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DS Heckenburg #2
Žrtvovani
Kdo bo naslednji? Prebivalcem po širni Angliji vliva strah v kosti sprevržen in zloben serijski morilec, ki mori javno in na grozovit način.
Ko med kresovanjem zgori moški, se zdi, da se je pripetila tragična nesreča. Toda policisti na valentinovo odkrijejo mlada ljubimca, ki jima je nekdo s puščico prestrelil srce, zato postane jasno, da je posredi nekaj zločestega. Deželo ustrahuje ‘koledarski morilec’. Primera se loti kriminalist Mark ‘Heck’ Heckenburg. Žrtve se množijo in oči javnosti so uprte v kriminalista, zato mora storilca najti, še preden se nakopičijo nova trupla.
Toda najbolj budno Hecka opazuje prav morilec..
Temačno in začinjeno z obešenjaškim humorjem.
Ko med kresovanjem zgori moški, se zdi, da se je pripetila tragična nesreča. Toda policisti na valentinovo odkrijejo mlada ljubimca, ki jima je nekdo s puščico prestrelil srce, zato postane jasno, da je posredi nekaj zločestega. Deželo ustrahuje ‘koledarski morilec’. Primera se loti kriminalist Mark ‘Heck’ Heckenburg. Žrtve se množijo in oči javnosti so uprte v kriminalista, zato mora storilca najti, še preden se nakopičijo nova trupla.
Toda najbolj budno Hecka opazuje prav morilec..
Temačno in začinjeno z obešenjaškim humorjem.
456 pages, Hardcover
First published July 18, 2013
142 people are currently reading
1165 people want to read
About the author
Paul Finch
206 books457 followersPaul Finch is a former cop and journalist, now full-time writer. Having originally written for the television series THE BILL plus children's animation and DOCTOR WHO audio dramas, he went on to write horror, but is now best known for his crime / thriller fiction.
He won the British Fantasy Award twice and the International Horror Guild Award, but since then has written two parallel series of hard-hitting crime novels, the Heck and the Lucy Clayburn novels, of which three titles have become best-sellers.
Paul lives in Wigan, Lancashire, UK with his wife and children.
He won the British Fantasy Award twice and the International Horror Guild Award, but since then has written two parallel series of hard-hitting crime novels, the Heck and the Lucy Clayburn novels, of which three titles have become best-sellers.
Paul lives in Wigan, Lancashire, UK with his wife and children.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 140 reviews
May 7, 2014
Last year I read Paul Finch's Stalkers and absolutely loved it. I finished it with that happy feeling of having discovered a brilliant new talent in the crime genre. I got Sacrifice from the library on release but didn't get to round to actually reading it so when I received a review copy of The Killing Club (out May 22nd) I immediately got hold of Sacrifice to read beforehand. I have been reading it on and off over the last few days and it was an amazing read. Paul can definitely tell a story and hold a reader, I was reading this long into the night.
The book opens with two Leeds police officers being called to an abandoned warehouse on Christmas morning where they are told they will find something 'interesting'. What they find is a dead old man done up like Santa Clause and left to die inside a chimney. We then follow Heck chasing after two suspects he believes to be the M1 Maniac(s). Well, he kind of apprehends the two suspects but the aftermath of what happens leads the public to lose all confidence in the Serial Crime Unit. So, when more killings take place and the police are led to assume a calendar killer is at work, Heck's boss and ex-lover Gemma Piper believes it's time for the squad to restore public confidence and apprehend the killer as quickly as possible. Except it's Heck's belief that they are looking for more than one person. And so the hunt begins...
Paul is a fantastic writer and you just lose yourself in the book. It's quite a long book but unlike some crime books it doesn't feel long and it never felt like a chore to read. I absolutely love the character of Heck. I love policemen who go off the rails and break all the rules etc but what we have here is a policeman doing his job as he feels it's his calling. He has a book full of photos of all the victims he attempts to find justice for, as a reminder of why he does the job he does. That's not to say he doesn't break the rules occasionally he definitely does but it's more in a believable and realistic way. I love the character of Heck. There is serious chemistry between him and Gemma and I love reading about the two of them.
Paul doesn't hold back with the graphicness of some of the scenes either. I particularly liked the scene where two young lovers drive to their usual spot only to be creeped out by some strange goings on. This part of the book felt almost like the start of a horror movie! It was very atmospheric and I was alone in the house at the time so was a bit wary reading it! I love crime fiction like this though, the more gruesome the better. Paul's writing reminds me a little of Chris Carter who is one of my favourite crime authors, and another author who isn't afraid to write at the more gruesome end of the spectrum.
