The Killing Hour

by Paul Cleave

'They come for me as I sleep. Their pale faces stare at me, their soft voices tell me to wake, to wake. They come to remind me of the night, to remind me of what I have done.'Only Charlie doesn't know what he has done. His shorts are covered in blood, there's a bump on his forehead and on the news it says the two young women he was with the night before were brutally murdered. Charlie knows Cyris is the murderer - except the police don't believe Cyris exists. Nor does Jo, Charlie's ex-wife, to whom he goes for help. He desperately wants her to believe in him, and when she doesn't, he knows he must force her. As Charlie goes on the run with Jo bound and gagged in the car boot, he tries to figure out whether Cyris is real or imagined, while the killing hour approaches yet again...As gripping as his first powerful novel, THE CLEANER, this fantastic story keeps you guessing until the last page.

Genres: Thriller, Crime, Mystery, Fiction, Audiobook, Mystery Thriller, Ebooks

384 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2007

About 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.

Reviews

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've enjoyed several of Paul Cleave's thrillers, which demonstrate the author's penchant for misdirection and surprises. So I was curious to read Cleave's first novel, The Killing Hour, which was re-issued in America.

The Killing Hour - set in Christchurch, New Zealand - opens with high school teacher Charlie Felman waking up bloody and bruised, with confused memories of the night before.



Charlie recalls driving, being hailed by a woman, and rescuing two women in the woods - who were about to be killed by a man named Cyris.



As Charlie recalls it, he dispatched Cyris, took the women home, and stayed with them for a little while.....talking about what to do.



In the end, Charlie didn't call the police because he has a record for assault and battery, and thought he'd be accused of murdering Cyris.

This morning, his head throbbing, Charlie watches the television news and learns both women were murdered in their homes. Charlie is horrified!!



He now fears Cyris wasn't quite dead, and will be coming after himself and his estranged wife Jo. Charlie is unable to convince Jo she's in danger so he abducts her (for her own safety) and goes into hiding....with a plan for catching Cyris and bringing him in.

Meanwhile, a cop called Detective Inspector Landry has just learned he has terminal cancer. Landry is depressed by the diagnosis, taking a lot of pills, and angry about criminals running loose in Christchurch.



Landry is convinced Charlie Felman killed the two women and - feeling fatalistic and determined - sets out to get an unorthodox kind of justice.

Things then go in another direction, more or less vintage Paul Cleave, but without the sophisticated plotting of Cleave's later books. The Killing Hour, which was first conceived as a horror story and later revised, is FILLED with graphic violence....SO ABSOLUTELY NOT FOR THE FAINT OF HEART.

For me the story is repetitive and drags too much, but the book might appeal to readers who like this kind of tale.

You can follow my reviews at https://reviewsbybarbsaffer.blogspot.com

[Brenda · Rating 2 out of 5]

In the Author's Note in the beginning of this book, Paul Cleave tells how his writing career began and progressed. Although this is the first novel he wrote, it is not the first one that got published. Initially this book was a horror story; Cleave tells us up front how he re-wrote it into a thriller but that some elements of horror remain.

I believe him.

This book felt like two separate stories were sewn together in the middle. The first actually had some promise and shows Cleave's potential. Both Landry, the cop dying from cancer, and Charlie, the suspect he is chasing, are unreliable narrators, and there was some tension and anxiety. I didn't know who was telling the truth. If only Cleave had wrapped it up from there.

Midway through, certain events change everything and it feels like a totally different book. Those events are not the twists and turns we know and love! Charlie is now fighting for his life and his wife's life against this previous character that may or may not have been a figment of Charlie's imagination. Things got ridiculous (for one, I lost count of the handcuff keys), and I couldn't stand it anymore. I went straight to the end chapters just to see what happened.

I like Paul Cleave's writing, but not this one. This one should have stayed in his desk drawer.

