma, everyone realises he knows things he shouldn't. And he might just have the key to not only solve his own mystery, but catching the monsters everybody has been chasing for years.
"In movies, monsters are always zombie, or vampires, or some weird kind of mutant, but in this moment his eleven year old brain tells him he's been wrong all this time. What he's looking at now are monsters. Real monsters."
If you're not familiar with the literary legend that is Paul Cleave, strap yourself in for a hell of a ride. This wordsmith has the almost supernatural ability to take even the most mundane of settings and turn it into something twisted and terrifying, of taking some the nightmare fuel from our favourite horrors, like coma's and killers and dream lives, and breathing new lives into them with his own horrifying twist.
We start off on the most terrible night of our characters lives - the day James' parents were killed and life as he knows it ends. We meet his sister Hazel, Tate and his team desperately searching for clues, neighbours terrified they could be next. Each person is written in such a painstakingly familiar way it feels as though we know them. And as we approach the moment James finally wakes up, we get to see how their lives have changed in the last decade, as well as the mysterious figures who have lurking in the shadows waiting with us to see what happens.
Each character was perfectly crafted to be the right amount of endearing and suspicious. All of them could make a perfect hero or a perfect villain if you wanted them to, and you can't trust anything you hear.
Despite moving between times and even realities, this story kept such a perpetual flow that never breaks. Each little strand of this story never wavers, never gets lost in the bigger picture but slowly weaves together into something dark and totally magnificent. And this just leaves us free to get lost in the masterful setting - exquisitely tense and with a suffocating aura of dread. Even the moments where nothing particularly happens was charged with electricity and anticipation. It felt like the story was ending, like I'd solved everything several times over, only for the illusion to be shattered all over again.
This story taps firmly into the strange and unsettling parts of the human psyche - including the phenomenon of the Pain Tourist. Of course, if you opened this review, you must find the concept of criminal minds and murder somewhat intriguing - but what about those who take it further? The ones who visit murder sites and marry death row convicts? How much further, dear reader, would you have to go until you take it too far?
A compulsive, compelling read that will remind you that humans are the most terrifying monsters out there.
James has lived multiple lives - there's the one before his parents cold-blooded execution during a home invasion when he was just a child, the one before everything went wrong, and then the one he lived during the nine-year coma he fell into after being shot that fateful night. And now, the latest life he gets to live after he manages to finally wake up.
Rebecca is driving herself into madness trying to catch Copy Joe - a prolific murderer who takes sick pleasure in mimicking the most horrific killers like the Christchurch Carver when she is tasked with taking up the cold case of James and the night he was shot. The very same case her colleague Theo Tate couldn't solve almost a decade ago and she isn't sure if she can either.
But as James starts to recover and open up to his Doctor about the mysterious life he led in his coma, everyone realises he knows things he shouldn't. And he might just have the key to not only solve his own mystery, but catching the monsters everybody has been chasing for years.
"In movies, monsters are always zombie, or vampires, or some weird kind of mutant, but in this moment his eleven year old brain tells him he's been wrong all this time. What he's looking at now are monsters. Real monsters."
If you're not familiar with the literary legend that is Paul Cleave, strap yourself in for a hell of a ride. This wordsmith has the almost supernatural ability to take even the most mundane of settings and turn it into something twisted and terrifying, of taking some the nightmare fuel from our favourite horrors, like coma's and killers and dream lives, and breathing new lives into them with his own horrifying twist.
We start off on the most terrible night of our characters lives - the day James' parents were killed and life as he knows it ends. We meet his sister Hazel, Tate and his team desperately searching for clues, neighbours terrified they could be next. Each person is written in such a painstakingly familiar way it feels as though we know them. And as we approach the moment James finally wakes up, we get to see how their lives have changed in the last decade, as well as the mysterious figures who have lurking in the shadows waiting with us to see what happens.
Each character was perfectly crafted to be the right amount of endearing and suspicious. All of them could make a perfect hero or a perfect villain if you wanted them to, and you can't trust anything you hear.
Despite moving between times and even realities, this story kept such a perpetual flow that never breaks. Each little strand of this story never wavers, never gets lost in the bigger picture but slowly weaves together into something dark and totally magnificent. And this just leaves us free to get lost in the masterful setting - exquisitely tense and with a suffocating aura of dread. Even the moments where nothing particularly happens was charged with electricity and anticipation. It felt like the story was ending, like I'd solved everything several times over, only for the illusion to be shattered all over again.
This story taps firmly into the strange and unsettling parts of the human psyche - including the phenomenon of the Pain Tourist. Of course, if you opened this review, you must find the concept of criminal minds and murder somewhat intriguing - but what about those who take it further? The ones who visit murder sites and marry death row convicts? How much further, dear reader, would you have to go until you take it too far?
A compulsive, compelling read that will remind you that humans are the most terrifying monsters out there.
October 2, 2022
What starts as a home invasion takes a terrible turn, leaving 2 dead & 11 year old James Garrett in a coma. Nine years later James wakes up, only to find that the last 9 years for him were a dream & a shocking reality awaits him. As he comes to terms with this reality he discovers he has a gift. But how best to use this gift? Paul Cleave really draws the reader into his story by incorporating several different threads the reader can follow to a dramatic conclusion.
November 9, 2022
Firstly huge thanks to Karen at Orenda Books for my review copy of The Pain Tourist, you are the best!
This is the second book I’ve read by Paul Cleave, the first being The Quiet people which I loved, so I have been looking forward to The Pain Tourist.
From the opening chapter, I was absolutely gipped by The Pain Tourist. And I was struck by how utterly unique this novel really is. The opening chapter is brutal and frankly quite terrifying, I really don’t want to spoil anything but let’s just say that the way Paul Cleave describes the first events in this book made me feel on edge and not knowing what would happen next.
The Pain Tourist then evolves into a brilliantly written crime thriller, how Paul Cleave comes up with these ideas I will never know, but the way he describes things from such an unusual perspective is superb. James Garrett, one of the lead characters in a coma, and how the mind works during that time are the beginnings of a frankly amazing and credible hunt for a killer. I mean how do you even write about someone in a coma?? You’d think well that would be boring …. er no not with Paul Cleave! Again I SO dont want to give anything away but it’s truly a work of art the way this book is written and how the characters interact and have an impact on each other.
