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beastreader's review against another edition
5.0
judithdcollins's review against another edition
5.0
Set in Christchurch, New Zealand, someone is helping rape victims get revenge on their attackers. An intense, edge-of-your-seat, holding your breath, cat-and-mouse chase between old friends- detectives Theodore Tate and Carl Schroder. These two, labeled “The Coma Cops” by the media, are finally getting their lives back into shape (think again). Tate has returned to the police force and is grateful to be back at home with his wife, Bridget. For Schroder; life, not so much.
Meet a few of the main characters:
Detective Theodore (Theo) Tate has lived through a nightmare; however, what he is about to experience will be even worse. His daughter Emily has been killed, his wife, Bridget has lost part of her memory; and often thinks she is living in a world - three years prior to the accident. Theo cannot leave her alone, as she still sets a place at the breakfast table for their daughter. Formerly known as the Coma cop, serving time in jail due to a drunk driving accident, he is now back on the force with his partner Rebecca Kent, which has also been disfigured with tortures of her own.
Kelly Summers’ life changed five years ago and will never be the same. Her world intersected with Dwight Smith, a rapist cutting her face, and disfiguring her, inside and out; she still sees him creeping around every corner of her life, day and night. She fears every day and needs to stay numb with pills to keep the evil at a distance. Her worst nightmare comes true – Dwight is now out of prison.
Peter Crowley, was unable to protect his family. Years ago, his wife was brutally raped repeatedly by two brutal brothers, in front of their young daughter Monica. Unable to live with the past, it drove her to suicide. Even though years later, Peter has remarried, while Monica is now a troubled teen. At the time Peter begged for five minutes alone with the killers, willing to even pay for it. He was never granted the request. Now years later, the rapist's are out of prison. Does he still want his five minutes, if given the choice?
Former ex-cop Carl Schroeder has seen it all and a man of many names. Over the last few years, the city has had many criminals and he has been involved with them all. The Christchurch Carver, the Burial Killer, the Gran Reaper, even Melissa X. Every one of them a psychopath, a killer. There is the Old Him before he was fired, lost his job, his family, his life, and before he attained the scar, and a bullet lodged in his brain; a time bomb waiting to explode or dislodged which will kill him). The New Him (numb, he talks to Warren, a spider on his wall, he cannot taste anything, has no emotion, or social skills; he just eats to live, and to be honest, he does not care if he lives). Will getting even, provide him with motivation to move on and will he be a hero?
What if . . . every relative or close friend of a murder victim could be granted five minutes alone with the killer? Would it offer them closure, revenge? If granted, soon after the murder, or say, five, ten, or twenty years later? Would the outcome be any different? Would the anger still be fresh, or would time lessen the obsession? What would happen in those five minutes, if left alone with this murderer?
To further complicate, the new death penalty; will this change the level of violence in the country? The Old Him had been about men like Dwight Smith, and the Christchurch Carver and getting up every morning fighting a never ending fight, dedicating himself to the cause, against violence. What about the New Him?
However, when these criminals get put behind bars, they get out, in a few years, and then are free to kill again. Why should these criminals get a second chance? After all, he never got a second chance.
When rapists and killers begin to show up dead, there seems to be a connection. Could it be a cop or an inside job? It appears someone is one step ahead of the cops. Schroeder and Tate were a team in the past, after all, they have been through the good times and the bad together.
Could Schroeder be behind this madness? Is he playing God, has he completely lost it? He has to stop his friend, as he is out of control, as now the Five Minute Man is involving the past victims. However, one big problem; Schroeder has something on Tate – will he use this information to keep Tate from busting him? Blackmail . . . karma bites!
My first read by Paul Cleave, (was blown away), and could not purchase the previous books in the Christchurch Noir Crime Series, fast enough! Joe Victim, Cemetery Lake, The Cleaner, The Laughterhouse, Blood Men, Collecting Cooper and The Killing Hour, as dying to learn the background of these intriguing characters!
Not only is this suspense complex, it is thought-provoking, with impressive plotting and character development; just when you think it is winding down, bang, another twist is around the corner!
Five Minutes Alone, offers heart-pounding intense and fast-paced suspense, leaving you page-turning desperately, into the wee hours of the morning, dying to learn the fate of these troubled and flawed characters, as you sympathize with them all.
You have to read FIVE MINUTES ALONE. You will not be able to stop with just one. I read this as a standalone; however, if you are like me, you will want to read them all. Crime thriller fans will devour!
Atria definitely knows how to crank out the winners: Forty Acres (7/14) and now Five Minutes Alone (10/14), two of my favorite thrillers for 2014!
