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.
Rating: 3 stars
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