I loved the characters in The Pain Tourist, James Garrett is such a well-written character and very likable, as are his sister hazel, detective Rebecca Kent and retired Detective Theodore Tate. I just loved the way that the hunt for a killer also links into another called Copy Joe, this is a truly intricate plot but it isn’t hard to follow. the writing flows and is so easy to follow the storyline. And it’s so gripping and had my palms sweating at times it’s so realistic and visceral. Paul Cleave really is a master crime fiction writer and has an amazing way of writing humans from so many points of view, dare I say it a genius!
The story doesn’t slack at all, it builds and builds and keeps going right to the climatic ending (which had me saying things out loud!) totally brilliant and a really breathtaking bookbanger!
As always orenda books seem to publish the most superb books, if you fancy looking for excellent fiction then you could do no worse than heading to the Orenda website…every book is a winner!
So my rating….. another 5-star read from Paul Cleave, if you thought the Quiet People was a cracking read then you will be blown away by the Pain Tourist.
October 30, 2022
I loved this authors last book but I loved this one even more. In fact it was brilliant. There are three main threads all involving serious crime and all of them tense and dark. So well written that I was able to follow each threat effortlessly. Some great characters and a wonderful plot had me reading into the night and despite the length of the book it was on the finished pile (well floating in the Kindle ether) inside a day. I only wish this author could write as fast as I can read!
Briefly, 11 year old James Garrett is shot in the head during a home invasion gone wrong. His parents died and his sister escaped. In a coma for 9 years he wakes to a reality far from the one he had been living in Coma World. Meanwhile DI Rebecca Kent is hunting for Copy Joe, a copycat serial killer when she is also given James’s case to solve. She turns to retired cop Theodore Tate to help, but Tate has his own demons and is a bit of a loose cannon. Then to add more to Kent’s workload one of James’s ‘memories’ suggests that a woman who had been on his ward was murdered by her husband. Can she juggle all these cases and solve them without putting herself, or James, in danger again?
This is a great read, from start to finish. The concept of Coma World is totally original as far as I am aware as was both thrilling and shocking in its detail. I was so engaged with the characters, particularly James, that I got to the end genuinely wondering about how his life would pan out in the future. Lynda have a serious word with yourself, it’s fiction! I can’t wait to see what the author come up with next. One thing I’m certain about is that I’ll be reading it.
Briefly, 11 year old James Garrett is shot in the head during a home invasion gone wrong. His parents died and his sister escaped. In a coma for 9 years he wakes to a reality far from the one he had been living in Coma World. Meanwhile DI Rebecca Kent is hunting for Copy Joe, a copycat serial killer when she is also given James’s case to solve. She turns to retired cop Theodore Tate to help, but Tate has his own demons and is a bit of a loose cannon. Then to add more to Kent’s workload one of James’s ‘memories’ suggests that a woman who had been on his ward was murdered by her husband. Can she juggle all these cases and solve them without putting herself, or James, in danger again?
This is a great read, from start to finish. The concept of Coma World is totally original as far as I am aware as was both thrilling and shocking in its detail. I was so engaged with the characters, particularly James, that I got to the end genuinely wondering about how his life would pan out in the future. Lynda have a serious word with yourself, it’s fiction! I can’t wait to see what the author come up with next. One thing I’m certain about is that I’ll be reading it.
March 29, 2023
It was a busy book. Busy with lots of characters (more than usual for a murder mystery), busy with different plot lines, busy with different names for people. It was too busy. By the time the perpetrator (one of them, at least) was revealed, I wasn't sure who it was. So many possibilities! Didn't really care any more.
June 3, 2024
Finished reading: June 2nd 2024
"One way or the other, the truth always comes out."
REVIEW
November 1, 2022
The Pain Tourist is Paul Cleave’s latest standalone thriller and I really enjoyed his previous book, The Quiet People, so when I was invited onto the Orenda Blogtour I jumped at the chance without even bothering to read the blurb.
A Pain Tourist is someone who revels in the misery of others… just in case you were wondering and this book begins nine years ago, in a quiet suburb in New Zealand when a burglary went horrifically wrong. 11 year old James Garrett’s life is turned upside down when armed intruders kill his parents in a botched burglary, shooting him in the head, leaving him in a coma. His older sister Hazel manages to escape and call for help and has spent the past nine years hoping James will wake from his coma.
Now age 20, James finally wakes from his coma, however during the past nine years he has been living happily in “coma world”, a world where his parent’s didn’t die, where he went to school and college, living a happy and contented life with his family.
The book is split into several stories, the first about James and his “coma world” and how it appears he has woken up with an unexplained gift because James now knows things that he couldn’t possibly know and could perhaps shed some light on the home invasion which saw his parents murdered and the killers were never caught.
Detective Inspector Rebecca Kent is now in charge of the Garrett case and teams up with the retired detective who was never able to close this case. Meanwhile, there is also a copy cat serial killer on the prowl and the reader is taken on a twisty journey trying to work out who “Copy Joe” is and who killed James’ parents and why.
This is a highly original fast moving thriller which kept me guessing throughout.
A Pain Tourist is someone who revels in the misery of others… just in case you were wondering and this book begins nine years ago, in a quiet suburb in New Zealand when a burglary went horrifically wrong. 11 year old James Garrett’s life is turned upside down when armed intruders kill his parents in a botched burglary, shooting him in the head, leaving him in a coma. His older sister Hazel manages to escape and call for help and has spent the past nine years hoping James will wake from his coma.
Now age 20, James finally wakes from his coma, however during the past nine years he has been living happily in “coma world”, a world where his parent’s didn’t die, where he went to school and college, living a happy and contented life with his family.
The book is split into several stories, the first about James and his “coma world” and how it appears he has woken up with an unexplained gift because James now knows things that he couldn’t possibly know and could perhaps shed some light on the home invasion which saw his parents murdered and the killers were never caught.
Detective Inspector Rebecca Kent is now in charge of the Garrett case and teams up with the retired detective who was never able to close this case. Meanwhile, there is also a copy cat serial killer on the prowl and the reader is taken on a twisty journey trying to work out who “Copy Joe” is and who killed James’ parents and why.
This is a highly original fast moving thriller which kept me guessing throughout.
April 6, 2023
4.5 *
This was a roller coaster ride all the way through! I was amazed at the many surprising twists in The quiet people by the same author and this one totally met my expectations as well!