I definitely got caught up in wondering who the killer was, and why they were killing at specific times of the year. Bonfire Night, Christmas, Valentine's, Easter.. The police are left wondering when the next murder will be but there's just too many dates for them to choose from. The last few chapters especially were particularly gripping and I couldn't read quick enough trying to find out how it would all end. Overall I'd say this book is even better than Stalkers and I'm going to be starting The Killing Club ASAP. Paul's books feel very authentic and this is no surprise given his background in police work and television work. There is also a wonderful Acknowledgement at the end to his father which was very touching. An absolutely fantastic read which puts Paul Finch in my top five crime authors. I think his books would work really well on TV. I'm not sure there's many crime fiction fans who haven't heard of Paul Finch but for those that haven't I urge you to read his books ASAP.
The book opens with two Leeds police officers being called to an abandoned warehouse on Christmas morning where they are told they will find something 'interesting'. What they find is a dead old man done up like Santa Clause and left to die inside a chimney. We then follow Heck chasing after two suspects he believes to be the M1 Maniac(s). Well, he kind of apprehends the two suspects but the aftermath of what happens leads the public to lose all confidence in the Serial Crime Unit. So, when more killings take place and the police are led to assume a calendar killer is at work, Heck's boss and ex-lover Gemma Piper believes it's time for the squad to restore public confidence and apprehend the killer as quickly as possible. Except it's Heck's belief that they are looking for more than one person. And so the hunt begins...
Paul is a fantastic writer and you just lose yourself in the book. It's quite a long book but unlike some crime books it doesn't feel long and it never felt like a chore to read. I absolutely love the character of Heck. I love policemen who go off the rails and break all the rules etc but what we have here is a policeman doing his job as he feels it's his calling. He has a book full of photos of all the victims he attempts to find justice for, as a reminder of why he does the job he does. That's not to say he doesn't break the rules occasionally he definitely does but it's more in a believable and realistic way. I love the character of Heck. There is serious chemistry between him and Gemma and I love reading about the two of them.
Paul doesn't hold back with the graphicness of some of the scenes either. I particularly liked the scene where two young lovers drive to their usual spot only to be creeped out by some strange goings on. This part of the book felt almost like the start of a horror movie! It was very atmospheric and I was alone in the house at the time so was a bit wary reading it! I love crime fiction like this though, the more gruesome the better. Paul's writing reminds me a little of Chris Carter who is one of my favourite crime authors, and another author who isn't afraid to write at the more gruesome end of the spectrum.
I definitely got caught up in wondering who the killer was, and why they were killing at specific times of the year. Bonfire Night, Christmas, Valentine's, Easter.. The police are left wondering when the next murder will be but there's just too many dates for them to choose from. The last few chapters especially were particularly gripping and I couldn't read quick enough trying to find out how it would all end. Overall I'd say this book is even better than Stalkers and I'm going to be starting The Killing Club ASAP. Paul's books feel very authentic and this is no surprise given his background in police work and television work. There is also a wonderful Acknowledgement at the end to his father which was very touching. An absolutely fantastic read which puts Paul Finch in my top five crime authors. I think his books would work really well on TV. I'm not sure there's many crime fiction fans who haven't heard of Paul Finch but for those that haven't I urge you to read his books ASAP.
August 3, 2013
Stunning, breathtaking and just a very scary, brilliant read. Cannot wait for DS Mark Heckenburg's next case. He's my new hero.
I loved Stalkers and this is no different.
Exceptional stuff
I loved Stalkers and this is no different.
Exceptional stuff
February 5, 2017
uh tko voli jeziva i neobicna ubojstva ovo je prava poslastica brrr :)
July 3, 2023
The first book that I have read by this author but I will definitely be keeping my eye out for more by him. A very fast paced storyline , quite graphic in places with a good amount of action, it definitely did not bore me. Would recommend.
August 11, 2013
SACRIFICE by Paul Finch
Review by Gary Fry
For all his sterling work in the horror genre, I think the Heck series of police procedurals / detective novels are Paul Finch's ideal milieu. As a former cop, his narratives have an air of authority, of events lived rather than just researched, and this is perhaps the key to the books’ success.