[Kirsten McKenzie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Told from the viewpoints of both the antagonist and the protagonist. Caution - this book contains chilling violence, and a madman, or is it men? Not telling.
A great plot twist explaining things, and not one I expected - always good when you're reading a thriller!
Set in and around Christchurch, which I'm sure is the murder capital of NZ, so the storyline is really quite believable. There's a character or two who I felt quite sorry for... for a while.
Just great writing.

[Briant · Rating 1 out of 5]

It must be me. I read all of these 5-star reviews by other members and the glowing praise of other well-known authors on the book jacket - but to me this book was confusing, unbelievable and in-the-end very disappointing.

[Sunsy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hier haben wir einen Psychothriller, der in Christchurch spielt und erstaunlicherweise spannend und in zwei Erzählweisen geschrieben ist. Zum einen in der 1. Person Singular, wenn Charie erzählt und in der dritten Person, wenn aus der Sicht des FBI-Agenten, Charlies Ex-Frau und später des Killers geschildert wird.

Erstaunlicherweise darum, weil es wie ein Theaterstück mit wenigen Darstellern in der größten Stadt der Südinsel Neuseelands glänzt. Ein einziger FBI-Agent befasst sich tatsächlich mit den Morden, die Polizisten, die den Tatort besichtigen, werden nur ganz kurz erwähnt. Gut, es ist auch kein Kriminalroman, sondern ein Psychothriller, aber auch Nachbarn oder überhaupt andere Menschen sind nur Randerscheinungen. Da können Morde im Freien begangen werden, die nicht gerade leise vonstatten gehen, und niemand bekommt etwas mit.

Verwirrend sind die Geisterscheinungen, und auch wie unterschiedlich Killer und Charlie sind. Der Killer wird hier fast übermenschlich dargestellt. Vollkommen überlegen, selbst, wenn er höllische Schmerzen erleidet, während der Lehrer Charlie fast schon zu dämlich ist, um überhaupt überleben zu können.

Spannend ja, aber realistisch? Nein. Trotzdem habe ich das Buch in zwei Tagen durchgelesen und bin froh, dass ich bis zur Nachtruhe noch ein paar Stunden habe ;)

Ich gebe 08/10 bzw. 76/100 Punkte.

https://sunsys-blog.blogspot.com/2021...

[Patrice Hoffman · Rating 3 out of 5]

After finishing my first Paul Cleave novel, The Killing Hour I have mixed thoughts on it so let's begin with an outline of the story. Charlie begins the novel by telling us he can see dead people and they're stalking him in an attempt to remind him of what he's done. The beginning line of the novel has got to be one of the creepiest lines I've read in a long time and is really the best way to hook the intended audience.

Charlie wakes up with bumps, bruises, blood, and other murder-scene paraphernelia on his person with no idea how he's come to be such a mess. The news is on about the death of two friends who have died by the hands of Cyrus, a seriel killer no one is sure exists. Upon hearing the news of the gruesome deaths of the two women, Charlie starts to piece together what has happened the night before. He goes to find aide from his ex-wife Jo who doesn't believe him and is figuring he's the killer since she's seen the worse side of Charlie before. Because Jo doesn't believe Charlie, he kidnaps her to keep her safe and from calling the police.

Now... there's a lot of things I felt were done right with this novel, and a few things that had me laughing. Cleave warns the audience that the novel was initially written as a horror novel and I think that's awesome. Charlie's being able to speak with and see dead people is an element that is used primarily in the horror world because of its supernatural qualities, but eventually the steam is let out of that bag. It becomes just one more annoying quality about Charlie's whole storyline. These dead people come into play at the most inopportune moments seeming like they're thrown in for dramatic affect but really serving no purpose except to add to the darkness that is this novel.