It's a multi layered mystery that starts off with a home invasion in Christchurch that leaves a couple dead and their 11 yo son, James, in a coma. When he miraculously wakes up 9 years later, the cops want to know if he remembers anything that will help them finally nab the killers of his parents. Detective Rebecca Kent is tasked with finding out while also investigating what seems to be a serial killer at work in the present day.
What makes it interesting is that James seems to have lived an entire life of his own during his coma years and now has to reconcile that with the facts as he comes to know them. With Kent approaching former police detective Theodore Tate who had been in charge of investigating the case 9 years ago and is notorious for his unconventional and not always approved techniques, James' coma story, the events that led to his coma and the killer who needs to be stopped become bizarrely connected.
There isn't one dull moment in the book that alternates between James, Kent and Theodore's points of view. The way the coma years of James have been woven into the story is just incredibly imaginative. The book touches a lot on the near voyeurism displayed by the media and the general public for what are very personal tragedies! The sensationalism generated as a result is what the title of the book is derived from!
To keep so many threads going the way the author has is just amazing and I completely enjoyed the journey!
This was a roller coaster ride all the way through! I was amazed at the many surprising twists in The quiet people by the same author and this one totally met my expectations as well!
It's a multi layered mystery that starts off with a home invasion in Christchurch that leaves a couple dead and their 11 yo son, James, in a coma. When he miraculously wakes up 9 years later, the cops want to know if he remembers anything that will help them finally nab the killers of his parents. Detective Rebecca Kent is tasked with finding out while also investigating what seems to be a serial killer at work in the present day.
What makes it interesting is that James seems to have lived an entire life of his own during his coma years and now has to reconcile that with the facts as he comes to know them. With Kent approaching former police detective Theodore Tate who had been in charge of investigating the case 9 years ago and is notorious for his unconventional and not always approved techniques, James' coma story, the events that led to his coma and the killer who needs to be stopped become bizarrely connected.
There isn't one dull moment in the book that alternates between James, Kent and Theodore's points of view. The way the coma years of James have been woven into the story is just incredibly imaginative. The book touches a lot on the near voyeurism displayed by the media and the general public for what are very personal tragedies! The sensationalism generated as a result is what the title of the book is derived from!
To keep so many threads going the way the author has is just amazing and I completely enjoyed the journey!
May 22, 2023
Paul Cleave is a go-to author for me, one of my favorites. However, I'm sad to say I didn't enjoy this book nearly as much as his others. While it was great to revisit characters from past books, especially Tate, I just felt like there were too many stories going on at the same time. I absolutely have to give him props for being a master at weaving things together and making it all connect, but this book is definitely my least favorite from him so far.
It took at least halfway through for me to get into the story. I really was ready to give up. But then things began to pick up, and I did find it worthwhile to stick with it to the end.
Three stars because, as I said, he is so skillful at connecting things you believe are separate crimes, and I was taken by surprise several times.
I'll be anxiously awaiting his next book, though.
It took at least halfway through for me to get into the story. I really was ready to give up. But then things began to pick up, and I did find it worthwhile to stick with it to the end.
Three stars because, as I said, he is so skillful at connecting things you believe are separate crimes, and I was taken by surprise several times.
I'll be anxiously awaiting his next book, though.
May 4, 2023
1/3 build up and waffle, then couple of pages of action, then the rest waffle. Ugh, why.
November 21, 2022
I love Paul’s writing style. It is sharp, quietly unnerving and brutal in its observations.
‘𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝚊𝚒𝚛 𝚒𝚜 𝚜𝚘 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚌𝚔 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚐𝚛𝚒𝚎𝚏 𝚃𝚊𝚝𝚎 𝚠𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍𝚗’𝚝 𝚋𝚎 𝚜𝚞𝚛𝚙𝚛𝚒𝚜𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚘 𝚜𝚎𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚠𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚜 𝚋𝚘𝚠𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚘𝚞𝚝𝚠𝚊𝚛𝚍 𝚏𝚛𝚘𝚖 𝚒𝚝’.
Part One bombards you with a brave young boy, a home invasion and two detectives on the hunt for the monsters that executed the parents and left little James for dead.
Part Two begins inside James’ coma life, where his family is alive and well and they are staying at a hotel. He dreams of alien and government abductions, he goes through high school, makes plans for university. He is never ill but then he wakes up in a hospital.
This is insanely clever, with stories inside stories and parallel imaginings. I can’t mentally compute the plotting behind this creation. You are inside the minds of characters that are so screamingly real it makes for a unique and highly original reading experience.
It is a detective story, a thriller, a serial killer chiller with hints of the paranormal. It is twisty and above all a brilliantly plotted and written story that will keep you on your toes.
‘𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝚊𝚒𝚛 𝚒𝚜 𝚜𝚘 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚌𝚔 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚐𝚛𝚒𝚎𝚏 𝚃𝚊𝚝𝚎 𝚠𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍𝚗’𝚝 𝚋𝚎 𝚜𝚞𝚛𝚙𝚛𝚒𝚜𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚘 𝚜𝚎𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚠𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚜 𝚋𝚘𝚠𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚘𝚞𝚝𝚠𝚊𝚛𝚍 𝚏𝚛𝚘𝚖 𝚒𝚝’.
Part One bombards you with a brave young boy, a home invasion and two detectives on the hunt for the monsters that executed the parents and left little James for dead.
Part Two begins inside James’ coma life, where his family is alive and well and they are staying at a hotel. He dreams of alien and government abductions, he goes through high school, makes plans for university. He is never ill but then he wakes up in a hospital.
This is insanely clever, with stories inside stories and parallel imaginings. I can’t mentally compute the plotting behind this creation. You are inside the minds of characters that are so screamingly real it makes for a unique and highly original reading experience.
It is a detective story, a thriller, a serial killer chiller with hints of the paranormal. It is twisty and above all a brilliantly plotted and written story that will keep you on your toes.
November 15, 2022
This, my first book by Paul Cleave left me wondering why I’ve only just heard of this great author. This book is superbly written with a totally unique concept in this dark, standalone thriller. It deals with what might really happen when someone is in a coma. The concept of a ‘pain tourist’ someone who revels in the misery of others, is quite terrifying. What warped creatures are we as human beings?
