I am lucky enough to have read the previous titles in this series and really enjoyed them. This latest instalment of the DS Heckenburg series is just as gripping as its predecessors.
As ever, Paul Finch leads the reader a merry dance as he tries to track down a vicious criminal. I thought I had his identity cracked but I was completely wrong.
There was further character development of Heck as he revisits his home town and tackles some of his demons. I found myself genuinely tensing up at parts and had to remind myself that I was reading fiction!
If you like crime thrillers and police procedurals then I can highly recommend Ashes to Ashes. Although It is part of a series, it can be read as a standalone. It was well worth the wait and I can't wait to see where the author takes these characters next..

Fast paced, action packed gritty thriller. A storyline that packs punches. I have read other Paul Finch books and this one does not disappoint.

Gritty police procedural with strong main characters.

I enjoyed this, the 6th of Heckenburgs outings and I especially enjoyed the chance to learn more about his family background and history.
The violence in the book was not offputting to me but I did find Hecks continual lone ranger antics to be a little frustrating. If I had been Gamma his senior officer (and former partner) I may have had to strangle him!

Perhaps the fact that the events of this story are unlikely ever to happen is what makes it a thrilling read. The obvious suspects turn out not to be the actual ones which gives the story unexpected twists. The main character would never survive in the police but why should the reader worry about that? Thus is a very good read, well constructed, cleverly written, just not believable!

Yet another exhilarating book from Paul Finch. Just where does he think up his ideas from?! Not wanting to give the story away this book has more involvement with super detective 'Heck' , and the twists are not as adventurous, than previous books but that does not take away from this gripping and horrifying tale. If you're a fan of Paul Finch you will love this but if you're new to his books then after this you will want to read the others.

This is the sixth in the DS Mark 'Heck' Heckenburg series - my favourite maverick detective!

The violence has certainly gone up a notch or two in comparison to earlier in the series, action far outweighs mystery and some parts of the story are ever-so-slightly out of the realms of believability however, for me, none of this detracts from the pure enjoyment following Heck through his turbulent life, slowly learning more and more about his history and the reasons behind some of the decisions he makes.

Thanks to HarperCollins UK for allowing me to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is the 6th book in the DS Heckenburg series but sufficient information is given to allow this book to be a stand alone novel too.
This is a very violent story and I would say that it is not for the faint hearted. You need to be a fan of action books to enjoy this one.
Heck returns to his northern hometown to pursue John Sagan an enforcer for criminal gangs who tortures people in his caravan pain box. Meanwhile there is a gangster war taking place and a mad serial killer who is prowling the streets, incinerating victims with a huge blow torch.
None of this is very pleasant. There is a lot of action in the plot and there are some exciting scenes which kept me on the edge of my seat. However the descriptions of the murders did not make enjoyable reading. In fact I did skip a few pages in the sections which descibed these unsavoury acts carried out by the incinerator.
There was not much of a mystery to the story unlike Paul Finch's earlier books and I was not particularly surprised when the identity of the incinerator was revealed and to be frank I did not care that much.
The reader learns more about Heck's background which was interesting and I was keen to find out more about his family and his reasons for joining the police.
There is still tension between Heck and Gemma, his boss. They were once a couple and both still have feelings for each other.
I did not think that this was one of the author's better books in the series. There was far too much gratuitous violence and not enough mystery in my opinion.
I do like the character of Heck, the maverick cop and will read the next in the series despite my reservations about this book.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for my advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

Glorious violent thriller with two extreme perpetrators and two Northern gangs to keep one entertained. An unorthodox detective and sundry colleagues on the case keep this racing along at breakneck speed. Beautifully descriptive and believable this is a splendid read!

My review as posted on Goodreads:

This is the first Paul Finch book which I have read and reviewed.

I can start by saying that it is a book which stands well on its own merit. This is something which is often not true of a book which is number six in a series.

I think there was enough of a back story about DS Heckenburg 'Heck' to make this a readable book.

What I liked bout it was the pace with which the story unfolds.

To say that Heck is a maverick cop is putting it mildly, so one has to suspend some sense of a belief in reality. However there is enough believable policing to make this a dark but entertaining police procedural novel.

The subject matter of gangland feuds is disturbing, but there isn't too much graphic detail to spoil the story.

If there is a negative; I found some of the chase and fight sequences to be rather drawn out. This is what makes this a long novel.