I do feel that most of the novel is one heck of a ride and I can see why Cleave is such a well-known author. The Killing Hour is gripping and full of characters that have depth who are thrown together under the most insane circumstances. There is blood, death, and really graphic details galore in this novel. I breezed through the first half because I needed to know if Charlie was really Cyrus. Once the truth is revealed, the story lost a little bit of it's edge for me. The characters started to behave like none other I've read in thriller/crime novels. I don't know if it's a New Zealand thing, but there was one flub after another and I just laughed right through it thinking this is unbelieveable.

In conclusion, Cleave writes a very interesting novel that I'm sure his fans may love. After reading this novel I can say that I look forward to reading more of his novels. This wasn't a terrible novel although I did think some of the actions were unbelieveable. Cleave can certainly weave interesting characters into a gripping story that will keep the reader guessing until the end. I enjoyed this journey into the darker side of the "Real World" during the killing hour.

[DAISY READS HORROR · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF 40% in to the story and I was confused on what Charlie was doing and or dreaming. I had a hard time figuring out if it was his reality or all in his head. I understand this might be the concept of the storyline but it did not work for me.

**Copy provided by publisher in exchange of an honest review**

[Ömer · Rating 2 out of 5]

Asla anlam veremediğim bir kitaptı 😅

[Luanne Ollivier · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5/5 The promo paragraph for The Killing Hour by Paul Cleave immediately caught my eye and sounded like the kind of thriller book I really enjoy - everyday person in the wrong spot at the wrong time.

"Imagine waking up covered in blood - but it's not your blood. There's a nasty bump on your head, and the morning paper reports that two young women were brutally murdered. You recognize their names. Pieces of the night before come back to you through the haze. And now you're the suspect in their grisly deaths. Welcome to Charlie's world."

Spoiler alert - If you have plans to read this book, stop here.

Although the premise is excellent, the delivery fell short, very short for me. We've got at least three viewpoints going on - the dying cop who decides to pursue Charlie on his own and exact justice on his terms, Charlie's narrative and that of Cyris, the man Charlie claims is the killer. The cop's narrative was the most readable of the three. Charlie's first person narrative was rambling. He also talks to 'ghosts'.

The plotting seemed over the top and far fetched. Charlie watches two women get attacked, jumps in, saves them, kills the bad guy and then accompanies them back their house to take a shower rather than go to or call the cops!? Really? There were other situations that just had me shaking my head - his wife going along with his plan to catch the 'real' killer was unrealistic as well. And still, they never call the police.....Same thing, over and over again.

And the killer. Well, the original incarnation of The Killing Hour as a horror novel is quite obvious. The guy won't die. And frankly, he just got tiresome. Cleave seems to delight in provide grisly, graphic details to shock the reader. Breast in a box on a bed anyone?

An excellent premise, but sadly it just fell (really) short for me. The Killing Hour was originally written as a unpublished horror novel in the nineties. Cleave reworked it as a crime novel after selling another book. And it was rewritten again for release to the North American market. (Cleave is a Kiwi author and this book is set in New Zealand)

For this reader, this first taste of Paul Cleave will be my last. Although his newer novels may be an improvement over The Killing Hour, I won't be bothering to pick up another book by this author.

[Gavan · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5* rounded up to 4*. Very well written; but more violent than I usually read. Reads like a Cohen Brothers film mixed with action thriller. Felt like it was written in parts - as there were sections that were wonderful noir ("There's an old black-and-white movie on [TV]. It's about vampires. They're being chased by bad acting and poor directing. I recognise none of the actors but all the lines.") and others more straight descriptive action.

[Paul Pessolano · Rating 3 out of 5]

“The Killing Hour” by Paul Cleave, published by Atria Paperback.

Category – Mystery/Thriller

Paul Cleave wrote this book as a horror novel. He also wrote it in the late nineties. He was unable to sell it and set about writing a mystery, “The Cleaner” which was published. Although “The Killing Hour” lay dormant until now, Paul liked the book so much that he kept going back to it and revising it and making it better. He actually changed the book enough to move from the horror category to a mystery. Trust me; there is enough horror in it to still classify it as horror.

