At last Heck is back, or if you want to be specific Detective Mark Heckenburg is back. I am up to date with this series and was looking forward to this, the sixth in the series. Heck is back in London and it seems he is on the trail of a torturer for hire who goes by the name John Sagan. However, before long Heck has to chase the tail which leads him up North to his home town of Bradburn. The interesting thread here was Heck's family, or lack of it, should I say! It certainly added another dimension to the story which made me all the more intrigued.

As usual Heck is as insubordinate as he can get away with and constantly goes with his own rules and subsequently irritates all his superiors. Thankfully it's one of his traits that make him all the more likeable. Once set up in Bradburn, we are introduced to his uncle as well as a former school friend. Slowly the elements of his personal life are revealed giving the reader an insight into how he ended up as a copper in London. With regards to the psychotic Sagan they are chasing, it seems he has become a ghost, however what he does throw into their path are some high ranking members of a couple of Northern Gangs. This in turn leads to the other thread to the story which is where it all began, with a killer whose choice of weapons is a flamethrower who has been nicknamed 'The Incinerator'.

Be prepared for plenty of graphic, gory and violent scenes all which made me cringe, which in turn made the book that shade darker than usual. This certainly isn't a book for the faint-hearted, but that sort of stuff never fazes me too much it just puts a slightly different spin on the story for me. The story line itself wasn't my favourite of this series but the personal elements certainly made it more interesting. As usual Paul Finch skills as an author leave you wanting more and sure enough by the time I had finished I was already wondering when the next book would be out. Another cracking read but not my favourite in the series!

Loved this book great story flawed and real characters in a fast paced chase around the area where I live. I look forward to more from these key characters in future books and will now look at the back catalogue too.

Another really good read in the DS Heckenburg series. We have some violence mixed in with police humour and plenty of action. Paul Finch never disappoints and this is sure to appeal to his many readers.The book centres around the devastation caused by drugs to communities. It is a good stand alone but, perhaps just a bit too violent, otherwise I would have given 5 stars. Thank you Net Galley for my copy. I reviewed on Goodreads and Amazon.

Thank you fir the advance copy of this book which was a great read and I would definitely recommend it for anyone who loves this genre.

A fantastic story although instated part way through the series . Ì think I would have benefited by staring at book 1 as them I would have known all the back stories

A real page turner, love this type of cliff hanger novel. Will definitely look out for this author in future

The saying"It's grim up north" would be totally appropriate for this grim but brilliant book. Action from page one right through. The sixth book in the Heckenburg series and they just keep getting better. Roll on the next one

Oh wow I just feel like I have been to Hollywood because this is such at action packed thrilling Block Buster book! Talk about when the heat is on, phew, there is a relentless unstoppable killing machine on the rampage with a deadly flamethrower and mercy is not in their vocabulary. This is a wicked character that I was uncertain if they were the hired help, revengeful or just got off on it. One thing for sure was once they got their target there was nothing going to stop them. This killer didn't know the word collateral damage they were so mind set. Gruesome, most definitely, terrifying, I still haven't come out, would I recommend it, Oh hell yes!
I was more than happy when Mark Heckenburg, or Heck arrived, what a character he is. Not what you could call a team player, he is more than unconventional in his approach to get a result, love this character. In this book though he is drawn back to his home town of Bradburn where he has to work through his own ghosts from the past. Could John Sagan, normally on hire to the highest bidder for his skill of torture and execution to cause a prolonged and painful death, be the man Heck is after? There is only one course of action, to enter the gangland world of drugs and prostitution to find out. The body count can only increase until the puzzle is solved.
There are some super strong female characters in this book too both of higher rank than Heck neither of them really able to control him, but it is fun to read about. I especially like Superintendent Gemma Piper, former girlfriend of Heck way back in earlier books. So although this can be read as a stand alone there is of course history about key players that you will miss out on. The whole series is worth reading. Although this is a very graphic and violent novel there is some humour woven in amongst it all, just brilliant.
I loved every page I turned in this book that gave me a flamethrower serial killer that was as unstoppable as Jason Voorhees (Friday 13th), and a car chase that would be the envy of The Fast and Furious.  This is book 6 in the series and each one superb!

Ashes to Ashes is a fast paced crime thriller full of gruesome violence and gangland crime .I felt there was too much violence but that's just me .The story was very good and at times I was almost holding my breath wondering what was going to happen next .This is the first Paul Finch book I have read but the book stands well on it's own merit .I liked the character Heck very much and I look forward to reading more of the series .

I lost interest and started to skim at 5% to get to an interesting bit. Too much describing and nothing happening. This made me lose interest.

John Sagan is a torturer for hire. In Ashes to Ashes he terrorises an mutilated and now he's on the move and it's up to DS Mark Heckenberg to track him down leading him to return to his home town of Bradburn though Bradburn is also being terrorised by a killer.

