In this psycho-thriller the infamous serial killer known as the Christchurch Carver is serving time in prison and may face execution. He's also the target of sinister forces inside and outside the prison.
PRODUCT INFORMATION
Summary
In this psycho-thriller the infamous serial killer known as the Christchurch Carver is serving time in prison and may face execution. He's also the target of sinister forces inside and outside the prison.
Description
NOMINATED FOR THE 2014 EDGAR AWARD FOR BEST PAPERBACK ORIGINAL
Sometimes reality can really get in the way of a good story.
Joe Middleton's story is this: He doesn't remember killing anyone, so there's no way a jury can convict him of serial murder. He calls himself Joe Victim, trying, as he awaits trial, to convince the psychiatrists that he wasn't in control of his actions, trusting that the system will save him in the end.
But others know Joe as the infamous Christchurch Carver and they want to see him dead. There's Melissa, Joe's accomplice in one of the murders, who plans on shooting him on his way to the courthouse before he gets a chance to start talking. Then there's Raphael, whose daughter was one of the Carver's victims. Though he's tried to move on with life as the leader of a counseling group for grieving family members, he'd like nothing more than to watch Joe pay. Finally there's Carl Schroder, the ex-detective who locked Joe up and is determined to put things right for the case of his career.
To extract himself from this epic mess, Joe has come up with a desperate plan involving a television psychic who's looking to get rich by making people believe just about anything. It's a long shot, but it had better work before he becomes the poster boy for a death penalty that may be reinstated in New Zealand, which isn't quite the dramatic ending he is hoping for...
Awards
Short-listed for Edgar Allan Poe Awards (Paperback Original) 2014
Critic Reviews
“This dark, gripping thriller, the latest in the Tate saga, is as hard-boiled as it gets. The surprise ending suspends all disbelief. Like a TV series that ends its season on a cliffhanger, you won't want to wait until next year. This will leave the reader clamoring for the next book in the series.”
"An intense adrenalin rush from start to finish, I read The Laughterhouse in one sitting. It'll have you up all night. Fantastic!"--S.J. Watson, New York Times bestselling author of Before I Go to Sleep
About the Author
Paul Cleave is an award-winning author who often divides his time between his home city of Christchurch, New Zealand, and Europe. He's won the New Zealand Ngaio Marsh Award three times, the Saint-Maur book festival's crime novel of the year award in France, and has been shortlisted for the Edgar and the Barry in the US and the Ned Kelly in Australia. His books have been translated into more than twenty languages. The critically acclaimed The Quiet People was published in 2021, with The Pain Tourist (2022) and His Favourite Graves following in 2023.
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