The characters are brilliantly depicted from the start of the book, drawing huge empathy from the reader. James, the nine-year-old boy who sees ‘monsters’ execute his parents and then shoot him too, putting him into a nine-year coma. His sister Hazel, who survives because of his bravery, DI Kent, the over-worked police officer assigned two full-on investigations: Copy Joe , a copy cat serial killer; and the unsolved case of who executed the Garrett parents and shot James. She is ably supported by ex-detective Tate (the original investigating officer). These all make for a terrific cast of characters and not forgetting the unknown character, Copy Joe, who keeps the reader guessing and theorising throughout. Alternating viewpoints affords the reader much greater awareness of the characters motives, whilst also raising the tension.
Paul Cleave delivers a brilliant, excellently woven, tight plot, which is totally cohesive, transporting the reader deep into the action.
The concept of ‘Coma World’ is fascinating and compelled me to draw my husband into a deep discussion about the possibilities raised in this book.
This is a totally exhausting but utterly compelling, provocative read, full of suspense, anticipation and loaded with twists and tension, with plenty of nerve-wracking action.
Paul Cleave, I will be back!
The characters are brilliantly depicted from the start of the book, drawing huge empathy from the reader. James, the nine-year-old boy who sees ‘monsters’ execute his parents and then shoot him too, putting him into a nine-year coma. His sister Hazel, who survives because of his bravery, DI Kent, the over-worked police officer assigned two full-on investigations: Copy Joe , a copy cat serial killer; and the unsolved case of who executed the Garrett parents and shot James. She is ably supported by ex-detective Tate (the original investigating officer). These all make for a terrific cast of characters and not forgetting the unknown character, Copy Joe, who keeps the reader guessing and theorising throughout. Alternating viewpoints affords the reader much greater awareness of the characters motives, whilst also raising the tension.
Paul Cleave delivers a brilliant, excellently woven, tight plot, which is totally cohesive, transporting the reader deep into the action.
The concept of ‘Coma World’ is fascinating and compelled me to draw my husband into a deep discussion about the possibilities raised in this book.
This is a totally exhausting but utterly compelling, provocative read, full of suspense, anticipation and loaded with twists and tension, with plenty of nerve-wracking action.
Paul Cleave, I will be back!
November 12, 2022
In The Pain Tourist, by Paul Cleave, there’s a lot going on, with three main plotlines clamouring for your - and the detectives’ - attention.
The first is that James Garrett, who was 12 years old when his parents were killed in the family home and he was critically injured, has woken from his nine-year coma, and may be able to help the Christchurch police finally identify and apprehend the perpetrators.
The second is that there’s a serial killer on the loose, nicknamed ‘Copy Joe’ because their victims and crime scenes are connected with those of Joe Middleton - the multiple murderer from Cleave’s first novel, The Cleaner.
The third stems from a confession an unconscious James overheard from a visitor to an erstwhile intensive care room-mate. The visitor told his sleeping wife that it was he who pushed her off a balcony. It turns out she’s not the only woman he appears to have wronged, but can the word of a person who was in a coma be taken seriously as evidence?
I’ve read a few of Cleave’s books since picking up The Quiet People for a blog tour last year, and one thing I really like about them is that they tend to be organised around interesting “what ifs”. This time, it’s an exploration of what a person might experience in a coma, and whether or not their perceptions can be trusted.
The whole time James has been unconscious, he’s carried on with his life in his head - a life where his parents didn’t die, and he went through the standard route through school to university.
While “Coma World” was primarily populated with things he already knew - he didn’t actually learn anything new in his education, and one of his high school teachers was Han Solo - it was peppered with information he must have taken in on the ward. This includes details of various books read aloud at his bedside by his sister Hazel, the dates of his grandparents’ deaths - and the aforementioned confession.
Not only this, but James has always had an eidetic memory. Following his awakening, and a period of adjustment, he fills nine notebooks with all sorts of things that happened in Coma World.
James’ story is totally fictional, but I was nonetheless fascinated by his experiences, and the inner workings of his mind.
Unfortunately, he also captures the attention of the men who killed his parents, who are worried he’ll identify them, and Copy Joe, who craves the notoriety of murdering someone famous, which James quickly becomes when he tells people what it was like being in a coma.
The other storylines are also super interesting. Copy Joe is the eponymous “Pain Tourist” in that he’s fascinated by Joe Middleton’s escapades, getting a thrill from the misery of his victims’ families and wanting to grab a piece of the action for himself.
Meanwhile, the murderer identified by James has a particular calling card, and once retired detective Theodore Tate figures out what it is, it’s all systems go.
This novel features three other elements I’ve come to recognise as classic characteristics of Cleave’s books: dark humour (especially irony); no-holds-barred violence; and massive twists that turn whole cases on their heads.
Cleave never hesitates to put his characters in real danger or get into the heads of the most disturbed individuals. Furthermore, he’s a master of deception, pulling the wool over your eyes for chapters on end and revealing pertinent information only at the very last minute.
The Pain Tourist is dark, twisty, and full of compelling ideas.
The first is that James Garrett, who was 12 years old when his parents were killed in the family home and he was critically injured, has woken from his nine-year coma, and may be able to help the Christchurch police finally identify and apprehend the perpetrators.
The second is that there’s a serial killer on the loose, nicknamed ‘Copy Joe’ because their victims and crime scenes are connected with those of Joe Middleton - the multiple murderer from Cleave’s first novel, The Cleaner.
The third stems from a confession an unconscious James overheard from a visitor to an erstwhile intensive care room-mate. The visitor told his sleeping wife that it was he who pushed her off a balcony. It turns out she’s not the only woman he appears to have wronged, but can the word of a person who was in a coma be taken seriously as evidence?
I’ve read a few of Cleave’s books since picking up The Quiet People for a blog tour last year, and one thing I really like about them is that they tend to be organised around interesting “what ifs”. This time, it’s an exploration of what a person might experience in a coma, and whether or not their perceptions can be trusted.
The whole time James has been unconscious, he’s carried on with his life in his head - a life where his parents didn’t die, and he went through the standard route through school to university.
While “Coma World” was primarily populated with things he already knew - he didn’t actually learn anything new in his education, and one of his high school teachers was Han Solo - it was peppered with information he must have taken in on the ward. This includes details of various books read aloud at his bedside by his sister Hazel, the dates of his grandparents’ deaths - and the aforementioned confession.
