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A beautiful woman's spine is broken as she watches her boyfriend burn to death out on a creek, and Daltrey, a young detective, wants to know why. With the help of a legendary but aging private detective, an unwitting supermodel, and a host of others lurking in the mayhem of Vancouver's seedy underbelly, Daltrey hunts a psychopath through webs of prostitution, deception, and savage violence.
- GenresMystery
332 pages, Paperback
First published February 1, 2017
265 people are currently reading
128 people want to read
About the author
Paul Slatter
5 books3 followersAbout the Author
Born and raised in London, England, Paul has spent a lifetime navigating the fascinating, often chaotic world of filmmaking and storytelling. With a career spanning notable projects like The X-Files, Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, The Bourne Ultimatum, and more recently, See and The Last of Us, Paul’s diverse experience infuses his work with a unique blend of humor and depth.
Paul is the acclaimed author of the Vancouver series—Burn, Rock Solid, and Trust Me—all of which have been optioned for film. His darkly comedic thrillers deftly combine suspense with satire, capturing readers with their gripping narratives. These novels have regularly appeared in Amazon Books' Best Seller list for Dark Humor, highlighting Paul’s skill in blending irreverent humor with thrilling plots.
In addition to his novels, Paul was commissioned to write and has completed a six-part TV mini-series entitled Hurf, set to premiere on TV. He has also just completed a new thriller novel, Loser, which is the first installment of a five-part series set in Thailand. Loser will be available in the summer of 2025.
Paul's latest novel, The Disciples of Coont Draculi, will be released on October 15th, 2024. This work delves into the realm of vampiric hilarity, offering a story rich in irreverent humor and spine-tingling thrills.
Splitting his time between Vancouver, Canada, and Thailand, Paul continues to explore the darker sides of human nature with a mischievous grin and a devilish sense of humor.
Born and raised in London, England, Paul has spent a lifetime navigating the fascinating, often chaotic world of filmmaking and storytelling. With a career spanning notable projects like The X-Files, Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, The Bourne Ultimatum, and more recently, See and The Last of Us, Paul’s diverse experience infuses his work with a unique blend of humor and depth.
Paul is the acclaimed author of the Vancouver series—Burn, Rock Solid, and Trust Me—all of which have been optioned for film. His darkly comedic thrillers deftly combine suspense with satire, capturing readers with their gripping narratives. These novels have regularly appeared in Amazon Books' Best Seller list for Dark Humor, highlighting Paul’s skill in blending irreverent humor with thrilling plots.
In addition to his novels, Paul was commissioned to write and has completed a six-part TV mini-series entitled Hurf, set to premiere on TV. He has also just completed a new thriller novel, Loser, which is the first installment of a five-part series set in Thailand. Loser will be available in the summer of 2025.
Paul's latest novel, The Disciples of Coont Draculi, will be released on October 15th, 2024. This work delves into the realm of vampiric hilarity, offering a story rich in irreverent humor and spine-tingling thrills.
Splitting his time between Vancouver, Canada, and Thailand, Paul continues to explore the darker sides of human nature with a mischievous grin and a devilish sense of humor.
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Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
November 7, 2021
Thank you so much to Paul slatter for my copy of this book , for an honest review.
This book was wild, odd and funny! I enjoyed the characters and it being set in Canada.
I have seen other reviews on this book and I think you need a certain type of sense of humor going into this one, So this might not be for everyone.
I will be checking out the second book in this series.
This book was wild, odd and funny! I enjoyed the characters and it being set in Canada.
I have seen other reviews on this book and I think you need a certain type of sense of humor going into this one, So this might not be for everyone.
I will be checking out the second book in this series.
August 10, 2024
DNF @16%
I know this isn't my genre and I only picked it up because of the setting in Vancouver. Still, I'm not sure this is good for it's own category. (And where is that humor everybody keeps mentioning?) In any case I have no interest to be in the head of a russian rapist and arsonist.
Very clusterfuck with a bad aftertaste.
I know this isn't my genre and I only picked it up because of the setting in Vancouver. Still, I'm not sure this is good for it's own category. (And where is that humor everybody keeps mentioning?) In any case I have no interest to be in the head of a russian rapist and arsonist.
Very clusterfuck with a bad aftertaste.
April 25, 2022
This was a gritty fast paced novel. I loved the flow and did not mind the graphic language because it was true to the characters in the story. Well written. The story had a number of plots so that it kept you on the edge of your seat. The end was unexpected but it also brought together the whole story which was great. Recommend this book, it is a quick read.
November 18, 2020
Wow! Not really sure how to describe this book. Violent good mystery, gory and yet oftentimes wickedly, hysterically laugh out loud funny. Oh also mid level raunchy, as if a 16 year old male in the 1980’s wrote it. I can’t wait to read the other two books in the series.
January 19, 2021
Kinda fun...
May 28, 2018
Witty and with a lot of warped humor, which I love. Crazy characters and nice detective story. Love the ending
December 2, 2019
A fantastic read..it had me on the edge of my chair the whole time.
