The Cleaner

I was at a writing course recently which mentioned Paul Cleave's book, The Cleaner, and while I was sure at the time I had read it, it actually turned out that I hadn't!

Well I've amended that, it's now right up there with my favourite Paul Cleave books.

Joe is our cleaner. He's working at the police station, with everyone falling for the pretence that he has created that he has an intellectual disability. This is course isn't the case. The police say the Christchurch Carver has murdered seven women. But Joe knows he's only killed six.

Joe takes it upon himself to find out who killed the other woman, and has all the resources to do so. What he doesn't account for is the interest in him from coworker Sally (who works in maintenance). Joe reminds her of her brother and she wants to help him, but she becomes suspicious.

There are two other main characters, Melissa, who is much like Joe, and Joe's mother.

An excellent fast-paced read!