Paul Cleave is from Christchurch, New Zealand and his novels take place in this city. He will never be awarded for being a boon to tourism as he claims Christchurch is a hotbed of murder.

Detective Inspector Bill Landry is working on the brutal murder of two young women, and the murders are so horrid that it must be the work of a psychopath. Landry has a serious problem of his own that he is hiding and he also is withholding a piece of crucial evidence in the case.

Charlie Feldman wakes up covered in blood but cannot recall what happened to him, he only knows that it is not his blood. Charlie becomes a prime suspect but only in the eyes of Bill Landry. Charlie seeks help from his estranged wife, although she is an unwilling participant. All of them find themselves on a never seeming to end attempt to finding the real killer.

A story that contains both mystery and horror, this book is definitely not for the squeamish. A book that is thoroughly entertaining from start to finish and always asking yourself, “why don’t they just go to the police”.

[Mark · Rating 5 out of 5]

It just wasn’t Charlie Felman’s day. Waking from a dream, in cold sweats surrounded by ghosts, he is relieved to know the worst is over until he discovers a large bump on his forehead and blood all over his clothes; blood that does not belong to him.
Seemingly on the run from Cyrus, a man who authorities are unable to locate any record of, Charlie has a dickens of a job convincing the police, and his ex-wife Jo, that he is not losing his marbles and that the bodies that keep showing up in his wake are Cyrus’ victims not his.
Forcibly kidnapping Jo, and stuffing her in the trunk of the car probably is not the easiest way to show his innocence however it is the only way he knows to keep her safe.
Inspector Landry has nothing to lose. His body racked with cancer, he only has a short time left on this earth. He doesn’t believe Charlie’s innocence and drags him into the woods meaning to take care of him vigilante-style. Not until Cyrus shows up, also trying to dispatch Charlie, does Landry realize the error he made and the focus switches to helping each other escape from the claws of the madmen in order that Christchurch’s latest serial killer can be bought to justice.
This is a recent US release of Cleave’s first novel and although it does not involve his trusty and true detective Theo Tate it does involve the Christchurch police force and so again Cleave has managed to link together his collection of works into a malleable group of thrill-a-minute novels that are not to be missed.

[Hazard · Rating 1 out of 5]

Die Stunde des Todes rückt näher, jeden Tag...und wieder...und morgen sowieso. Die Handlung zieht sich und kann selten Spannung aufbauen. Dass Tess Gerritsen das Buch als "ein gnadenlos realistischer Thriller" bezeichnet ist schon fast lächerlich. Unrealistische Handlungen ziehen sich durch das gesamte Buch, zudem sind logische Fehler vorhanden, die ich nicht ignorieren konnte. Hinzu kommt noch die oftmals schlechte Übersetzung, an manchen Stellen scheint der Übersetzer das erstbeste Wort aus dem Wörterbuch genommen zu haben, ohne den Sinn des Satzes verstanden zu haben oder ihm fehlt einfach das Sprachgefühl für das Englische. Der Stempel "Mängelexemplar" hat zwar den finanziellen Verlust in Grenzen gehalten, bezog sich aber leider auch auf den Inhalt des Buches.

[Maddy · Rating 3 out of 5]

PROTAGONIST: Charlie Feldman
SETTING: Christchurch, New Zealand
RATING: 3.25
WHY: All the evidence points to Charlie Feldman as the killer of two women. He insists that he rescued the women from the real killer, who then later came back and finished the job. He enlists the aid of his estranged wife, who doesn't quite believe him. They face countless obstacles, including a self righteous cop and a lunatic named Cyris. Although I was willing to go along with quite a bit of implausible action, the book went too far over the top and lost me. How can you drown someone, shoot them, set them on fire, stab them, and so on, and not kill them?