Paul is an unassuming guy, a native of Wigan, who talks straight and wouldn’t know a “pretension” if it danced in front of him. This second characteristic – the “man of the world” tone of his fiction – is perhaps the second reason why the books fly. The prose is half-chatty / half-lyrical, the storytelling headlong and headstrong.
I loved this book from the first page – it hooks at once, with its appealing premise concerning a calendar killer. But this is just a front for some pretty trenchant and satisfying commentary about the spiritual vacuity of modern life, how even folk promising fulfilment are as bereft as those against whom they pitch their homespun policy. All this stuff is delivered without a single “lecture”, simply woven into the tale in a seamless fashion, to be taken or left by the reader according to preference. That’s quite a trick, and leaves the book both thrilling on the surface and slightly deeper beneath it.
Heck is a great character, too. At first, you think there’s not a great deal to him other than car chases and good hunches, but after the book is done, you think back and realise that the author has done another great job. The characterisation is revealed in situ, rather than in reflexive info dumps, and that renders it greatly satisfying. Hooked on Heck? the page following the last one asks, and you know what? I think I am.
The dialogue is great throughout – we should expect nothing less from a seasoned screenwriter – but Paul’s many descriptions of settings shine, too. He writes that effortless prose that’s a joy to read, both colourful and rhythmic. In many other authors, I have a real problem with stock phrases (“…that had knocked her for six,” for example) but they kind of work here. Paul’s prose style has the right tone for these many well-trodden terms; they suit the workaday characters. There’s an unfortunate transposition of words on page 233 – “Keep your eyes to the ground and your ears open,” – but that’s just me trying to show how observant I am. No other typos or stylistic infelicities I could see.
The plot is brilliant, a really clever and cunning idea, properly exploited. I did think that – SPOILER HERE, FOLKS!!! – the final calendar killing strained credulity a bit. That is to say, bringing it forwards 26 days (however much the villain makes a spoken concession to this), robs the story of a little of its symmetry, but that’s only a minor thing. It couldn’t have worked in any other way. [SPOILER OVER]
The novel has a few “LOL” moments, including a great character called Mick the Muppet who, the author tells me, is based on a real person. There’s also a dig at horror editors, which, speaking as one myself, I found absolutely hilarious. This intermittently playful tone lends the grisly proceedings an authentic atmosphere. I grow increasingly impatient with fiction that’s unrelenting grim; it misses half of life. Here we get both the laughs and the horrors that characterise everyday modern existence.
All in all, Sacrifice is an absolute triumph of a novel: well-written well-paced, exciting (yes, that unfashionable quality), unpretentious, informative, fun, and genuine.
Well done, Finchy. You done good, my son. Long may it continue.
Review by Gary Fry
For all his sterling work in the horror genre, I think the Heck series of police procedurals / detective novels are Paul Finch's ideal milieu. As a former cop, his narratives have an air of authority, of events lived rather than just researched, and this is perhaps the key to the books’ success.
Paul is an unassuming guy, a native of Wigan, who talks straight and wouldn’t know a “pretension” if it danced in front of him. This second characteristic – the “man of the world” tone of his fiction – is perhaps the second reason why the books fly. The prose is half-chatty / half-lyrical, the storytelling headlong and headstrong.
I loved this book from the first page – it hooks at once, with its appealing premise concerning a calendar killer. But this is just a front for some pretty trenchant and satisfying commentary about the spiritual vacuity of modern life, how even folk promising fulfilment are as bereft as those against whom they pitch their homespun policy. All this stuff is delivered without a single “lecture”, simply woven into the tale in a seamless fashion, to be taken or left by the reader according to preference. That’s quite a trick, and leaves the book both thrilling on the surface and slightly deeper beneath it.
Heck is a great character, too. At first, you think there’s not a great deal to him other than car chases and good hunches, but after the book is done, you think back and realise that the author has done another great job. The characterisation is revealed in situ, rather than in reflexive info dumps, and that renders it greatly satisfying. Hooked on Heck? the page following the last one asks, and you know what? I think I am.
The dialogue is great throughout – we should expect nothing less from a seasoned screenwriter – but Paul’s many descriptions of settings shine, too. He writes that effortless prose that’s a joy to read, both colourful and rhythmic. In many other authors, I have a real problem with stock phrases (“…that had knocked her for six,” for example) but they kind of work here. Paul’s prose style has the right tone for these many well-trodden terms; they suit the workaday characters. There’s an unfortunate transposition of words on page 233 – “Keep your eyes to the ground and your ears open,” – but that’s just me trying to show how observant I am. No other typos or stylistic infelicities I could see.