A special thank you to Atria Books and NetGalley for an ARC and the introduction to this impressive author, in exchange for an honest review.
JDCMustReadBooks
TOP 30 BEST BOOKS OF 2014
Be sure and read his upcoming TRUST NO ONE 5 Stars+ Coming 8/4/2015. You are going to love it!
Looking forward to reading [b:A Killer Harvest|32920264|A Killer Harvest|Paul Cleave|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1479238810s/32920264.jpg|53537936] Coming August 2017. So excited to land an early reading copy.
kcfromaustcrime's review against another edition
5.0
The 4th Theodore Tate novel, FIVE MINUTES ALONE sees author Paul Cleave continuing to pull together connections from many of his previous novels - this series and the Christchurch Carver books. Must admit some of these connections, and the continuation in these books fascinate this reader. But then I've been amazed, fascinated, confronted, discomforted and flat out frightened by most of them.
The FIVE MINUTES ALONE of the title is a reference to that oft-quoted reaction of loved ones, and victims of, violent offenders. It's a hard sentiment to argue with - five minutes alone with an offender to even some scores. Whilst it's more normal for cops to politely deflect the request, this time, an ex-cop is only too happy to oblige, even instigate.
"And that did it. At the mention of the Carver he felt something stir inside him. It was like an old car that hadn't run in years was being started. Only the fuel was bad, the engine was half-seized, there was enough juice for the engine to try and turn over, but that was all, a hint of life and then nothing."
Perhaps it's the bullet lodged in Schroder's head that's made him lose his moral compass, then again, there's only so much depravity, cruelty and downright nastiness that some people are able to deal with. Schroder's reached his limit and given he's out of the police, and living a lost life he's quite "content" to take up a cause.
"There they were. Two small words. Why should, and a future opened in front of him, just like that, a doorway to a world of possibilities. That was the moment he realized he was a man searching for something."
Tate, on the other hand, has returned to the job. His own injuries healed, he's dealing with two major problems - his wife has not recovered fully from the car crash that killed their daughter, and her memory is patchy. Dangerously so for him. Somebody is also killing violent and nasty rapists and whilst initial suspicion seems to indicate victims or their families, it's not long before Tate has other ideas.
"Four weeks after joining the land of the living, Bridget's memory came back. All of it - minus the few hours before and during the accident. Then two weeks ago the problems started. Small problems. Painful problems. My wife wakes up into the morning of the accident. She thinks that everything is as it was three years ago. It's the school holidays and she's taking Emily to the movies and Schroder is my partner and the world, to her, hasn't moved on."
There's such strength in the portrayal of these characters. Whilst the reader knows from the start who the killer is, and why they are doing it, there's much that is sympathetic about him. There's something real and sympathetic about all of these main characters - all of them battle-weary, many morally ambiguous, these people have things to admire about them, as much as things to dislike.
There's also a powerful sense of pace, and action, and some memorable confrontation scenes - particularly in the Gothic old asylum where you'd be tempted to say "only in a Paul Cleave novel". That sense of pace is part of the strength of all these books, as are the flawed characters and the slightly crazy scenarios.
Because of the complicated connections that FIVE MINUTES ALONE is drawing together it's obviously going to work a lot better if you've at least read the earlier Tate novels. Having said that, readers who are willing to accept that "stuff happens in the past" even without knowing the ins and outs, will still get a lot from this book. Especially if that reader is interested in the outsider, the why, the "what happens when the wheels fall off", the ambiguous, and the "not everything always ends up happy ever after".
http://www.austcrimefiction.org/review/review-five-minutes-alone-paul-cleave
wendyh65's review against another edition
3.0
nikki_in_niagara's review against another edition
3.0
This book just didn't feel up to the standard of the others. It wasn't gruesome at all, which is prevalent in the other books. This book is the last in the series and as such brings up events from the previous books and puts to rest any loose ends. The killings were not that exciting. The killer is revealed early but it was easy to guess the identity almost from the get-go. I didn't feel any satisfaction as to what became of Tate and Schroder. Overall, the book was an easy read and had mention of many previous characters. The story was interesting as everything was pulled together by the story's end. A decent read but I wasn't satisfied with the series' wrap-up.
myrdyr's review against another edition
4.0
shelleyrae's review against another edition
3.0
Five Minutes Alone is the fourth book in Paul Cleave's crime thriller series set in New Zealand, featuring private detective turned police officer, Theodore Tate.
I didn't realise when I chose to read Five Minutes Alone that it was fourth in the series, I was simply intrigued by the synopsis. Six months previously, Detectives Theodore Tate and Carl Schroder were badly injured in a confrontation with a serial killer. Now, while Theodore has all but recovered and is back on the force, Carl, fired for his role in the case, is left with a bullet in his brain and a death sentence hanging over his head.