[Naomi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read my full review: http://bit.ly/11mw7ew

My rating: 2.5 Stars (bumped up to 3 stars for Goodreads and Amazon)

My opinion: It took me FOREVER to read this book. I actually had to download it a couple of times because I kept picking up other books. Once I read past the first 100 pages it picked up speed, but then quickly dropped off again. Still, must say that OVERALL, I enjoyed the storyline but found the writing to be lacking "uumph"

Now, will this be my last book by this author. NO WAY. I just don't think this one caught my fancy as quickly as it needed to.

[Madiha · Rating 2 out of 5]

I loved Killer Harvest and I loved The Cleaner but The Killing Hour is nowhere near as good as either. I do think I shouldn’t have read three Cleave’s in a row but even then, this book seems to just focus around a lot of (senseless) violence and repetitions. And then at the end, I felt things were just left hanging. No wonder reading this book felt like a chore.

[Rose · Rating 2 out of 5]

Quite an enjoyable read - although it lacks the griping/ clever twists and turns that I hope for from a thriller.
I do find it infuriating that Cleave does not use metric units, despite the fact that his books are set in names Zealand!!!

[Gina · Rating 1 out of 5]

Extremely violent and graphic. Story line drags on with the obvious intent to include as many sick and twisted violent and graphic events as possible without actually moving the plot line along. Last book by this author I’ll ever read.

[Derya · Rating 1 out of 5]

kitaba sırf puan vermek için bu puanı verdim. Yazarın diğer iki kitabına göre bu kitabı çok boştu yazmasa da olurmuş..

[Patricia · Rating 5 out of 5]

To me there is nothing better than a Paul Cleave book. I always know it will be good. Whenever Ive read a few mediocre books, I then read one of Paul Cleave's because I know I won't be disappointed.

[Allison O'Neill · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Killing Hour is clever! It was the first book I've read with some horror in it (I have now added Stephen King to my must read list!), I enjoyed it. The scene on the Christchurch pier was gory yet funny, such is the depth of imagination Cleave put into it...then it all goes wrong!

I love how Cleave describes everything in accidently-on-purpose hilarous, interesting ways. His brain excels at it. His style of writing and word play yet another reason he keeps me hooked. He keeps me laughing through such intelligent yet grim tales, and I find a hilarous 'Cleavism' on dang near every page.

"There's enough hardwood from the floors to the furniture to the edging around the ceiling and walls to make an ark."
"The alarm clock looks forty years old. It's big enough to think it may be powered by a mouse running on a wheel."
"The dark blue curtains are pulled shut, hiding the lack of view."
"The carpets are cheap and look like the bodily fluids get water blased off them every other month. The cigarette burns in the bedspread and on the carpet match the ones on the dresser."
"A haircut that should be in a musemn."
"I give him a false name but real cash."

The Killing Hour kept me permanently engaged. Landry's illness came off the page at me and his intentions were so human yet bold. Seeing Cyris' home life explained a few things...but he remained a looney. Cleave, as always, a genius.

[Merril Anil · Rating 3 out of 5]

Honestly if you ask me what happened in the book I have no idea😳. I had this book on audio and till a few bit of the book I did try to stay with it and the plot but it kept getting increasingly difficult and after a point I had to give up and just fast listen to this boo just to see where it ends.

It could be that I picked up the book at the wrong time or it could be that I may not be the right audience for the book or maybe something else but in whole the truth is that the book way above my head and nothing stuck with me as I only could catch bits and parts

The issue I had with the book was that it kept circling around things a lot and took an awful lot of time to come to its main point. By the time it came to the point I was dead tired and had already lost what it was talking about. This kept happening at every point in the book where the topic would start from something happening in the present but then it will on to a back story and inside that back story there will be something else. So this meant that the plot kept travelling in circles around the main thing it had to show.

I honestly am still unsure about what I read and understood in the book so in conclusion I would say that this was unfortunately not for me .