The plot is brilliant, a really clever and cunning idea, properly exploited. I did think that – SPOILER HERE, FOLKS!!! – the final calendar killing strained credulity a bit. That is to say, bringing it forwards 26 days (however much the villain makes a spoken concession to this), robs the story of a little of its symmetry, but that’s only a minor thing. It couldn’t have worked in any other way. [SPOILER OVER]
The novel has a few “LOL” moments, including a great character called Mick the Muppet who, the author tells me, is based on a real person. There’s also a dig at horror editors, which, speaking as one myself, I found absolutely hilarious. This intermittently playful tone lends the grisly proceedings an authentic atmosphere. I grow increasingly impatient with fiction that’s unrelenting grim; it misses half of life. Here we get both the laughs and the horrors that characterise everyday modern existence.
All in all, Sacrifice is an absolute triumph of a novel: well-written well-paced, exciting (yes, that unfashionable quality), unpretentious, informative, fun, and genuine.
Well done, Finchy. You done good, my son. Long may it continue.
May 21, 2016
Vrlo zanimljiv i pitak pisac. Nepretenciozno, simpatično i dinamično.
January 1, 2018
Quick read, fast pacef
August 18, 2019
Another great read in the crime series featuring DS Heckenburg, this one featuring a series of gruesome murders committed on celebration days. Battling against lack of clues and resources and the lack of goodwill from both media and within police ranks, Heck's specialist crime unit are up against it. 9/10.
July 15, 2017
Reading about serial killers is a guilty pleasure of mine. This genre might not be for everyone – and let me tell you, the crimes depicted here were something that even I had my mouth open at when reading. Some were pretty inconceivable even to visualize.
Finch definitely did a great job again. The plot for this book is typical of these kinds of serial killer novels – people disappear only to be found dead and positioned/propped in ways that speaks volumes.
And what a twist at the end. Catching suspects, disappointment when Heck and the team find out they're not their killers, and surprise when they finally reveal the real killers.
Finch definitely did a great job again. The plot for this book is typical of these kinds of serial killer novels – people disappear only to be found dead and positioned/propped in ways that speaks volumes.
And what a twist at the end. Catching suspects, disappointment when Heck and the team find out they're not their killers, and surprise when they finally reveal the real killers.
May 22, 2014
I read the first book by Paul Finch in this series entitled ‘Stalkers’ and absolutely LOVED it! I was really looking forward to reading the second in this series. Detective Mark Heckenburg is a bloody brilliant character. He is (well in my head anyway) very attractive in that ‘just got out of bed way’ and has a very defiant nature (what more could a woman ask for). Mark Heckenburg is known simply as Heck and in this latest offering is part of a team tracking down a vicious serial killer. This particular serial killer is a little different as he likes his kills to be shared with the public.
As ever the scenes described are brutally descriptive and totally engaging! The story certainly has the pace and drama but for some reason I felt that a couple of parts in the book were hard going, it just seemed a little too scripted, but that certainly didn’t deter from the overall enjoyment of the book. I really like some of the recurring characters in this series such as Gemma Piper who Heck happens to have been in a brief relationship with in the past. I must say one thing I like about Paul Finch book is that I get the feeling nobody is safe. I think he may well be a writer that will like to take major chances with characters so I am always on guard when reading wondering who he is going to kill off next
The only other thing I didn’t like about this book was the last scene involving the serial killer felt a little too ‘convenient’ but other than that small factor I was kept pretty much on the edge of my seat right up until the end. Although I didn’t like this as much as I did Stalkers, I am absolutely ready for book 3. Mr Finch appears to be challenging my latest fictional crush (currently Sean Blacks character Ryan Lock) and reeling me in to maybe feel the same about Heck. Mmmmmm, book 3 may well make my mind up!