When a newly paroled rapist is found, in pieces, along the railway tracks, Theodore is happy to dismiss the case as 'suicide by train' but a post mortem proves the man was already dead. Just a day later the bodies of two more rapists are discovered at an abandoned asylum along with the husband of their victim and it becomes obvious there is a vigilante hunting these criminals and giving their victims the chance for 'five minutes alone' to extract their revenge.
Personally Tate would be happy to let the anonymous killer continue, he knows better than most how consuming the need for retribution can be, but as a police officer he has no choice but to investigate the crimes, even if they lead him to his old partner's door step.
Tate is caught between his professional and complicated personal life in Five Minutes Alone. As he investigates the vigilante, he has to re examine the decision he made when his daughter was killed by a drink driver. Meanwhile his wife, severely injured in the same incident, is struggling with her recovery and inadvertently places Tate in a difficult situation.
As the identity of the killer is known fairly quickly the suspense in the novel stems largely from his confrontations with his victims and his attempts to evade the law. Due to Carl's brain injury he makes a lot of mistakes in the commission of his crimes which leads to some black humoured slapstick and violent scenes.
The central question of the novel, is Carl a good guy or a bad guy? Cleave explores the grey areas between justice, law and vengeance in a manner that is exaggerated, but with a pointed edge. It is difficult to begrudge victims their desire for their 'five minutes alone' when, as Carl points out, the perpetrators go on to live their lives after destroying so many others. Yet it isn't that simple and all of Carl's 'good deeds' have unintended consequences. Playing out in the background of the story is the vote for reinstating the death penalty in New Zealand.
From what I can tell, this book also ties in with Cleave's The Cleaner series, I think I probably would have found Five Minutes Alone more compelling had I been familiar with the characters. The pace felt a little uneven but it was a fairly quick read and I enjoyed the mix of action, suspense and drama.
stephee's review against another edition
3.0
Another grizzly, yet satisfying, addition to Paul Cleave's Christchurch novels.
kadota's review against another edition
4.0
Yep, that's the book for me at the end.
This book is the last installment of the Theodore Tate series, and seriously I had forgotten how great this guy was. It has been long since I had read a crime novel (well oh my, who am I kidding; a novel). Plus, I had been missing in action in my life too (ha ha). And when I ended this book, I just sat on my bed thinking, this is it? Like really? What?! I NEED MORE!!! I NEED A CLOSURE!
LIKE COME ON!!
But, but, but I loved the location where it ended basically, from where it all started. (Nice touch there author)
Basically, in this book, Theodore is back in action, eluding coma, coming back to his wife and in police, trying his best to settle back in his life. Whereas, for his friend, ex-partner, Schroder, things aren't looking too good, he has a bullet in his head somewhere, stuck, saving him a few days of life. This bullet snaps something in him, causing him to become emotionless, and now this leads to a dead rapist, then two, then... Well, dead innocent people. Theodore tries to connect the dots, Schroder tries to find some balance in his life leading them both to stand, face to face against each other.
But the real question is who is this so called five minute man, who is giving five minutes alone to the loved one's of the victimized?
I must say, I was really excited for this book, it was different than the rest of his books, less mysterious, a bit slow at times but all the more it felt like I was watching a crime season, a really good one. It had precise amount of darkness, humour, and detective work. Plus, the book in the beginning was like keeping me on the edge, the middle was moderate, but for the ending I expected totally different outcome, and well come on there was the great plot twist. If that twist hadn't had happened I would've been crying right now. Otherwise, it was a book filled with coffee, detectives, forensics, investigation, plus lots of sleep deprivation.
Besides, I really enjoyed the humour of the main character (MC), seemed like he had gotten it after his wake from coma. Plus, the inner monologue of the both characters was a treat to read. Theodore, being the MC really was done with his job, the city, and the people, he just wanted to go to home to his wife so bad. (That was sad
zzzrevel's review against another edition
4.0
with serial crime in Christchurch,
New Zealand and this seventh one is
no exception. The only partially
nitpick would be to new readers who
may not start with the first book
and read them in order because there
is a lot of material from prior books
that is used for the subsequent ones.
That being said, the author does a
good job of keeping the reader
up-to-date so you can still follow the
storylines, just that there is sort of
'spoilers' for the reader who may go back
and read earlier ones.
This one has good plotting and reads in
sort of a doleful way but the narration
and dialogue kept things interesting.
The ending was not totally satisfying
but again that is a bit of a nit because
it was an enjoyable read overall.