[Gürkan Çoşkun · Rating 3 out of 5]

Paul Cleave’nin seri kitaplarının dışında tekli olarak kaleme aldığı kitaplardan biridir.

Kitap, Temizlikçi serisinin ilk kitabından sonra 2007 yılında uluslararası baskı yapmış. Benim okuduğum versiyon ise; 2012 yılı Ocak ayı 2. Baskı yapmış. İlk baskı ne zaman yapıldı bir bilgim yok.

Kitap ne yazık ki Delilik Günlüğünden bile daha vasat bir kurguya, olay örgüsüne sahip. Olay örgüsü, kurgu birbirinden kopuk. Bazı kısımları anlamak karmaşık. Hayaller ve gerçek dünya arasındaki geçişler çok hızlı ve anlamsız. Yazar kaynaklı mı yoksa çevirmen kaynaklı mı olduğunu anlayamadım cümle kopuklukları var.

Tam bir hayal kırıklığı romanı.

5/11

[Kirsten · Rating 4 out of 5]

Die Geschichte hat das, was ich an den Krimis von Paul Cleave mag: Blut und Chaos. Ja, seine Bücher sind immer blutig und brutal, aber er hat auch irgendwie immer ein Augenzwinkern dabei. Seine Protagonisten, ob gut oder böse, scheinen sich immer zu fragen, wie sie denn jetzt schon wieder in diese Situation gelangen konnten. Trotzdem nehmen sie nie den einfachen Ausweg. wie Chris hier auch. zur Polizei gehen und sie die Dinge regeln lassen? Nein, dann wäre das Buch ja nur eine Kurzgeschichte geworden. Ob er diese Entscheidung wohl bereut hat? Ich nicht, denn ich habe mich beim Lesen gut unterhalten.

[Victoria Patterson · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book had so much potential and it took everything in me not to DNF. I couldn’t wait for it to be done.

Spoiler alert:


The first 35% I found myself thinking, wtf is going on?! This sounds insane… and not in a good way. Why were they buying the tools to make wooden stakes in a hotel room? There were just so many different ways to play this out. Wish we would have known more about why Cyrus became a hitman and how that came about. Because the murders he committed and why could have been a truly crazy twist and huge add on to this story. Lots of seeing things and hard to follow internal thoughts that added nothing to the story.

[Chris Meehan · Rating 3 out of 5]

A pretty gruesome read in places. At first the story feels rather confused and it took me about 60% of the way through to really feel comfortable about who was doing what. It took a bit long for the WHY part to reveal itself.

[Cirrus Minor · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sehr schade, alles, was ich bisher von Cleave gelesen habe, hat mir sehr gut gefallen, aber die Stunde des Todes machte mir nicht so richtig Spaß. Ich habe nach dem Anfang einen völlig anderen Verlauf erwartet und das Buch konnte mich dann nicht mehr so richtig abholen.

[Audra · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don’t understand how there are bad reviews for this book. Just like everything else by Paul Cleave, I loved it. Although I will say I would like to see what happened after the ending but as long ago as he wrote this book, I’m sure that won’t happen.

[Evalitera · Rating 1 out of 5]

Unglaublicher Kampf zweier Männer. Ein blutiges Gemetzel. Nichts für zart besaitete.
Da das Buch sehr spannend geschrieben war, konnte ich nicht aufhören, und es in die Ecke schmeissen.
Man könnte sagen so gut, wie der siebte Tod so schlecht ist dieser Thriller.
Mein Rat gar nicht erst anfangen.

[czytam_do_herbaty · Rating 1 out of 5]

Nie pamiętam kiedy ostatnio się tak wynudziłam przy jakiejś książce. Słuchając jej cały czas odbiegałam gdzieś myślami, bo akacja była tak nudna, że aż strach. Całą powieść spokojnie można by było skrócić do kilku rozdziałów i osadzić w książce, z innym dużo lepszym wątkiem głównym.