乔·米德尔顿在基督城警察局白天做清洁工,但他过着双重生活,实际上是名为“基督城凶手”的连环杀手,专门猎杀女性。他与母亲伊芙琳的关系也很紧张,因为她对他的所谓迟到表示不满。在故事发生时,乔已经杀死了六名女性和一名男性,这名男性是之前在警察局工作的清洁工。当第七名受害者丹妮拉·沃克被杀后,乔偷听到警官卡尔·施罗德和其他侦探的对话。得知凶手留下了一件物品后,乔推测这是模仿杀手的所为。
在带一只被遗弃的猫去看兽医时,乔遇到了一名来自奥克兰的记者梅丽莎·弗劳尔斯,她正在调查基督城凶手的所作所为。在一次巴士旅程后,乔带梅丽莎散步,打算杀死她。然而,梅丽莎反击并揭露她已经推测出乔的身份就是基督城凶手。
梅丽莎制服了乔,并强迫他帮助寻找模仿杀手。作为警告,梅丽莎用钳子压碎了乔的一个睾丸。乔说服莎莉为他治疗伤口并保守秘密。后来,梅丽莎勒索乔,在两天内找到模仿杀手,否则她会完成未竟的任务。回到工作场所,乔偷听到施罗德和侦探主管丽贝卡·肯特讨论沃克谋杀案。他潜入沃克家中,发现线索表明模仿杀手可能是一名警察。与此同时,施罗德认为丹妮拉的丈夫虐待并杀害了她,因为验尸报告显示她在一段时间内遭受了多次伤害。乔认为施罗德就是模仿杀手,决定杀死一个名叫劳拉的女人,并嫁祸给施罗德。然而,他遇到了一名男性朋友,这名朋友正在替劳拉看房,因为她在巴厘岛度假。
乔从劳拉的朋友那里逃脱,这名朋友向警方报告了他的外貌描述。在继续寻找模仿杀手的过程中,乔排除了施罗德。他跟踪侦探主管罗伯特·卡尔霍恩,但在发现他是同性恋后,将其排除为嫌疑人。梅丽莎给了乔另一个机会,让他找到模仿杀手。乔随后询问了两名妓女,以获取关于模仿杀手的信息。当第一名妓女意识到他就是基督城凶手时,乔杀死了她并烧毁了一辆汽车以掩盖踪迹。乔在第二名妓女那里获得了更多的线索,她透露模仿杀手可能是警察局的员工。当她产生怀疑时,乔也将她杀死。乔不知道的是,他被另一名男子跟踪。而这名神秘男子又被梅丽莎跟踪,随后梅丽莎杀死了他。乔在他车的后备箱里发现了这名神秘男子的尸体,后来证明该男子是警察萨姆。
乔把车和萨姆警官以及第二名妓女的尸体丢在施罗德家门外。侦探主管多米尼克·史蒂文斯接手了施罗德的调查,施罗德仍然担任辅助角色。乔买了一辆新车,并在加油站与伊芙琳的新男友沃尔特碰面,随后与乔和伊芙琳一起共进家庭晚餐。继续寻找模仿杀手的过程中,乔将嫌疑人缩小到侦探主管罗伯特·卡尔霍恩和侦探布莱恩·特拉弗斯。梅丽莎同意帮助乔,她通过询问最后见到死者的旅馆老板温迪来调查妓女的死亡。乔后来发现他的宠物鱼似乎被“救援”猫卡尔玛杀死了。当兽医打电话告诉他猫的主人已被找到时,乔声称卡尔玛被车撞死了。在埋葬他的宠物鱼时,梅丽莎和乔见面,并确定模仿杀手是卡尔霍恩。乔监视卡尔霍恩,但被侦探伏击。
侦探卡尔霍恩质问乔为什么跟踪他。乔装傻,使卡尔霍恩释放了他。莎莉对乔表示担忧,并拜访了他的母亲伊芙琳,伊芙琳因药物原因无法记住细节。乔潜入卡尔霍恩的公寓寻找信息,并在偷走她的刷卡后将清洁工绑起来。在梅丽莎的帮助下,乔杀死了旅馆老板温迪,并偷走了她的两只宠物鱼以替换他死去的鱼。通过手机,乔跟踪卡尔霍恩,并威胁要揭露他在丹妮拉·沃克谋杀案中的角色。乔勒索卡尔霍恩,让他带着5万新西兰元的赎金在基督城地址与他见面。两人扭打起来,卡尔霍恩占了上风。
乔设法用玻璃击倒了侦探卡尔霍恩。卡尔霍恩向乔和梅丽莎承认,他曾与丹妮拉有染,并在一次争吵后杀死了她。梅丽莎透露,她一直在冒充她的姐姐,她的姐姐被另一名侦探杀害,而卡尔霍恩帮助掩盖了她的谋杀。在梅丽莎的允许下,乔杀死了卡尔霍恩。同时,施罗德和肯特质问莎莉关于在温迪遗体附近发现的票据,认为她可以帮助确认基督城凶手的身份。乔与梅丽莎见面,确保他的行李箱中包含他作为基督城凶手的身份证据能够归还。为了掩盖他们的秘密,乔向梅丽莎求婚,梅丽莎接受了。乔告诉母亲伊芙琳,伊芙琳对她儿子的恋情感到高兴。警方随后安排莎莉与乔见面进行钓鱼执法。在不小心暴露了自己是基督城凶手后,乔劫持了莎莉并试图用手枪自杀。然而,莎莉阻止了他,打伤了乔。乔被拘留,梅丽莎发誓要救他。
While working as a cleaner at the Christchurch police station by day, Joe Middleton lives a double life as a serial killer known as the "Christchurch Carver," targeting women. He also has a strained relationship with his mother Evelyn, who resents his perceived tardiness. By the time of the story, Joe has murdered six women and a man, the previous cleaner at the police station. When a seventh woman named Daniella Walker is killed, Joe eavesdrops on a conversation between DC Carl Schroder and his fellow detectives. After learning the killer left an object behind, Joe deduces that it is a copycat. While taking an abandoned cat to a veterinary, he meets an Auckland-based journalist named Melissa Flowers, who is investigating the Christchurch Carver's actions. Following a bus ride, Joe takes Melissa for a walk, intending to kill her. However, she turns the tables on him and reveals she has deduced his identity as the Christchurch Carver.
