Born in Christchurch, Cleave worked as a pawnbroker for seven years before he turned his full attention to being writer. He had previously written a couple of unpublished manuscripts, penning his first unpublished novel as a 19 year old, and since his earliest days at school he wanted to be a writer.

Although he had wanted to be a writer since he was a child, he didn't receive very good feedback about his writing from teachers or his high school report cards, with one stating there was a time and place for his kind of writing, and school wasn't it.

At nineteen, Cleave was writing novel-length manuscripts that "will never be allowed out of the bottom drawer". He spent several years working as a pawnbroker, working on various unpublished novels in his spare time.

A year before leaving his job as a pawnbroker he began work on what would become his first two published novels, The Killing Hour and The Cleaner.

His first published novel, The Cleaner was released by Random House in 2006 and it became an international bestseller with sales exceeding 250,000. It was the top-selling crime/thriller title for 2007 on Amazon in Germany. It was also short-listed for the Ned Kelly Awards for Crime Writing.

His second novel, The Killing Hour was published in 2007, and his third, Cemetery Lake in 2008. In September 2008, Cleave appeared on a crime writing panel at The Press Christchurch Writers Festival alongside fellow New Zealand crime writer Vanda Symon and acclaimed British author Mark Billingham.

In September 2009, Cleave's novel Cemetery Lake was published in the United Kingdom by Arrow Books. When talking about setting his books in Christchurch in a recent article in Crime Time magazine, Cleave said: "Christchurch is a great setting for crime — it has two sides to it, there's the picture perfect setting you see on postcards everywhere, but there's also a dark, Gotham City feel here which has, sadly, turned this city into the murder capital of New Zealand. I love making Christchurch a character for the books, creating an 'alternate' version of the city, where the main character often muses that 'Christchurch is broken'."

His fourth novel, Blood Men, was released in February 2010. He is currently writing his fifth novel. His home town of Christchurch is the setting for all his novels.

"Most people come back from New Zealand talking about 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." Mark Billingham, award-winning crime writer

“...an eccentric, intriguing and rather gory story.” - Alison Pressley, Good Reading

“Cleave also has an excellent ability to keep the surprises coming as the book unfolds, and at the same time has carefully and cleverly mapped out the journey of a criminally insane mind unravelling.” - Lucy Clark, Sunday Telegraph

"Paul Cleave... is a talent to watch" - Courier Mail

“It’s an exceptional debut by young New Zealand writer Paul Cleave whose concept of telling a story from a mass murderer’s viewpoint is compelling.” - Ray Chesterton, Saturday Daily Telegraph

"Cleave's writing is uncompromising, unpredictable, and enthralling... Made me vomit - seriously, it's that good" - Jack Heath, author, THE LAB

"...an impressive novel from a talented writer..." Craig Sisterson, Good Reading

"If ever a debut novel deserved the description of 'a tour de force', THE CLEANER by New Zealander Paul Cleave is it.", Denise Pickles, Mary Martin Books, Australia