January 30, 2018
Great Humor Combined With Brutal Violence
I really enjoyed this book in spite of the murder of a character I really liked in such an awful brutal way. I loved the humor, it make me laugh out loud sometimes! Not an easy thing to happen for me. It’s well written, I like the characters, the good guys and the bad guys are the kind you love to hate! I look forward to reading more books by this author.
I really enjoyed this book in spite of the murder of a character I really liked in such an awful brutal way. I loved the humor, it make me laugh out loud sometimes! Not an easy thing to happen for me. It’s well written, I like the characters, the good guys and the bad guys are the kind you love to hate! I look forward to reading more books by this author.
November 25, 2019
I found this book really entertaining. Great story, lots of twists and turns, crazy characters. It was my kind of humor—sometimes wry, sometimes silly. But I laughed... A Lot! That guy Dan is too much. Hope he's in the next book. There was violence, yes, but I'm a wimp where violence is concerned and it wasn't too much for me. And it was always tempered with comedy shortly thereafter.
Let's see, how do I synopsize this story... There were heinous crimes being committed in Vancouver—serious personal injuries and murders by burning. Investigators work on solving these crimes, but amidst gathering clues and making progress on them, there are lots of comedic exploits and wacky adventures by the hefty cast of quirky characters. I don't want to get much more specific and ruin it for you. It's too much fun to mess it up.
If you like stories that are a little out there, you should like this one. I buddy-read this book with my friend and we had a riot discussing it. Can't wait to start the next one. I fail to see how anyone could not get a few belly laughs out of this book. I got many.
Let's see, how do I synopsize this story... There were heinous crimes being committed in Vancouver—serious personal injuries and murders by burning. Investigators work on solving these crimes, but amidst gathering clues and making progress on them, there are lots of comedic exploits and wacky adventures by the hefty cast of quirky characters. I don't want to get much more specific and ruin it for you. It's too much fun to mess it up.
If you like stories that are a little out there, you should like this one. I buddy-read this book with my friend and we had a riot discussing it. Can't wait to start the next one. I fail to see how anyone could not get a few belly laughs out of this book. I got many.
December 8, 2020
Entertaining Quick Read
Interesting story with decent character development and a few surprising plot twists. Humorous perspective of the fashion industry balanced a dark story line.
Interesting story with decent character development and a few surprising plot twists. Humorous perspective of the fashion industry balanced a dark story line.
January 14, 2018
Why Daltrey?
I really enjoyed the story and loved what I thought was the lead female character. A beautifully written tragic story. Thanks.
I really enjoyed the story and loved what I thought was the lead female character. A beautifully written tragic story. Thanks.
November 26, 2019
Will get the second book in the series
I enjoyed this book. It was entertaining with good characters. Not too heavy and the plot moved quickly. Looking forward to the next one.
I enjoyed this book. It was entertaining with good characters. Not too heavy and the plot moved quickly. Looking forward to the next one.
December 27, 2018
At turns shamelessly gruesome and darkly comic (there is a term for trying to be funny but clearly working too hard at it that escapes me at the moment), this really wants to be Palahniuk but isn't. Biting social insight is replaced with merely salacious. There is a workable thriller in here, a good episode of some grisly police procedural or other but it's dressed up with more ambition than skill and I won't be searching out anything else by this author.
June 21, 2017
There is a certain quality that only this novel has. It is an intoxicating brew of high octane suspense and refreshingly dark comedy that packs a wallop as it surprises you with its absurdly hilarious turn of events. I can't wait to get my hand on other works by the author. This intricate and captivating tale is sure worth a read.
April 4, 2018
This was a lot of fun to read, filled with interesting characters and set in a great city. It was interesting to learn about the city, having been there before it brought back a few memories.
The rating of three stars for a book like this is pretty high, 4 and 5 stars books typically have t0 be life changing and while this was a good read there isn’t a Nobel in the future.
The rating of three stars for a book like this is pretty high, 4 and 5 stars books typically have t0 be life changing and while this was a good read there isn’t a Nobel in the future.
July 9, 2018
A complicated tangle of people including police, Russian prostitutes, a Gurka, a detective that looks like Magnum PI and an unlikely underwear model. I do though wish there was more Vancouver in this. Although it was clearly set there, I just didn't feel like it couldn't have been anywhere.
December 16, 2018
To me this book was a mess unfortunately. I thought it would be funny but the characters are so farcical it just landed flat for me or was utterly repulsive. Not my type of humour. I also did not care when people got hurt/died.
February 5, 2019
Good to read a book where ... didn't see that coming!
NSFW in places
Great cast of characters - I do love Chuck :)
Darkly humorous with some extreme violence
Vancouver in a light you probably haven't come across before
It is not a travel guide!
Left me wanting more
NSFW in places
Great cast of characters - I do love Chuck :)
Darkly humorous with some extreme violence
Vancouver in a light you probably haven't come across before
It is not a travel guide!
