In this “outstanding psychological thriller” (Publishers Weekly, starred review) by the Edgar-nominated author of Joe Victim, a famous crime writer struggles to differentiate between his own reality and the frightening plot lines he’s created for the page. Jerry Grey is known to most of the world by his crime writing pseudonym, Henry Cutter–a name that has been keeping readers on the edge of … keeping readers on the edge of their seats for more than a decade. Recently diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer’s at the age of forty-nine, Jerry’s crime writing days are coming to an end. His twelve books tell stories of brutal murders committed by bad men, of a world out of balance, of victims finding the darkest forms of justice. As his dementia begins to break down the wall between his life and the lives of the characters he has created, Jerry confesses his worst secret: The stories are real. He knows this because he committed the crimes. Those close to him, including the nurses at the care home where he now lives, insist that it is all in his head, that his memory is being toyed with and manipulated by his unfortunate disease. But if that were true, then why are so many bad things happening? Why are people dying?
Hailed by critics as a “masterful” (Publishers Weekly) writer who consistently offers “ferocious storytelling that makes you think and feel” (The Listener) and whose fiction evokes “Breaking Bad reworked by the Coen Brothers” (Kirkus Reviews), Paul Cleave takes us down a cleverly twisted path to determine the fine line between an author and his characters, between fact and fiction.more
I LOVE Paul Cleave! If he writes it, I read it! Even though his books deal with dark subjects, he always seems to make me laugh out loud with some smart a$$ comment or thought from one of the characters in the book. If you can handle a book that doesn’t give you the warm fuzzies…..Paul Cleave is for you!
A very complicated plot, but well handled by the author. I really enjoyed this book, although still a bit unsure as to who killed who! 🙂
Wow. Read it in a day. Devoured it. What a crazy, mixed up, screwed up, mind-disturbing plot.
The story centres around a successful novelist who has alzheimers and confuses whether he has committed a series of murders or whether he’s remembering the deaths of the characters in his books.
Ostensibly the book is set in Christchurch, New Zealand, but it could be set in any leafy suburb with a care facility.
I stayed up well past bedtime reading so I could find out what happened/whodunnit/what the hell was happening!
The story has a reasonably small cast, but a high body count. But is the body count real or imagined? And that’s the crux of the story.
An exceptionally well crafted story – trust no one, and don’t believe everything you read.
Trust No One
Perhaps the ultimate in “unreliable” narrators as the story is told from the POV of a mystery writer undergoing the decline of early-onset dementia. Cleave does a remarkable job in dealing with the memory lapses and uncertainty within the protagonist’s mind as crimes and intrigue unfold. There was a slight blip or two for me in the unraveling of what is a compelling mystery but the overall writing ability and imagination more than carried the day. I would have favored a different course of events for the ending but was wowed by the writing.
This story has a brilliant concept and the writing is wonderful.
Jerry Grey is a bestselling author of crime fiction. He has early-onset dementia. He is 49 years old.
He has come to believe that a fictional killing in one of his books might be based on a real-life murder. One that he committed.
He confesses to it, but he is let go once it’s discovered that he has Alzheimer’s.
Other events occur and Jerry winds up in a care facility.
Sometimes Jerry manages to escape the home and each time he does there’s another murder.
Jerry doesn’t think he is capable of killing, even given his condition.
Through third-person narrative and first-person journal entries, we get to observe Jerry’s descent into madness as he tries to find out just what the hell is going on.
He learns that he can trust no one…including himself!
It’s fascinating stuff.
Even though I figured out the culprit early, it is an engrossing read that I enjoyed.
It builds nicely to an exciting climax and the denouement is sad, realistic and satisfying.
I will read more Paul Cleave.
This is one of those books that I want to shout over the rooftops telling everyone to read. The only problem with that is, not everyone has a messed-up mind like I do. I have this sick perversion for twisted and demented stories. I rarely want happy endings, and I usually hope someone gets killed. I know, you think I should be committed, but I really am sane. I promise.
If you don’t like murder. Don’t read this book. Really. You will just be upset that you did. This book is about murder. And then some more murder. And maybe some murder on the side. I loved every second of it.
This is another unique story. I don’t usually talk too much about the story itself in my reviews, but I think I need to have a small discussion with you about the story. So we have Jerry, who also goes by Henry. He has Alzheimer’s. Interesting, right? No? Really, it is. With having Alzheimer’s he tends to forget things, like all of the people he murdered. Yep. That’s that main gyst of this. Well… yeah. That’s the gyst I will clue you in on.
So obviously there are plot twists. My brain was on overload with trying to figure it all out. Who was who? Who did Jerry kill? He didn’t really kill that one too, did he?? Wait, no… yeah. Seriously, may brain ran out of juice at one point, so I had to charge it back up.
I love books that make me think the whole way through. I have read some that have, and many that fell flat. I really was engrossed in this story from start to finish. Paul told this story in such a way that you will find yourself so wrapped up in mystery of it all, you will forget that you need to eat or sleep.
Some mystery-thriller-suspense books drag on and on and on… Well, for those that aren’t lovers of this genre, you might feel like it drags in some spots. Not everyone can be awesome thriller junkies like me. Not everyone has a twisted mind like me. For those like me, you will devour this book in no time. The characters are devious. The plot is larger than life. The words on the pages are written so articulatly that the book will have you on the edge of your seat.
Before I let you go… I just need to get this out of my system… THE ENDING! WTF! What???!!!???? Oh my. This is the ending of all endings. I have so many words I could use to describe it, but then I would be giving away half of the ending. Just TRUST me when I tell you that is a bombshell. I mean, it gave me virtual whiplash, and maybe real-life whiplash. My jaw was on the ground, and I sat here with that head-tilt while scratching my head. You know what I am talking about.
So, what am I tying to say? Well, it’s really quite simple. No mystery in what I am telling you. This book is thrillingly fantastical! It’s a book you really should read. Consume all of the words. Wrap every last morsel around your brain. Be one with this story.