Not only this, but James has always had an eidetic memory. Following his awakening, and a period of adjustment, he fills nine notebooks with all sorts of things that happened in Coma World.
James’ story is totally fictional, but I was nonetheless fascinated by his experiences, and the inner workings of his mind.
Unfortunately, he also captures the attention of the men who killed his parents, who are worried he’ll identify them, and Copy Joe, who craves the notoriety of murdering someone famous, which James quickly becomes when he tells people what it was like being in a coma.
The other storylines are also super interesting. Copy Joe is the eponymous “Pain Tourist” in that he’s fascinated by Joe Middleton’s escapades, getting a thrill from the misery of his victims’ families and wanting to grab a piece of the action for himself.
Meanwhile, the murderer identified by James has a particular calling card, and once retired detective Theodore Tate figures out what it is, it’s all systems go.
This novel features three other elements I’ve come to recognise as classic characteristics of Cleave’s books: dark humour (especially irony); no-holds-barred violence; and massive twists that turn whole cases on their heads.
Cleave never hesitates to put his characters in real danger or get into the heads of the most disturbed individuals. Furthermore, he’s a master of deception, pulling the wool over your eyes for chapters on end and revealing pertinent information only at the very last minute.
The Pain Tourist is dark, twisty, and full of compelling ideas.
December 11, 2022
Cleave is one of my favourites and he hands-down writes the best procedurals, action, suspense, thrillers in the industry. So glad to see the character Tate make a return in this unputdownable thrill ride. 4.5+
August 3, 2024
DNF ... bei Seite 104.
Kann mich leider weder vom Schreibstil noch von der Story her fesseln.
Kann mich leider weder vom Schreibstil noch von der Story her fesseln.
November 1, 2022
This is only the second book by Paul Cleave that I have read but I am immensely impressed by the way his writing draws me into his story right from the outset. There’s fluidity to his prose that makes it so easy to get lost in this fantastic storytelling and his world building is tremendous.
The star of this story is the young James Garrett; traumatically injured during a home invasion that saw his parents shot to death in front of him, we join James as he begins waking up from his nine year coma. What we find is that life for James never came to a halt. All the time he was in a coma he was living his best life and all the while his mind has taken the conversations of the outside world and fed them into his unconscious, incorporating them into the diaries of his inner world.
James is of course, the best hope that police have for finally finding out who was responsible for the death of James’ parents and for retired Detective Theodore Tate it is the case that still haunts him and that he wants and needs to see closed.
Detective Rebecca Kent is the Detective charged with catching Copy Joe – a sick and twisted murderer whose crimes echo those of other serial killers and now she has been given James’s case to solve too. It’s an immense burden.
But nothing to do with brain trauma and recovered memory is straightforward and Rebecca will have to find a way to reconcile and make sense of James’ unconscious world in order to get to the truth. It’s so lightly done and so beautifully written that this element of the story telling fits incredibly well into the detecting elements of other crimes.
Paul Cleave draws such realistic and empathetic characters that you can’t help but get drawn into their lives and you really do care about what happens not just to James and his sister Hazel, but also to Theo and Rebecca.
That means that as soon as we realise that others are watching and have been waiting for James to show signs of consciousness, our hearts start beating faster and we begin to fear for the safety of those we have only just begun to know.
It’s an extraordinary writing feat that can bring this off pretty early in the book and when mixed with multiple threads that have you wondering where good and evil really lie, really makes for a tense and riveting read.
This is sometimes edge of the seat gripping, and sometimes you feel like you’ve pulled all the threads together only to find that Paul Cleave has taken out his scissors and snipped off the ends so you have to regroup and think again.
I loved the way that James’ own story, the one he creates while in his coma is an oasis of calm and sunshine, punctuated by moments of pause. There are gentle echoes of Dean Koontz here but in the best, most original of ways.
The more you invest in these characters, the more Cleave ramps up the heat and the tension until that heart which at the beginning was beating faster is now in the reader’s mouth and the climax is still elusive and yet impending. The Pain Tourist is dark and menacing and will make the reader feel the fear. It is a book charged with high emotion and with characters that really make an impact, whether for good or ill.
Verdict: A brilliantly executed thrilling, twisty, nerve-shredding serial killer chiller with one hell of a plot. Perfect for fans of Dean Koontz.
The star of this story is the young James Garrett; traumatically injured during a home invasion that saw his parents shot to death in front of him, we join James as he begins waking up from his nine year coma. What we find is that life for James never came to a halt. All the time he was in a coma he was living his best life and all the while his mind has taken the conversations of the outside world and fed them into his unconscious, incorporating them into the diaries of his inner world.
James is of course, the best hope that police have for finally finding out who was responsible for the death of James’ parents and for retired Detective Theodore Tate it is the case that still haunts him and that he wants and needs to see closed.
Detective Rebecca Kent is the Detective charged with catching Copy Joe – a sick and twisted murderer whose crimes echo those of other serial killers and now she has been given James’s case to solve too. It’s an immense burden.
But nothing to do with brain trauma and recovered memory is straightforward and Rebecca will have to find a way to reconcile and make sense of James’ unconscious world in order to get to the truth. It’s so lightly done and so beautifully written that this element of the story telling fits incredibly well into the detecting elements of other crimes.
Paul Cleave draws such realistic and empathetic characters that you can’t help but get drawn into their lives and you really do care about what happens not just to James and his sister Hazel, but also to Theo and Rebecca.
That means that as soon as we realise that others are watching and have been waiting for James to show signs of consciousness, our hearts start beating faster and we begin to fear for the safety of those we have only just begun to know.
It’s an extraordinary writing feat that can bring this off pretty early in the book and when mixed with multiple threads that have you wondering where good and evil really lie, really makes for a tense and riveting read.
This is sometimes edge of the seat gripping, and sometimes you feel like you’ve pulled all the threads together only to find that Paul Cleave has taken out his scissors and snipped off the ends so you have to regroup and think again.
I loved the way that James’ own story, the one he creates while in his coma is an oasis of calm and sunshine, punctuated by moments of pause. There are gentle echoes of Dean Koontz here but in the best, most original of ways.
The more you invest in these characters, the more Cleave ramps up the heat and the tension until that heart which at the beginning was beating faster is now in the reader’s mouth and the climax is still elusive and yet impending. The Pain Tourist is dark and menacing and will make the reader feel the fear. It is a book charged with high emotion and with characters that really make an impact, whether for good or ill.