After subduing Joe, Melissa forces him to help her find the copycat killer. As a warning, Melissa crushes one of his testicles with a pair of plyers. Joe convinces Sally to treat his injuries and keep them a secret. Later, Melissa blackmails Joe into finding the copycat within two days or she will finish what she started. Returning to his workplace, Joe eavesdrop on DC Schroder and DSS Rebecca Kent discussing the Walker murder case. He infiltrates the Walker household and discovers clues suggesting the copycat killer was a Police officer. Meanwhile, Schroder believes that Daniella's husband abused and murdered her based on the postmortem showing multiple injuries over a period of time. Believing Schroder is the copycat killer, he decides to kill a woman named Laura with the intention of framing Schroder. However, he instead encounters a male friend, who was house-sitting Laura's home since she is on a holiday in Bali.
Joe escapes Laura's friend, who reports his description to the Police. Continuing his search for the copycat killer, Joe rules out Schroder. He stalks DSS Robert Calhoun but rules him out as a suspect after discovering he is in a homosexual relationship. Melissa gives him another chance to find the copycat killer. Joe then questions two prostitutes for information about the copycat killer. When the first prostitute realizes he is the Christchurch Carver, Joe kills her and burns a car to cover his tracks. Joe has more luck with the second prostitute, who reveals that a person matching the copycat killer's profile is a Police employee. When she becomes suspicious, Joe ends up killing her as well. Unknown to Joe, he is being tailed by another man. The mysterious man is also followed by Melissa, who kills him. Joe finds the remains of the mysterious man, later revealed to be Constable Sam, in the trunk of his car.
Joe dumps his car and the bodies of Constable Sam and the second prostitute outside DC Schroder's house. SI Dominique Stevens takes over the investigation from Schroder, who remains in a support role. Joe acquires another car and meets with Evelyn's new boyfriend Walt at a petrol station, who later meets with Joe and Evelyn for a family dinner. Resuming his search for the copycat, Joe narrows his suspects down to DSS Robert Calhoun and DS Brian Travers. Agreeing to help Joe, Melissa investigates the prostitute's death by questioning the motel owner Wendy who last saw her alive. Joe later finds that his pet fish have seemingly been killed by the "rescue" cat Karma. When the veterinary calls to inform him that the cat's owners have been found, Joe claims Karma was run over by a car. While burying his pet fish, Melissa meets up with Joe, having determined the copycat to be Calhoun. Joe spies on Calhoun but is ambushed by the detective.
Detective Calhoun questions why Joe is following him. Joe plays dumb, causing Calhoun to release him. Sally grows concerned about Joe and visits his mother Evelyn, who has trouble remembering details due to her medication. Joe infiltrates Calhoun's flat to find information and zip ties the cleaning lady after stealing her swipe card. With Melissa's help, Joe kills the motel owner Wendy and steals her two pet fish to replace his deceased pets. Using a cellphone, Joe stalks Calhoun and threatens to reveal his role in Daniella Walker's murder. Joe blackmails Calhoun into meeting him at a Christchurch address with a ransom of NZ$50,000. The two men tussel, with Calhoun gaining the upper hand.
Joe manages to knock out Detective Calhoun with a glass. Calhoun confesses to Joe and Melissa that he had been having an affair with Daniella and killed her following an argument. Melissa reveals that she has been impersonating her sister who was killed by another detective and that Calhoun helped cover up her murder. With Melissa's approval, Joe murders Calhoun. Meanwhile, Schroder and Kent question Sally about a ticket found near Wendy's remains, believing she can help identify the Christchurch Carver. Joe meets with Melissa to secure the return of his suitcase containing evidence of his identity as the Christchurch Carver. To conceal their secrets, Joe proposes to Melissa, which she accepts. Joe informs his mother Evelyn, who is happy about her son's relationship. The Police later arrange for Sally to meet with Joe in a sting operation. After accidentally revealing himself as the Christchurch Carver, Joe takes Sally hostage and attempts to kill himself with a pistol. However Sally intervenes, wounding Joe. Joe is taken into custody and Melissa vows to rescue him.
> 我来回应