As ever the scenes described are brutally descriptive and totally engaging! The story certainly has the pace and drama but for some reason I felt that a couple of parts in the book were hard going, it just seemed a little too scripted, but that certainly didn’t deter from the overall enjoyment of the book. I really like some of the recurring characters in this series such as Gemma Piper who Heck happens to have been in a brief relationship with in the past. I must say one thing I like about Paul Finch book is that I get the feeling nobody is safe. I think he may well be a writer that will like to take major chances with characters so I am always on guard when reading wondering who he is going to kill off next
The only other thing I didn’t like about this book was the last scene involving the serial killer felt a little too ‘convenient’ but other than that small factor I was kept pretty much on the edge of my seat right up until the end. Although I didn’t like this as much as I did Stalkers, I am absolutely ready for book 3. Mr Finch appears to be challenging my latest fictional crush (currently Sean Blacks character Ryan Lock) and reeling me in to maybe feel the same about Heck. Mmmmmm, book 3 may well make my mind up!
October 7, 2018
(I received this book for free as part of Goodreads First Reads giveaways)
I feel life's too short to read books that irk me so I tend to ditch them if I still feel that way 100 pages in.
I'm at page 105 and much as I want to like this book, I just can't go on.
Perhaps I should not have read that Paul Finch used to be a writer for The Bill because I think that may have set my expectations way too high.
I know his first book, and indeed this book, have received good reviews from readers but to me it just felt like writing by numbers.
When a major new character is introduced we're given a physical description (more often than not) and it makes it feel clunky and amateurish.
It's also very descriptive in places, unnaturally so. It reminded me of setting a scene on stage or on TV and it doesn't come over well in the written medium.
I feel he's left it too long to return to characters introduced in the very beginning - so much so that I've forgotten what happened 100 pages back. Maybe there's some clever joining of the dots towards the middle and I'll miss out on something fantastic, but that's a chance I'm willing to take.
One other small, entirely personal point, is the protagonist's shortened name - Heck.
It irritated me and I can't decide why. Maybe a small part of it was that I kept wanting to say (being a northerner) "Oh heck, Heck" :-D
I feel life's too short to read books that irk me so I tend to ditch them if I still feel that way 100 pages in.
I'm at page 105 and much as I want to like this book, I just can't go on.
Perhaps I should not have read that Paul Finch used to be a writer for The Bill because I think that may have set my expectations way too high.
I know his first book, and indeed this book, have received good reviews from readers but to me it just felt like writing by numbers.
When a major new character is introduced we're given a physical description (more often than not) and it makes it feel clunky and amateurish.
It's also very descriptive in places, unnaturally so. It reminded me of setting a scene on stage or on TV and it doesn't come over well in the written medium.
I feel he's left it too long to return to characters introduced in the very beginning - so much so that I've forgotten what happened 100 pages back. Maybe there's some clever joining of the dots towards the middle and I'll miss out on something fantastic, but that's a chance I'm willing to take.
One other small, entirely personal point, is the protagonist's shortened name - Heck.
It irritated me and I can't decide why. Maybe a small part of it was that I kept wanting to say (being a northerner) "Oh heck, Heck" :-D
November 11, 2014
By Heck this is good again. Good characters, good story, good plots. Gritty, fast moving. Heckenberg is a character I hope to read a lot more of.
This review was written before I started to take my reviewing seriously. I would need to re-read the book to give it a serious and fair review so the above review was what I posted at the time.
This review was written before I started to take my reviewing seriously. I would need to re-read the book to give it a serious and fair review so the above review was what I posted at the time.
November 23, 2014
The writing is brilliant but the plot spoils the book.. so whats a thriller book with great writing but no proper plot?
A great book with no plot.. i assume.
Dont think will followup with any more of Mr Finch's books.
If you are a fan of blood and gore,then this book is for you. If you want a plot then you reading the wrong book.
A great book with no plot.. i assume.
Dont think will followup with any more of Mr Finch's books.
If you are a fan of blood and gore,then this book is for you. If you want a plot then you reading the wrong book.
July 12, 2016
Oh my god. This book has one of the most gruesome and gory crimes scenes I've come across. I still cringe when I think about a few of them. It's so obvious that the author has been in the police. His books are on a different level.
June 30, 2017
I am so blown away by this book. Wow. This is one heck of a great thriller! Disturbing, yes, but what an amazing psychological 'ride'!
I received an e-copy of this book from Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.
I received an e-copy of this book from Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.
September 11, 2015
Paul Finch knows how to write a great book. His Heck novels are fantastic; intriguing plots with great action sequences. A lot of authors would learn from how he uses pace to drive a story forward. and this book, this is true class. I don't read much crime fiction, but I always read Heck.
April 17, 2015
Awesome.