Verdict: A brilliantly executed thrilling, twisty, nerve-shredding serial killer chiller with one hell of a plot. Perfect for fans of Dean Koontz.
December 4, 2022
Another brilliantly twisty, stomach-clenching, spine-tingling thriller from the Kiwi master of crime, Paul Cleave.
This one has a large cast of characters, all of whom keep you on your toes. A book full of suspects and potential victims, all of whom are often one-in-the-same!
The main character spends a fair portion of the book in a coma, which... one would think wasn't a good thing, but boy-oh-boy does it work well in the hands of Cleave.
There are villains galore, corrupt police staff, fractious relationships, and a large body count, and with more twists than a Christmas candy cane, I could not tear myself away.
Get yourself a copy of this for Christmas, and gift copies to lovers of good thrillers everywhere. Ad don't forget to lock your doors at night...
This one has a large cast of characters, all of whom keep you on your toes. A book full of suspects and potential victims, all of whom are often one-in-the-same!
The main character spends a fair portion of the book in a coma, which... one would think wasn't a good thing, but boy-oh-boy does it work well in the hands of Cleave.
There are villains galore, corrupt police staff, fractious relationships, and a large body count, and with more twists than a Christmas candy cane, I could not tear myself away.
Get yourself a copy of this for Christmas, and gift copies to lovers of good thrillers everywhere. Ad don't forget to lock your doors at night...
February 28, 2024
BOOK 6 OF 2024
1.5 stars
If this book is to be believed, 50% of the population in New Zealand are murderers. And comatose patients secondary to brain injuries can have unusual experiences while unconscious but no, that doesn't mean you suddenly possess the ability to write a made-up future for others based on previous events because your brain did something in a similar vein to 'the lamp story'
1.5 stars
If this book is to be believed, 50% of the population in New Zealand are murderers. And comatose patients secondary to brain injuries can have unusual experiences while unconscious but no, that doesn't mean you suddenly possess the ability to write a made-up future for others based on previous events because your brain did something in a similar vein to 'the lamp story'
February 21, 2023
Quite dense and not the most thrilling read, just okay.
December 2, 2022
Central to the plot is James, who is shot in the head as an eleven-year-old boy and wakes up after a coma lasting nine years as a kind of man-child with a child’s brain and a man’s body albeit with wasted muscles. On the night he was shot they ‘lost’ him on the operating table, and he was resuscitated four times. Naturally they fear what damage has been done during this time, he could have sustained permanent brain damage, but his reawakening suggests something more akin to a resurrection. He recovers so well they are astounded; he has difficulty in speaking but has developed new abilities on a par with superpowers. No spoilers here, but his newly developed skills put him in danger if they can be proved to be genuine.
Family members are encouraged to talk and play music to loved ones in a coma, presumably to provide a trigger or catalyst to help guide the way to consciousness. Can they hear and comprehend conversations, are they able to absorb information from their surroundings even then though they are in a deep sleep? Just one of the fascinating questions posed amongst the action.
The plot itself is magnificently constructed with two serial killers, a historical case and the fate of James and Hazel all intermingled at various points. As the investigation progresses expect blind alleys, the odd red herring and a nice touch in cliff-hanger ends to chapters. The chapters are fairly short so you’ll only be on tenterhooks a little while.
The Pain Tourist of the title was a description used to describe those people who revel in the pain and suffering of others. Most of us are guilty of a little morbid fascination; people rubber neck accidents on the roads or are drawn to the emergency services at work, but this goes deeper. In the novel it is those revel in walking in the footsteps or shadows of killers, where obsession takes over and pollutes the mind. Here Copy Joe not only wants to follow his ‘idol’ but also recreate in his image. Another poser is can an obsession with serial killers create other killers?
The central characters are strong, engaging but also suffering themselves. James’ pain is obvious, his sister Hazel blames herself for his shooting as if she had believed him quicker, they may have both got out. Detective Rebecca Kent is terribly scarred from a car bomb, as one character says she went from a 10 to a 2 but this only ramps up her determination to succeed and do good. In the case of Theodore Tate, the former detective who failed to catch the killers of James and Hazel’s parents, he is mired in grief. A traffic accident killed his daughter Emily and obliterated his wife’s mental health, she varies between clarity and torpor and unable to come to terms with the loss of their daughter. Her state of mind has recently deteriorated such that she is in a care home but with the added complication of advanced pregnancy. Even Tate’s former work partner is dead. Despite all this suffering the novel is surprisingly upbeat and not a misery tale. The siblings Hazel and James’ familial love and caring is strong, as is the professional relationship between Tate and Kent and both are put to the test.
Two serial killers mean death and destruction in the storyline and there is action liberally interspersed. There is plenty of jeopardy within, these scenes show great invention and it’s not all left for a grand finale. There were a couple of places I thought whoa where did that idea come from. The pacing of it all is expertly judged and not all gung-ho. Time is taken to develop the character of James, what is happening to him and what his abilities are now, but then when there is some action and jeopardy and the pace is ramped up increasing the tension, building the anxiety, and leaving you quite breathless at times. The final 200 pages are best described as gripping.
If you like your crime thrillers action packed enough to keep you turning pages long after you should have gone to bed but with a thought-provoking side too, then The Pain Tourist is one for you. Intelligent and exhilarating in equal measure.
Family members are encouraged to talk and play music to loved ones in a coma, presumably to provide a trigger or catalyst to help guide the way to consciousness. Can they hear and comprehend conversations, are they able to absorb information from their surroundings even then though they are in a deep sleep? Just one of the fascinating questions posed amongst the action.
The plot itself is magnificently constructed with two serial killers, a historical case and the fate of James and Hazel all intermingled at various points. As the investigation progresses expect blind alleys, the odd red herring and a nice touch in cliff-hanger ends to chapters. The chapters are fairly short so you’ll only be on tenterhooks a little while.
The Pain Tourist of the title was a description used to describe those people who revel in the pain and suffering of others. Most of us are guilty of a little morbid fascination; people rubber neck accidents on the roads or are drawn to the emergency services at work, but this goes deeper. In the novel it is those revel in walking in the footsteps or shadows of killers, where obsession takes over and pollutes the mind. Here Copy Joe not only wants to follow his ‘idol’ but also recreate in his image. Another poser is can an obsession with serial killers create other killers?
