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

Five Caffeinated Reasons to grab a copy of Five Minutes Alone

• Cleave weaves a clever tale of suspense as a killer helps rape victims get revenge against their attackers. The plot is tight, and moves between perspectives as Cleave builds his spider web and characters find themselves trapped.


• Carl Schroder and Theodore Tate known to the media as the “Coma Cops” are finally recovering. Tate is back on the duty, and he and his wife are working to recover from their loss. His life is complicated and messy. Carl however is walking around with a bullet lodged in his head. He’s alive, but it’s a ticking time bomb. He now finds himself permanently retired. Cleave did an excellent job of fleshing out these characters and exposing their flaws and weaknesses. While I didn't care for either of them, I did find myself completely immersed in their stories.


• If you or your loved one was attacked by someone and forever changed, would you want your five minutes? Cleave presents an interesting question as victims are afforded the opportunity to seek revenge.


• The plot was well-paced, with twists and turns that closed the characters in. Secondary characters added depth to the story and gave it believability. Five Minutes Alone was a nail-biting, page-turner, and I found myself holding my breath as the cops closed in on their suspect.


• Cleave allowed us perspectives from both the killer and Theodore notching up the tension. We are privy to what each knows. The final chapters were none stopped action as the tension increased.

Copy received from publisher, full review on blog.This review was originally posted at Caffeinated Book Reviewer

This is the last book I had to read of Mr. Cleave's, I am sad I have to wait until a new one comes out.

I received this book for free through Goodreads' First Reads program.

This is the fourth book in the Theodore Tate Christchurch Noir Crime Series by Paul Cleave. I have not read the other books in the series. The author did a good job of giving you enough information that reading the other books was not necessary.

Tate and his ex-partner are referred to as the "Coma Cops". The action takes place 6 months after the previous book. Tate has been reinstated as a cop. Schroeder is no longer a cop. He has a bullet lodged in his skull that has removed his feelings.

Nasty criminals and alleged criminals are being killed. It appears that their victims are being helped to get their "five minutes alone" with them. We rapidly learn who the real killer is. The book chronicles the killers thoughts and actions and the police trying to solve the case.

I find the books theme to be about moral ambiguity. Who is truly evil and who is truly good? Most people are cheering on the five minute killer. The cops are having a hard time going after someone who is seemingly good and getting rid of criminals.

This is well-written, gritty noir style crime thriller. I felt that some of the plot was not that believable. The reinstatement of Tate as a cop was one point I had a hard time with. It does, however, complete the moral ambiguity theme.

Recommended for those who like their crime thrillers gritty and a bit violent. Three and a half stars.

I received an advanced copy of Five Minutes Alone by Paul Cleave from NetGalley.com in exchange for my honest review.

Think what it would be like if crime victims were granted 5 minutes alone with their attackers. It is a common request that police receive. "If you find the person who did this, please give me 5 minutes alone with them..."

When the body of a recently released convicted murder is found hit by a train, Theodore Tate, tries to determine if it is a suicide or a murder. Theo consults with his friend, Carl Schroeder, an ex-cop who was shot in the head six months ago, leaving him emotionless. Carl was the investigator on the case of the rapist who was killed. Once it is determined that the rapist was murdered, Theo begins to think that the murderer was the woman who had been raped but also that she had help. While following leads, two more rapists are killed, and everyone on the police force seems to be cheering on the killer, whom the media has dubbed, The Five Minute Man.

When The Five Minute Man actually kills an innocent man, Theo and Carl find themselves battling each other.

This tense thriller had me on the edge of my seat and found me giving up my precious sleep time to race to the stunning end.

Is the Five Minute Man a good guy or a bad guy? Read the book and let me know what you think.

Five Minutes Alone by Paul Cleave is set to be released on October 21, 2014. Buy a copy or check it out at your local library.

Thanks for reading.

Love everything about this series. Cleave continues to deliver some of the best writing today. Made a small mistake and read this one out of order, i skipped Joe Victim, although its a different series, all cleave's books have characters that interact, so do your self a favor and read these gems in publication order.

3.5 o incluso cuatro porque la idea es muy original y lo digo siendo la mas lectora de todo lo q tenga que ver con crimenes reales o ficticios

I received a free advanced readers copy of this book through the GoodReads FirstReads program.

"Five Minutes Alone" is about the struggle between a cop and a former cop as the latter makes it his mission to right the wrongs he sees that are the inevitable result of the justice system and give victims their "five minutes alone" with those who impacted their lives so negatively - rapists, murderers, etc. - and the former balances his duty as a cop to seek justice even for those criminals while recognizing the good that might be coming by their elimination.

I liked this book really well, and in fact the only hard negative I have for it is that it was the fourth in a series and was not advertised that way in the giveaways. I don't enter for books that are in a series I haven't read from yet because I like to read things in order, so when this one arrived and indicated it was a sequel (and the GoodReads entry for it later indicated the same), I put off reading it, thinking I likely would miss aspects of the plot.

Fortunately, Cleave does a good job of summarizing what has happened previously in these cops' lives so that the reader can follow the story even without having read those earlier books. Unfortunately, judging by the quality of this particular book, I would like to have read those books and now can't because spoilers.

Still, "Five Minutes Alone" is good even if you haven't read them, because the story does suck you in pretty quickly. The alternating perspectives lets the story be less about the mystery of who is committing these crimes and more about the tension between the right-or-wrong-ness of letting men go free after they have done particularly violent things, either because rehabilitation isn't as effective as you'd like to think or because the evidence was thrown out on technicalities, and of allowing past tragedies to dictate your future. I also felt like there were legitimately very few parts of the story that were predictable, which made for a compelling read as well.

Ultimately, I wanted to give this a 3.5 out of 5; rounded up to 4 for pulling off a great story even without the benefit of reading "Theodore Tates #1-3."

Cleave is always over the top but this book took it to levels beyond suspending disbelief and it just did not enjoy it as much as prior books