November 17, 2015
Uzbudljivo i napeto od samog početka do samog kraja. Knjiga koju se čita brzo jer ju ne možete ispustiti iz ruku
December 5, 2019
When the police solved the crime in this book, the criminals' situation reminded me of Donna Tartt's "The Secret History" and that probably did it no favours. I enjoyed "The Secret History" but I wasn't really convinced by the plot and that lack of conviction seemed to transfer to this book too, though I think that Paul Finch had dealt with aspect of the plot I had a problem with in a more convincing way. I don't want write any more about "The Secret History" in this review except to note that the similarities with Donna Tartt's book only emerged right at the end of "Sacrifice" and "Sacrifice" is not just a copy of Donna Tartt's book.
Overall I enjoyed it and it held my interest right up to the point when the "whodunnit" was revealed. Even then I was interested enough to read to the end once the similarity to "The Secret History" had emerged. I think I preferred "Stalkers" (Paul Finch's first book) to this, but only by a small margin. The emphasis in these books is solving the crime, but even so, the characters are reasonably fleshed out and Mr Finch introduces the victims, including their thoughts and hopes for the future, which adds to the impact of their eventual fate and makes you want to read that the criminal gets caught.
I also liked it that he introduced a secondary character who really struggled to handle the emotional impact of being on the task force that was investigating the crimes. This enabled him to explore the emotional aspects of the crimes in a realistic way. I think if the experienced police officers had expressed the same problems it wouldn't have been realistic because if they hadn't found a way to handle the their horror of the crimes they would not have still been in the police. This enabled him to highlight an aspect of the crimes that many police procedurals don't mange to do.
Overall I enjoyed it and it held my interest right up to the point when the "whodunnit" was revealed. Even then I was interested enough to read to the end once the similarity to "The Secret History" had emerged. I think I preferred "Stalkers" (Paul Finch's first book) to this, but only by a small margin. The emphasis in these books is solving the crime, but even so, the characters are reasonably fleshed out and Mr Finch introduces the victims, including their thoughts and hopes for the future, which adds to the impact of their eventual fate and makes you want to read that the criminal gets caught.
I also liked it that he introduced a secondary character who really struggled to handle the emotional impact of being on the task force that was investigating the crimes. This enabled him to explore the emotional aspects of the crimes in a realistic way. I think if the experienced police officers had expressed the same problems it wouldn't have been realistic because if they hadn't found a way to handle the their horror of the crimes they would not have still been in the police. This enabled him to highlight an aspect of the crimes that many police procedurals don't mange to do.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 14, 2018
Great read!
This is the first book by this author I've read. I am a huge fan if detective/mystery/thriller/psychological type books abd TV shows and films, but I have a bad knack of being able to foretell what is going to happen, as such I get bored easily.
This book is set in the UK which I always find helps me to believe in the story as I'm familiar with the police procedures and the areas in the plot. It is also good at the descriptive parts, I find some authors are better than others for that, this author is up the top end of the scale for going into detail about things like an injury, or how scared someone is.
Unfortunately I didn't quite find it an absolute page turner that i couldn't put down, but I dud want to pick it up again and did want to read until it's conclusion - I just didn't have that thrill and anticipation of picking it up again.
Unfortunately I think the end was a bit lacking, we were given some idea of as to the fate of the main protagonist of the 'baddies', but nothing about what will become of the others who while undoubtedly criminals, were also victims of the main villian. For me it feels like it ended quite abruptly without giving enough detail about the fate of those characters in particular, but also even those who were in the ending couple of pages. It was in the respect of the crime sewn up in a fashion, but even there it felt rushed like some people were kinda forgotten about, and those it did deal with were short changed, those it did deal with it was all in a couple of pages and was just very basic.
Overall I do recommend this, and i will be trying some of the other books by this author.
This is the first book by this author I've read. I am a huge fan if detective/mystery/thriller/psychological type books abd TV shows and films, but I have a bad knack of being able to foretell what is going to happen, as such I get bored easily.
This book is set in the UK which I always find helps me to believe in the story as I'm familiar with the police procedures and the areas in the plot. It is also good at the descriptive parts, I find some authors are better than others for that, this author is up the top end of the scale for going into detail about things like an injury, or how scared someone is.
Unfortunately I didn't quite find it an absolute page turner that i couldn't put down, but I dud want to pick it up again and did want to read until it's conclusion - I just didn't have that thrill and anticipation of picking it up again.
