Customer Reviews

Blood Men: A Thriller

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Kiwi novelist Paul Cleave doesn't write boring stories, that's for sure. His taut tales told through the eyes of deeply troubled `heroes' have broken the mould when it comes to New Zealand crime and thriller writing, becoming international bestsellers.

In Blood Men, Cleave's fourth novel and first to be readily available in the USA, Edward Hunter is a happily-married family man with a great life but a very dark past; he's the son of a notorious serial killer who's been in prison for 20 years, and will never be coming out. The son of a man of blood. When tragedy strikes, Edward suddenly needs the help of the man he's spent his entire life distancing himself from. And as things spiral out of control, Edward fears he's destined to become a man of blood too.

Cleave's prose crackles with freshness and energy. Sporadic moments of brutal violence may be too much for some who prefer mysteries of the Christie-esque `cosy' style (or distract some critics), but those who can handle grittier crime will uncover a top-notch tale. Cleave masterfully mixes compelling characters, sly humour, a taut plotline with enough tension and twists to keep the pages whirring, and a well-evoked, if somewhat malevolent, version of Christchurch.

With Blood Men, Cleave shows he not only stacks up with, but in fact betters, many of the better-known big-name international bestsellers that readers worldwide by in droves.

Having read the other Paul Cleave novels (The Cleaner, The Killing Hour and Cemetery Lake), it's great to see Paul continuing to produce high quality work like this. The writing and plot development have grown as well. The Cleaner was an amazing debut and if push came to shove, I guess it's debut-status would win in a race between it and Blood Men. The US market is seeing Blood Men as it's first release, even though there are three books prior to it which (in a small way) contribute to the atmosphere and background to the story.

The writing is fresh and interesting, and you see it through Edward Hunter's eyes. It paints Christchurch (Paul's home city in NZ) as a dark place but it's where Edward is taken, the people he meets and the choices that he makes - that make the story race along. Not many, if any, will be able to pick the ending of the book.

I am not sure what the Publisher Weekly Editorial review was getting at ... because I have to disagree with it. I think that having not read the books in order has made them scratch their head a bit and missed some of the subtle tie-ins with the established history that would have helped the book 'resonate' with them. There is plenty of background to Detective Carl Schroder as an example that US readers won't be familiar with - but will appreciate when the backlist is released.

However, reading them is by no means a prerequisite, there is plenty to like here and the book stands on it's own as a fine novel.

It's a good ride, and fast paced, and tugs at the heart strings as well. Having finished it now, I can answer the question, 'Is Edward Hunter, like his father, a man of blood?'

According to his website [...] he has sold hundreds of thousands of books internationally, so he most be onto something good.

If John Connolly and Tess Gerritsen and Mark Billingham think it's worthwhile - you will too.

When Edward Hunter was nine years old his life radically changed. First a voice in his head directed him to put nails inside a steak that he fed to a dog, who died a painful death. In that same year his father dubbed Jack the Hunter was arrested and convicted of killing at least eleven prostitutes; his older sister died from an overdose; and finally Edward's mom committed suicide unable to cope with what Jack did.

Shocked into behaving, Edward becomes an accountant and affectionately loving towards his wife Jodie and their six-year-old daughter Sam. During Christmas week Jodie and Edward are at a bank in Christchurch, New Zealand when six armed robbers assault the place. Edward goes into face them, but his confrontation leads to Jodie's death. The dormant voice is back ordering him to kill. Shook by his wife's death and the voice, Edward visits his father for the first since Jack was locked away. Jack says he heard the voice too and suggests to his son to follow its call and avenge the murder of his beloved wife.

This is a fascinating character study that looks deeply at what motivates anti society activities. The story line is at its best when the focus is inside the head of Edward who thinks he may just be a chip off the old block. However, the story line also contains too many subplots in which none fully take charge though ultimately the myriad converge in a final clash. Still fans of twisting psychological thrillers with a red sea of blood will want to read Edward's lament (perhaps too much lamenting by him) as he fears his DNA imprint is serial killer not family patriarch.

