Category Archives: #yeahnoir

Paul Cleave’s Christchurch Noir thrillers are all set in a nightmare Christchurch of murder and mayhem.  Trust No One is too – but this time the nightmare is internalised in Jerry Grey – a thriller writer with early onset Alzheimer’s … Continue reading →

I almost bailed on John Daniell’s The Fixer – the misogynist world of professional male rugby not being very attractive.  But I stuck with it – Daniell was a player in the French premier league so presumably the sexist repartee … Continue reading →

Blood, Wine & Chocolate starts in the dangerous world of London gangsters – three boys, Vinnie, Marcus and Tom end up entwined through Marcus being the grandson of the head of the infamous Lane crime family. We are told the … Continue reading →

I was looking forward to reading Swimming in the dark – having read rave reviews of Richardson’s latest ‘psychological thriller’.  And the premise is great: Alexandra’s troublesome Freeman family is the victim of physical and systemic abuse due to their low … Continue reading →

I had feared that this eighth installment in Cleave’s Christchurch Noir series might be the beginning of a decline – but I actually think it is the best so far.  Pushing the boundaries of his thesis of what is good … Continue reading →

I didn’t read the original Tito Ihaka books, written in the 90s – but did read his comeback title Death on Demand in 2012.  Fallout is the next installment and finds Detective Sergeant Ihaka working two cases, one very personal … Continue reading →

Once again Paul Cleave takes us to ‘hell-on-wheels’ Christchurch – a city well on its way into moral and physical chaos.  Characters from previous novels appear – mainly Joe Middleton, a serial killer in prison awaiting trial, and Carl Schroder, … Continue reading →