A chilling case of unsolved murders and mistaken identities unravels when a lake in a Christchurch cemetery releases its grip on the murky past in this exciting crime thriller from the internationally bestselling author of The Laughterhouse. Tragedy can change people. It can turn them into someone or something beyond comprehension. In the two years after losing his wife and child in a drunk driving accident, Christchurch private detective Theodore Tate has stood at the crossroad between the light and the abyss many times. One could say that alcohol made him a different man. One could say lust for revenge made him yet another. But there is only one Theodore Tate. Cemetery Lakebegins in a cold and rainy graveyard, where Tate is overseeing an exhumationa routine job for the weathered former cop. But when doubts are raised about the identity of the body found in the coffin, the case takes a sinister turn. Tate knows he should walk away and let his former colleagues on the police force deal with it, but his strong sense of justice intervenes. Complicating matters are a few loose ends from Tate's past. Even good guys have secrets, and Tate thought his were dead and buried for good. With time running out and a violent killer lurking, will he manage to stay one step ahead of the police, or will his own dark truth be unearthed? Originally published in Paul Cleave's native New Zealand in 2008, Cemetery Lakeis the first novel to feature Theodore Tate, the "quintessential flawed hero" ( Kirkus Reviews) from Collecting Cooperand The Laughterhouse. Full of the clever plot twists and sardonic humor for which Cleave has become known, it is at once a thoroughly entertaining crime novel and an unforgettable drama about the universal battle against the darkness within us all.