This book is gripping and tense and I would award it 3.5 stars.

This is the first Paul Finch book I've read and I'm now a fan. Ashes to Ashes is a gritty crime thriller that pulls no punches. I read it over a weekend and thoroughly enjoyed it. It features maverick cop DS Mark 'Heck' Heckenburg hunting a vicious killer - as well as a man who tortures people for a living. The settings in London and Manchester are vividly realistic and the dialogue is sharp and sizzling. Heck breaks the rules but gets results and that makes him a tough, fascinating character. I highly recommend this book to those who enjoy uncompromising thrillers. I'd like to thank Netgalley and the publishers Avon for a free copy of this book in return for an honest review.

This is book six of what I think is a brilliant series and, although the main story is self-contained, as always it is better to start from book one and read in order to get the best out of the characters with respect to their development and backstories.
One of Heck's informants slips him the nod that a rather unsavoury character is operating in his area. Sadly, his obbo goes a bit pearshaped and he escapes capture. Whilst picking up the pieces, his informant tells him where he has gone and, on this information, Heck is forced to make a difficult decision. With his past, is it really a good idea going home?
Heck in this book is typical Heck. Untrusting, secretive, and with little regard for the rule book. But he gets things done, in his own way, which works both for him as a character and me as a reader!
The story here is mostly about gang related trouble and, as such, there is a lot of violence, some quite graphic so it is not a book for the squeamish or faint-hearted. To be fair to the author though, graphic though it may be, it is definitely in keeping with the theme and tone of the book. Sometimes though, I think Heck could give Captain Scarlet a run for his money in the undestructable stakes!
As always with this series, the book goes along at a fair lick. There is action aplenty but there are also some slower times, respite for me to get my breath back! There is also some great humour, some of it rather black and also the usual banter between the characters. In this book we also have a bonus of going back home with Heck, meeting some of his family and learning more about him as a person. It becomes easier to see why he is what he is and he does what he does given some of his history.
All in all, another great edition to what is firmly cemented as one of my favourite series.

My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

A fast paced crime thriller which doesn't leave you much time to catch your breath between the episodes of grizzly violence that takes place throughout the book. DS Mark Heckenburg is sent to join a task force to sort out gangland crime in his old home town in northern England. It's is a town that he hasn't been back to for many years and it holds many bad memories but few friends. This is the sixth in the series and I enjoyed it just as much as the other books. It could be read as a stand alone but in my opinion you would be missing out if you didn't start from the beginning. Thank you for the ARC, a great read.

Storyline wasn't my cup of tea but enjoyed it none the less. Well written and captivating.

This is very very violent - unnecessarily so at times.

Imaginative too for the ways in which a person can be tortured I suppose, but ultimately it wasn't for me. No surprises that Bradburn where the novel is set, is fictional. If ever there was a reason for a fictional place then this is it.

Interesting characters, but sadly just too violent for me, so I didn''t finish reading the book. Got about a third of the way through and the characters are well drawn, the writnig solid with an interesting plot. The three stars are merely a reflection of my own preference for less explicit violence. That said, it's also a testament to the author's ablity to paint an ultra-vivd picture..

It may help to have read the other books in the series and I'm not going to give this a bad review, but I'm just not engaged with the main character - Mark Heckenburg - and wonder if I may have enjoyed this book more if I'd read more about his earlier exploits. I've been reading this now for 2 weeks and have only got 20% of the way through, so there's no urgency to pick it up and read it (like you want to do with a book you're really enjoying). I was initially intrigued by the opening (I don't want to give anything away, but it involves a 'situation' in a sex shop) and I expected this well written opening episode to be a forerunner to a great read, but having struggled ever since I'm afraid I'm going to give up (life's too short and there are too many other books to be read!) But I may revisit the first book at some point and see if that grabs me and persuades me to read the series in order.

Violent detective thriller sees maverick detective Heck seeking not one but two brutal killers caught up in gangland war in his home town. At first I found the murders so graphically described I was tempted to give up but the story is well written and fast-paced so I found myself drawn into the hunt. After a while I was zoning out some of the violence which was much better as I prefer to use my imagination, a brief description of someone being burned alive with a flamethrower or tortured by a particularly 'talented' sadist is usually enough for me, I don't need to be told how the victim felt at the time. All in all an entertaining thriller with a satisfying ending and I might even read some more in the series!

As usual great stuff from Paul Finch. This is how novels should be. His books really are unputdownable if that's a word!!! This has to be the best yet, wow, wow, wow. My heart was racing at some points, too scared to turn the page in case Heck was killed. Couldn't do anything until I'd finished it. Looking forward to the next one.