Harriet Klausner

Second book I read of Cleave and the second one I loved , I read it in three days . How a man lives when his father his a serial killer , of thirteen prostitutes ? When Eddie loses his wife all his world fall apart , I did not expect the final twist but it made me think of all the book , what I have read and how Eddie behaved , thought ...
One thing I not enjoyed much (but the same thing can be said for Cemetery Lake) is that Cleave sometimes go in the 'too much' so not really believable , but anyway I loved his novel , I kept reading and reading and in the end I just wanted to read it again for comprehend it again better
Excellent Paul Cleave , now I am impatient to see again Theo Tate in his next novel !

Just finished reading Blood Men, by New Zealand author Paul Cleave. As an American, I find it interesting reading stories that take place in New Zealand. This is the second book of Paul's that I've read (The Cleaner), and I've thoroughly enjoyed them both.
Paul has an interesting way with words, and a nice sense of humor.
Don't hesitate to pick up one of Paul's books.
I think you'll enjoy them as much as I did.

Stumbled across Blood Men in a book store and had to have more! I haven't found a new author like Paul Cleave in a very long time.Pick up one of his books and you wont put it down until the last page is finished.

I don't know if you're like me, but sometimes when looking on this site for my next read, i'm drawn to a book by it's title. I don't like to read too much of the synopsis because it often give away too much. So when I saw Blood Men with a unanimous 5 star rating I ordered the book.

I can't tell you how glad I am that I did. Well drawn characters and a story that just flows. After finishing it I checked if there were other works to be found.

There are three other titles by this author...and I had to go to Europe via the web to find them BUT oh they are so worth the effort.

This author is TERRIFIC

I've been a fan of Cleave since the beginning and I have to say I think this is his best work to date! If I don't like a book I generally labour over it for weeks to months, I'm happy to say that Blood Men took me by the throat right from the start and wouldn't let go till I had read to the last page.

Cleave's newest work is gripping and will have you at the edge of the seat at the turn of every page.

Can't wait to see what comes next, 5 stars from me!

Cleave has written a few books since his 2006 debut masterpiece, The Cleaner. Not only have those novels not reached that thriller's quality level but to be honest have been a bit average. That high level we enjoyed with The Cleaner has however once again been reached with Cleave's latest Christchurch, New Zealand set thriller, Blood Men. Blood Men is a bit different in style to the Cleaner and other previous novels. This one reads sort of like a Harlan Coben/Linwoood Barclay everyday guy's happy life suddenly being turned upside down forcing him to use internal resources he didn't know existed beforehand. It doesn't have the humour element that The Cleaner had either, but the thriller aspect is well and truly there. There's also a cameo by the main character from the Cleaner.

In Blood Men, Edward Hunter meets his wife for lunch. Afterwards they go into a bank and stand in queue. Outside unbeknownst to them six men with shotguns are about to join them. The robbers aren't shy about murdering those inside and when one tells a female bank teller she took too long to get the money so as punishment she's coming with them, Edward without thinking speaks up to stop them. As punishment they murder his wife. Edward's life is shattered, if he didn't have a young daughter he'd end it all.

Edward had to rebuild his life once before. When he was a child armed police came to his house one night and dragged off his father. He would later discover his father was the serial killer of a number of Christchurch prostitutes and earnt the public nickname Jack the Hunter. For years the media has speculated if his father's desire to kill would be genetically passed onto his son. Edward never thought so but with the police not seeming to be doing much to catch those responsible for his wife's murder it seems a voice inside his head which he calls the monster, wants to convince him to use similar methods to which his father used, to get those who know to talk and reveal the identities of those six men in the bank. If you like the monster in head serial killer theme also try the book I Am Not A Serial Killer by John Cleaver.

This is a great, fast paced book with a good plot, lots of action and twists that will leave you wanting more. For me this was as good as my favourite Paul Cleave book, The Cleaner. I'd recommend this to anyone even though it makes my home town seem like a cesspit of crime.