Left me wanting more
December 30, 2017
I had some issues following the story line and characters. Enjoyed the reflections on familiar places
March 11, 2019
Not the Best...
The plot was weird. The characters were strange. The ending was unexpected, but not exciting at all. An odd book.
The plot was weird. The characters were strange. The ending was unexpected, but not exciting at all. An odd book.
October 12, 2024
Brilliant read, could not put it down ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
October 15, 2024
Excellent read
July 20, 2025
Dark Humour, Dark Crimes
Violent crime thriller with a cynical sense of humour, more British than American. Larger than life, loud, characters in fast paced action.
Violent crime thriller with a cynical sense of humour, more British than American. Larger than life, loud, characters in fast paced action.
July 18, 2024
Not really funny, but silly. Good balance between lighthearted, gruesome, and ridiculous.
Do Canadians really spell “mom” as “mum”? For a book that takes place in Canada featuring mostly native Canadian characters, why does the author use British English as well as English slang?
Burn is aggressively marketed as humorous, but I don’t know that I laughed once. The sophomoric humor is more cringey than funny, and written more like what you’d expect a high-school kid to come up with. Some of the characters are also a bit too farcical, which detracts rather than adds to the story.
That isn’t to say I didn’t enjoy Burn. Because I did. For a 300+ page book, I zipped through it in no time at all. Super breezy read, and engaging enough to make you keep reading to find out how the plot unfolds.
There are many absurdly heinous acts depicted in this story juxtaposed with more lighthearted adventures or interactions between characters. So the darkness doesn’t weigh everything down, which is probably what helped it read so well. The author just strikes a really nice balance.
I’ll be honest: Though I didn’t love Burn, lowkey, I might be buying the second book in the series. Especially after the free sample at the end of Book 1 pulled me right back into the world.
Do Canadians really spell “mom” as “mum”? For a book that takes place in Canada featuring mostly native Canadian characters, why does the author use British English as well as English slang?
Burn is aggressively marketed as humorous, but I don’t know that I laughed once. The sophomoric humor is more cringey than funny, and written more like what you’d expect a high-school kid to come up with. Some of the characters are also a bit too farcical, which detracts rather than adds to the story.
That isn’t to say I didn’t enjoy Burn. Because I did. For a 300+ page book, I zipped through it in no time at all. Super breezy read, and engaging enough to make you keep reading to find out how the plot unfolds.
There are many absurdly heinous acts depicted in this story juxtaposed with more lighthearted adventures or interactions between characters. So the darkness doesn’t weigh everything down, which is probably what helped it read so well. The author just strikes a really nice balance.
I’ll be honest: Though I didn’t love Burn, lowkey, I might be buying the second book in the series. Especially after the free sample at the end of Book 1 pulled me right back into the world.
January 30, 2019
I haven't been this indecisive about a book I read in quite a while. It was good, it was a fun read, but it was all over the place. It was funny, but some of the times it seemed to forget that fact. It was an intense murder mystery, revenge story, but it also seemed to occasionally forget that fact as well. It's violent in some parts and then incredibly reserved in others. It's a fairly quick read but it also gets bogged down in it's own spiraling narrative. There are some really good characters in this book, but the last quarter of it seems to completely forget or disregard over half of them. It's an engrossing mystery and tangle of lives but the end is so rushed and underdevloped, almost anticlimactic, that it doesn't do justice to everything we've been through to get to that point.
It's hard to recommend because I'm not sure what it's trying to be. It has a lot of different genres crammed in here, and a lot of the comedy is the broad kind of mistaken identity and misunderstood circumstance, but it delivers in some ways in all of the things it tried to be. It just didn't deliver entirely or come together as a fully formed and cohesive narrative and story. Plus that ending was really underwhelming for me and almost every character doesn't get a real ending or conclusion to their story.
I will give props to Slatter in one regard. There's a twist towards the middle, involving the fairly brutal murder of a main character, that I truly didn't see coming as was genuinely surprised by and that's rare for me. I had a good time with this, but I was expecting and wanting a little bit more from all of the different elements it brought to the table. In time I may hunt down the sequel in this series and see if any of those issues get resolved, but for now this is one that I'm glad I read but probably won't remember much beyond the crucial plot points in a few days.
It's hard to recommend because I'm not sure what it's trying to be. It has a lot of different genres crammed in here, and a lot of the comedy is the broad kind of mistaken identity and misunderstood circumstance, but it delivers in some ways in all of the things it tried to be. It just didn't deliver entirely or come together as a fully formed and cohesive narrative and story. Plus that ending was really underwhelming for me and almost every character doesn't get a real ending or conclusion to their story.
I will give props to Slatter in one regard. There's a twist towards the middle, involving the fairly brutal murder of a main character, that I truly didn't see coming as was genuinely surprised by and that's rare for me. I had a good time with this, but I was expecting and wanting a little bit more from all of the different elements it brought to the table. In time I may hunt down the sequel in this series and see if any of those issues get resolved, but for now this is one that I'm glad I read but probably won't remember much beyond the crucial plot points in a few days.
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews