The Pain Tourist by Paul Cleave
How can you catch a killer When the only evidence is a dream...?
James Garrett was critically injured when he was shot following his parents’ execution, and no one expected him to waken from a deep, traumatic coma. When he does, nine years later, Detective Inspector Rebecca Kent is tasked with closing the case that her now retired colleague, Theodore Tate, failed to solve all those years ago.
But, between that, and hunting for Copy Joe – a murderer on a spree, who’s imitating Christchurch’s most notorious serial killer – she’s going to need Tate’s help.
Especially when they learn that James has lived out another life in his nine-year coma, and there are things he couldn’t possibly know, including the fact that Copy Joe isn’t the only serial killer in town...
About the author
Paul is an award-winning author who often divides his time between his home city of Christchurch, New Zealand, where his novels are set, and Europe, where none of his novels are set. His books have been translated into over twenty languages. He’s won the won the Ngaio Marsh Award three times, the Saint-Maur Crime Novel of the Year Award, and Foreword Reviews Thriller of the Year, and has bee shortlisted for the Ned Kelly, Edgar and Barry Awards. He’s thrown his Frisbee in over forty countries, plays tennis badly, golf even worse, and has two cats – which is often two too many. The Pain Tourist is his (lucky) thirteenth novel.
Review
‘The Pain Tourist’ is one of those books which sinks it's teeth into you and doesn't let go! My God this man can write a thriller that is going to keep you up to the wee hours. ‘One More Chapter’ is thrown out of the window as you suddenly look up hundreds of pages in and realise that it's 2am! It's a bloody brilliant braintwister of a book. If you are looking for a read that is going to shock you, make you feel tense but ultimately give you hope, then this one is for you. I didn't realise that this book although technically a standalone does involve characters from previous books and series. The Carver and Detective Tate feature in previous stories, which of course I will be buying, but you can read this on its own. I was introduced to Paul’s work via ‘The Quiet People’ which seriously impressed and this novel is no exception!
Once again Orenda books have managed to find an author with a unique imagination. We find a young boy who has been in a coma for nine years after being shot in the head in a home invasion gone wrong. During those nine years James has been living in ‘coma world’ where he is playing out a life where his parents survived the shooting. He has detailed memories from every single day which he stores in a ‘warehouse’! This is such a unique premise - I want that spark of inspiration in my writing.
You feel equally drawn to every ‘good’ character in this book and they are all complex and well-rounded. Tate, Kent and James were my favourites as despite all their troubles they still inspire a sense of hope in the world. You know if you have these guys on your side that you are going to have God looking down on you.
This is a book which hits the ground running when dealing out the tension and it carries on delivering high-octane action, suspense off the charts and does not stop shocking until the final page! There are numerous threads of narrative running through the book. Firstly, there is the story of the home invasion and James emerging from his coma. But Detective Kent is also having to deal with a murder which has taken place in one of ‘The Carvers’ old crime scenes and it has been staged in the exact same way. Is he back or is this a copycat? There is a third thread which I am not going to spoil as when that emerges you are dumbfounded by its premise. All three threads eventually intertwine to a brilliant and stunning resolution. The last 20% of the book I flew through as it was non-stop tension and action!
Boy, what a read! Let me know if you pick this one up.