The central characters are strong, engaging but also suffering themselves. James’ pain is obvious, his sister Hazel blames herself for his shooting as if she had believed him quicker, they may have both got out. Detective Rebecca Kent is terribly scarred from a car bomb, as one character says she went from a 10 to a 2 but this only ramps up her determination to succeed and do good. In the case of Theodore Tate, the former detective who failed to catch the killers of James and Hazel’s parents, he is mired in grief. A traffic accident killed his daughter Emily and obliterated his wife’s mental health, she varies between clarity and torpor and unable to come to terms with the loss of their daughter. Her state of mind has recently deteriorated such that she is in a care home but with the added complication of advanced pregnancy. Even Tate’s former work partner is dead. Despite all this suffering the novel is surprisingly upbeat and not a misery tale. The siblings Hazel and James’ familial love and caring is strong, as is the professional relationship between Tate and Kent and both are put to the test.
Two serial killers mean death and destruction in the storyline and there is action liberally interspersed. There is plenty of jeopardy within, these scenes show great invention and it’s not all left for a grand finale. There were a couple of places I thought whoa where did that idea come from. The pacing of it all is expertly judged and not all gung-ho. Time is taken to develop the character of James, what is happening to him and what his abilities are now, but then when there is some action and jeopardy and the pace is ramped up increasing the tension, building the anxiety, and leaving you quite breathless at times. The final 200 pages are best described as gripping.
If you like your crime thrillers action packed enough to keep you turning pages long after you should have gone to bed but with a thought-provoking side too, then The Pain Tourist is one for you. Intelligent and exhilarating in equal measure.
December 12, 2022
4.5 Stars
Do not begin reading this book in the evening because you will end up sleep deprived the next day; there is certainly no hyperbole in describing this multi-layered thriller as compulsive.
Eleven-year-old James Garrett was critically injured and left in a coma after a home invasion which ended with the execution-style killings of his parents. While comatose, he constructed an alternative reality. Nine years later he wakes up. Having an eidetic memory, James, during his recovery, is able to recollect his imagined reality in detail, and it soon emerges that he created some events in his Coma World from what he overheard while unconscious.
Detective Rebecca Kent is tasked with finding the killers of James’ parents since the case was never solved, and there is concern that James and his sister Hazel might be targeted by the perpetrators not wanting to risk James’ remembering something crucial from the night his parents were murdered. Kent also re-opens a cold case when James inadvertently mentions details about another coma patient who once shared his hospital room. And to further complicate her professional life, Kent is also investigating murders which imitate those of a notorious serial killer who operated in Christchurch.
Kent contacts a retired police detective, Theodore Tate, who now acts as a consultant for television crime dramas. He originally worked on the Garrett murders, so she is looking for his insights, but Tate ends up being drawn into and deeply involved in all three of her investigations.
Tension is felt in the opening scene and there is no abatement. More than once I found myself holding my breath, and I did have to take an occasional brief break because the tension was almost overwhelming. Characters are repeatedly placed in extreme danger.
Because the main characters are realistic and sympathetic, readers are concerned about the well-being of these characters. For example, the viewpoints of James, Hazel, Rebecca, and Theodore are included at various points; because we are given access to their thoughts, we see their flaws and failings and understand their motivations. They have all suffered major trauma so one cannot but care about them. The villains tend to be more one-dimensional, evil with little evidence of redeeming traits. Of course, this portrayal amps up the suspense because we know mercy will not be shown to anyone who crosses paths with them.
I appreciated that the novel is not just entertaining but has thematic depth. It certainly had me wondering what a patient in a coma actually experiences. The reader is also inspired to think about pain tourists, people who are attracted to the pain and misery of others. Are true-crime docudramas, podcasts, and books pandering to pain tourists?
The book is dense, but the writer’s skill ensured I never felt lost. In fact, I was left in awe at how cleverly the three investigations are interwoven. The action never stops, and the 143 short, punchy chapters add to the fast pace.
Anyone looking for a uniquely creative thriller with authentic characters, an intricate and twisty plot, and unrelenting suspense should definitely pick up this masterpiece of the genre. Just be forewarned that it is addictive!
Please check out my reader's blog (https://schatjesshelves.blogspot.com/) and follow me on Twitter (@DCYakabuski).
Do not begin reading this book in the evening because you will end up sleep deprived the next day; there is certainly no hyperbole in describing this multi-layered thriller as compulsive.
Eleven-year-old James Garrett was critically injured and left in a coma after a home invasion which ended with the execution-style killings of his parents. While comatose, he constructed an alternative reality. Nine years later he wakes up. Having an eidetic memory, James, during his recovery, is able to recollect his imagined reality in detail, and it soon emerges that he created some events in his Coma World from what he overheard while unconscious.
Detective Rebecca Kent is tasked with finding the killers of James’ parents since the case was never solved, and there is concern that James and his sister Hazel might be targeted by the perpetrators not wanting to risk James’ remembering something crucial from the night his parents were murdered. Kent also re-opens a cold case when James inadvertently mentions details about another coma patient who once shared his hospital room. And to further complicate her professional life, Kent is also investigating murders which imitate those of a notorious serial killer who operated in Christchurch.
Kent contacts a retired police detective, Theodore Tate, who now acts as a consultant for television crime dramas. He originally worked on the Garrett murders, so she is looking for his insights, but Tate ends up being drawn into and deeply involved in all three of her investigations.
Tension is felt in the opening scene and there is no abatement. More than once I found myself holding my breath, and I did have to take an occasional brief break because the tension was almost overwhelming. Characters are repeatedly placed in extreme danger.
Because the main characters are realistic and sympathetic, readers are concerned about the well-being of these characters. For example, the viewpoints of James, Hazel, Rebecca, and Theodore are included at various points; because we are given access to their thoughts, we see their flaws and failings and understand their motivations. They have all suffered major trauma so one cannot but care about them. The villains tend to be more one-dimensional, evil with little evidence of redeeming traits. Of course, this portrayal amps up the suspense because we know mercy will not be shown to anyone who crosses paths with them.
I appreciated that the novel is not just entertaining but has thematic depth. It certainly had me wondering what a patient in a coma actually experiences. The reader is also inspired to think about pain tourists, people who are attracted to the pain and misery of others. Are true-crime docudramas, podcasts, and books pandering to pain tourists?
