A(nother) Year of Orenda – The Quiet People by Paul Cleave

It’s over to Mandie now as she shares her thoughts on Paul Cleave’s fabulous new release, The Quiet People. I was super keen to read this one and it did not disappoint. You can read my review right here. Here’s what the book is all about:

About the Book

Suspicion is cast on two successful crime writers, when their seven-year-old son goes missing. Are they trying to show that they can commit the perfect crime? A mesmerisingly twisty, dark thriller from number-one bestselling author Paul Cleave…

Cameron and Lisa Murdoch are successful New Zealand crime writers, happily married and topping bestseller lists worldwide. They have been on the promotional circuit for years, joking that no one knows how to get away with crime like they do. After all, they write about it for a living.

So when their challenging seven-year-old son Zach disappears, the police and the public naturally wonder if they have finally decided to prove what they have been saying all this time…

Are they trying to show how they can commit the perfect crime?

Electrifying, taut and immaculately plotted, The Quiet People is a chilling, tantalisingly twisty thriller that will keep you gripped and guessing to the last explosive page.

Mandie’s Thoughts

The Quiet People by Paul Cleave is in a word fantastic. From the opening chapter I was hooked, right up to the end so much so I read it in 2 days staying up well into the night to complete it as I just couldn’t put it down. Having to deal with work the next day whilst propping my eyes open was all in a good cause.

When the unthinkable happens to writers Cameron and Lisa Murdoch their world is turned completely upside down. Following a traumatic trip to the local fair, their son Zach disappears. Completely devastated they soon find themselves at the centre of the investigation especially when videos are shared on social media that do not show Cameron in a good light. Added to this they have often been found on the publicity circuit talking about how they could commit the perfect crime. Could Zach’s behaviour finally have pushed them over the edge?

Things certainly didn’t look good for Cameron and Lisa, and it was easy to see why they were the prime suspects as the investigation progressed. Zach was not an easy child, prone to tantrums, he could be a handful and you could sense the frustration of Cameron as he dealt with the latest incident and also the judgemental parents nearby who didn’t understand the situation and like many of us would react to what they were witnessing.

Most of the book is told through the eyes and thought processes of Cameron as he tries to work out exactly what happened and who may have been responsible. The problem is the more he digs the guiltier he looks, as his temper and his sanity are tested to the core. He is certainly a man with a short fuse and that short fuse is not helping his cause. With the police determined to prove his guilt and reporter Dallas Lockwood stirring up public opinion he is becoming desperate. Even as he is resorting to actions that could land him in prison you still feel for him. Whether these actions are down to the fact that he is innocent or not is something you have to work out as you read on.

Of the two detectives on the case, it is Detective Inspector Rebecca Kent who is more inclined to give the Murdoch’s the benefit of the doubt (to a certain extent) but with her partner Detective Inspector Ben Thompson determined to prove that they are responsible you can see her struggling with following the case where it leads or agreeing with her partner.

This is a book with so many twists and turns and moments that will possibly shock that you are left wondering who is responsible and if Zach will ever be found alive. I will admit that the ending was not quite what I expected, and I certainly didn’t see it coming. Paul Cleave certainly put my emotions through the wringer with this book but boy was it worth it

About the Author

Paul is an award winning author who often divides his time between his home city of Christchurch, New Zealand, where most of his novels are set, and Europe. He’s won the New Zealand Ngaio Marsh Award three times, the Saint-Maur book festival’s crime novel of the year award in France, and has been shortlisted for the Edgar and the Barry in the US and the Ned Kelly in Australia. HIs books have been translated into over twenty languages. 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.

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Books by Paul Cleave