Unfortunately I think the end was a bit lacking, we were given some idea of as to the fate of the main protagonist of the 'baddies', but nothing about what will become of the others who while undoubtedly criminals, were also victims of the main villian. For me it feels like it ended quite abruptly without giving enough detail about the fate of those characters in particular, but also even those who were in the ending couple of pages. It was in the respect of the crime sewn up in a fashion, but even there it felt rushed like some people were kinda forgotten about, and those it did deal with were short changed, those it did deal with it was all in a couple of pages and was just very basic.
Overall I do recommend this, and i will be trying some of the other books by this author.
June 15, 2023
I have no words to express just how much I enjoyed this book!!! Heck is just a very well written character who has stolen everyone's heart.
Came across this book at a thrift store and bought it without a second thought because of the affordable price, I didn't have much hope that I would come to enjoy this book or be attached to a specific character...well here I am regretting the fact that I thought the book was a drag the first half.
As I got to the mid part of the book things just got soo interesting it was like puzzle's were being placed in the right places, it all started to make sense... I've never enjoyed a detective (?) Type of books as much as I enjoyed this! Definitely Paul Finch is my new favourite author.
Came across this book at a thrift store and bought it without a second thought because of the affordable price, I didn't have much hope that I would come to enjoy this book or be attached to a specific character...well here I am regretting the fact that I thought the book was a drag the first half.
As I got to the mid part of the book things just got soo interesting it was like puzzle's were being placed in the right places, it all started to make sense... I've never enjoyed a detective (?) Type of books as much as I enjoyed this! Definitely Paul Finch is my new favourite author.
April 5, 2018
Gripping
Another brilliant book by Paul finch. He doesn't hold back and describes these killing with the intensity of which they were murdered. Describing the various locations and giving them a sense of foreboding, also his characters many are flawed and highly dangerous. It is this and the way his descriptions can bring the scenes to mind which I love. Always intense and continues right to the end.
Another brilliant book by Paul finch. He doesn't hold back and describes these killing with the intensity of which they were murdered. Describing the various locations and giving them a sense of foreboding, also his characters many are flawed and highly dangerous. It is this and the way his descriptions can bring the scenes to mind which I love. Always intense and continues right to the end.
March 24, 2017
Another Boy's Own adventure. It starts with Heck stumbling upon a couple of armed men then pursuing them in a wild car chase to their death. They are, of course, serial murderers. He gets a few days rest then is called to Leeds to investigate a man in a Santa suit walled up alive. From there it is non stop action. This is an extremely well written, plotted and characterised novel and I can hardly believe the price - it should be all over the supermarkets and selling for a comparable price. If you like action and aren't too squeamish this may be close to your book of the year,
April 14, 2018
Book two in the UK crime based procedural series featuring DS Heckenburg - the DS who prefers to keep at the 'coal face' of crime. Bit of a maverick but one that gets the job sorted. Good storyline and continues on with the relationship woes between him and his DI from book 0ne. In my opinion an improvement on the first in the series.
May 1, 2021
Twists and turns you won't see coming
I have bought the whole series and when I have finished those I'll be buying more from Paul finch! Characters you can really feel you know and twists and turns you won't see coming this book kept me up late in really looking forward to the next book in the series!
I have bought the whole series and when I have finished those I'll be buying more from Paul finch! Characters you can really feel you know and twists and turns you won't see coming this book kept me up late in really looking forward to the next book in the series!
November 12, 2017
Blooming heck, I love these books! This is only the second Paul Finch I've read (first was only last week) and I'm going straight into the third very soon. Detective Heck is the star of the show in this very clever, fast-paced murder thriller. I tell you, it's bloody good!
November 26, 2017
This was everything I want when I read a thriller. It was action-packed, there wasn't one dull moment and I was at the edge of my seat the whole time. The main character and even all of the other characters are really likeable and I cared about all of them.
February 24, 2018
Raamatu tagakaanel on vihje sellele, et kellele meeldivad Stuart MacBride raamatud, sellele sobib ka see lugu. Noh... kuritegude võikuse astme poolest on päris lähedal aga loo kiiruse ja humoorikuse ning tegelaste karisma koha pealt on MacBride kõvasti üle :P Not bad siiski :P
July 21, 2018
Another good book by Paul Finch, I enjoyed this, especially the ending, but the plot seemed a bit long-winded at times and perhaps too many superfluous in my opinion) facts about festivals and feast days. However, I love the character of Heck so will be looking to read that shortly.
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