The book is dense, but the writer’s skill ensured I never felt lost. In fact, I was left in awe at how cleverly the three investigations are interwoven. The action never stops, and the 143 short, punchy chapters add to the fast pace.
Anyone looking for a uniquely creative thriller with authentic characters, an intricate and twisty plot, and unrelenting suspense should definitely pick up this masterpiece of the genre. Just be forewarned that it is addictive!
Please check out my reader's blog (https://schatjesshelves.blogspot.com/) and follow me on Twitter (@DCYakabuski).
November 12, 2022
The Quiet People introduced me to multi-award-winning author, Paul Cleave and was amongst my favourite reads of 2021. I've not yet managed to catch up with his previous books but The Pain Tourist has reminded me that I need to rectify this as soon as possible. This is one of those books I would choose to put in the hands of anybody who wonders why I read crime fiction because it has everything I love most about the genre.
Part One opens with a terrifying scene which immediately makes it clear that this is going to be a rollercoaster of a read. The fear of a young boy who discovers people have broken into his house and are holding his parents hostage is palpable and even though we already know that tragedy is inevitable, the tension here is almost unbearable. As James's life hangs in the balance, the narrative deftly switches between real life and what is happening in his traumatised brain; it's an early window into what James experiences in his coma and is an irresistible prelude to everything that follows in this outstanding thriller.
It's not necessary to have read any of Paul Cleave's previous books as this is a stand-alone but it does feature recurring characters, including Detective Inspector Rebecca Kent who was the investigating officer in The Quiet People. This is a book which explores the events of the past as well as the present and Kent's own dramatic history means she is a wonderful protagonist who bears both physical and emotional scars. A brutal murder which looks like it could be the work of New Zealand's most notorious serial killer, James Middleton should be a grim reminder of the past for everybody who remembers the man dubbed 'The Carver.' However, it soon transpires that his despicable acts have inspired a new killer, quickly named 'Copy Joe'. There are chilling passages told from his first-person perspective which give an ominous insight into his plans – and perhaps even more unsettlingly, are part of a serious, uncomfortable topic which is explored with such candid perceptiveness.
I don't want to give a full explanation behind the title of the book as there is a really moving observation by a character which articulates it far better than I could. What I will say, however, is that with the apparently inexhaustible interest in true crime documentaries, films and books, Paul Cleave empathetically provokes readers to really consider the impact of this phenomena on the families of the victims, who too often become secondary characters in the headline-grabbing stories told about their murderers.
When Kent learns that James Garrett has woken up after nine years in a coma, she contacts Theodore Tate who was the detective in charge of the original investigation but has since left the police force. There are fascinating parallels between Kent and Tate, not least the devastating loss which irrevocably changed both their lives. They are such brilliant characters, not without their flaws but so utterly real, it's impossible not to become totally invested in the investigation and in their well-being. There is an almost constant feeling of dread infused throughout the novel and as it becomes evident that more than one killer may be active in Christchurch, it's never certain who the next victim will be.
The potential evidence of a crime discovered thanks to the crossover between James's conscious and unconscious states means The Pain Tourist just strays into speculative fiction but Paul Cleave writes with such authenticity, it's easy to completely believe everything that happens here is entirely possible. The links between real life and James's 'Coma World' are so very poignant at times, adding a fresh dimension to the story even as more shocking revelations gradually come to light.
The Pain Tourist is a superbly dark, intelligent thriller; nail-bitingly suspenseful, provocative and moving. Paul Cleave really is an exceptional author and just as The Quiet People was a stand-out read in 2021, so The Pain Tourist is one of my most memorable books of 2022. Highly, highly recommended.
Part One opens with a terrifying scene which immediately makes it clear that this is going to be a rollercoaster of a read. The fear of a young boy who discovers people have broken into his house and are holding his parents hostage is palpable and even though we already know that tragedy is inevitable, the tension here is almost unbearable. As James's life hangs in the balance, the narrative deftly switches between real life and what is happening in his traumatised brain; it's an early window into what James experiences in his coma and is an irresistible prelude to everything that follows in this outstanding thriller.
It's not necessary to have read any of Paul Cleave's previous books as this is a stand-alone but it does feature recurring characters, including Detective Inspector Rebecca Kent who was the investigating officer in The Quiet People. This is a book which explores the events of the past as well as the present and Kent's own dramatic history means she is a wonderful protagonist who bears both physical and emotional scars. A brutal murder which looks like it could be the work of New Zealand's most notorious serial killer, James Middleton should be a grim reminder of the past for everybody who remembers the man dubbed 'The Carver.' However, it soon transpires that his despicable acts have inspired a new killer, quickly named 'Copy Joe'. There are chilling passages told from his first-person perspective which give an ominous insight into his plans – and perhaps even more unsettlingly, are part of a serious, uncomfortable topic which is explored with such candid perceptiveness.
I don't want to give a full explanation behind the title of the book as there is a really moving observation by a character which articulates it far better than I could. What I will say, however, is that with the apparently inexhaustible interest in true crime documentaries, films and books, Paul Cleave empathetically provokes readers to really consider the impact of this phenomena on the families of the victims, who too often become secondary characters in the headline-grabbing stories told about their murderers.
When Kent learns that James Garrett has woken up after nine years in a coma, she contacts Theodore Tate who was the detective in charge of the original investigation but has since left the police force. There are fascinating parallels between Kent and Tate, not least the devastating loss which irrevocably changed both their lives. They are such brilliant characters, not without their flaws but so utterly real, it's impossible not to become totally invested in the investigation and in their well-being. There is an almost constant feeling of dread infused throughout the novel and as it becomes evident that more than one killer may be active in Christchurch, it's never certain who the next victim will be.
The potential evidence of a crime discovered thanks to the crossover between James's conscious and unconscious states means The Pain Tourist just strays into speculative fiction but Paul Cleave writes with such authenticity, it's easy to completely believe everything that happens here is entirely possible. The links between real life and James's 'Coma World' are so very poignant at times, adding a fresh dimension to the story even as more shocking revelations gradually come to light.
The Pain Tourist is a superbly dark, intelligent thriller; nail-bitingly suspenseful, provocative and moving. Paul Cleave really is an exceptional author and just as The Quiet People was a stand-out read in 2021, so The Pain Tourist is one of my most memorable books of 2022. Highly, highly recommended.
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