Paul Cleave's CEMETERY LAKE released in the UK today

When readers in the UK wake up today, New Zealand crime writer Paul Cleave's novel CEMETERY LAKE will have officially hit the British shelves. I understand that Random House UK are also planning to release Cleave's two earlier crime novels, THE CLEANER (which was a smash-hit in Germany, #2 overall on Amazon for several weeks during 2007, behind only the then-latest Harry Potter book, and received hundreds of positive reviews there), and THE KILLING HOUR in future as well.

It's great to see a Kiwi crime writer 'break into' the British market, providing an opportunity for a much wider readership to experience what our writers have to offer. It will be interesting to see how CEMETERY LAKE does in the UK, given the prior (deserved) acclaim for Cleave's three books, and the very positive way in which they have been received in Germany.

Hopefully crime fiction fans in the United Kingdom will give Paul Cleave a go, and discover for themselves why people like British crime-writing heavyweight Mark Billingham rate Cleave so highly.

Billingham has said: "Most people come back from New Zealand talking about the the breathtaking scenery and the amazing experiences. I came back raving about Paul Cleave. These are stories that you won’t forget in a while: relentlessly gripping, deliciously twisted and shot through with a vein of humour that’s as dark as hell. Cleave creates fictional monsters as chilling and as charming as any I’ve ever come across. Anyone who likes their crime fiction on the black and bloody side should move Paul Cleave straight to the top of their must-read list."

So UK readers, I hope you and many of your fellow countrymen will give CEMETERY LAKE a try. Let me know what you think...