I will look out for future and past books by Paul Finch on the strength of this book.

I give thanks to Netgalley and Harper Collins UK (Avon) for a copy in exchange for this review.

I stopped reading this book at 55%. There are too many unrealistic things happening: the maveric cop continually ignoring orders - surely he would've been sacked? And chases that are very well described but too long, and again too unrealistic. And why does a woman go down a dark alley on her own at night??
Some people will enjoy this book a lot more than I did. It is very well written, just not for me. I prefer my crime novels to stick a bit more to the true police procedures.

Heck and the team return in possibly the best book yet! Dark, twisted, gritty, fast paced and gruesome yet again the maverick policeman manages somehow to stay alive and keep his post.
Finch has created another outstanding novel, hopefully it won't be as long to wait for the next.

Ashes to Ashes Paul Finch

I have to say I have never read any of Paul’s previous books, and I really don’t know why I’ve never come across him before. A quick look at Amazon told me this was the 6th book to feature DS Mark Heckenburg; but I must say reading this as a stand-alone, or out of sequence, book didn’t detract from my enjoyment of it.

I had only read the first 5% when I sent a tweet out saying WOW what a start to a book. The next 95% did not let me down either. Its fast paced, and intriguing.

It’s one of those books where you keep looking for a point where you can put it down and get on with what you should be doing. In the end, I gave up and just read it straight through.

Detective Sergeant Mark Heckenberg, Heck, works in the Serious Crime Unit, a national resource based in London. It has to be said he is the typical “doesn’t work to the rules” “always in trouble with his bosses-who secretly like him” type of character. A cross between a British Cop and Jack Reacher. Not my preferred type of protagonist but I really did enjoy this book.

His latest investigation is taking him home to Manchester.

A torturer-for-hire has moved from the Capital to Manchester and the SCU team follow him.

Once they’re there another crime crosses their investigation. Somebody is using a flame thrower to kill people associated some of Manchester’s gangs. Very unoriginally the press give this killer the name of “The Incinerator”.

Meanwhile, as The Incinerator piles up victim after victim it appears that The Torturer is also working within the Manchester Gang Scene.

The race is on to find both killers, who they are associated with, and why they are carrying out the killings.

Vic Ship is the head of a established gang and he has started introducing Russian Thugs into his team to enforce his law.

Lee Shaughnessy is a young man, the head of a breakaway gang. Both have a history of drugs, prostitution and violence. Both want to run Manchester, but is either of them capable of the atrocities that are taking place, or is somebody else trying to disturb the food chain.

The story runs at a very, very fast pace. Every page is a new breathless experience, and maybe, just maybe that could be the only thing wrong with it.

If you like your Lee Child you will love this.

If you prefer a more sedate, and dare I say it, more realistic read then this book won’t be for you.

I have said in previous blogs, and my Bio, I don’t do suspended reality. Yes we have violent crime on the Streets, and yes it is getting worse, but this for me was just a step too far.

However would I read the next one, yes definitely, and not only that I’m going to read the first 5 as soon as I’ve got a chance.

I think I’ve just found my guilty pleasure amongst my usually keep-it-reel reading list.

6/4/17 Ashes to Ashes

*****

I would like to thank Netgalley and Avon Books for an advance copy of Ashes to Ashes, the 6th outing for Detective Sergeant Mark "Heck" Heckenburg.

Heck gets a tip from an informant that a previously unknown gangland torturer, John Sagan, is living and working on his patch. Efforts to catch him go disastrously wrong but all is not lost when they get a further tip that Sagan is working in Bradburn, Heck's home town where a gang war is about to erupt after several members have been killed by a man with a flame thrower.

Ashes to Ashes is a compulsive read with a bit of everything thrown in - action, violence, cop humour, some of Heck's backstory and sadness as well. As I have read all the novels in the series I'm not best placed to say if it works as a standalone. The plot is self contained so it should work but I'm unsure if new readers would feel the need to know Heck better before getting all his backstory, which I found very interesting and illuminating.

As always Heck is off piste and playing the lone wolf, always in bother for disregarding procedure with his boss (and ex girlfriend) Detective Superintendent Gemma Piper and a magnet for trouble. He should probably be dead after all the beatings and near death experiences but to paraphrase he gets knocked down but he gets up again. Highly unrealistic but great reading.

The big message in the novel is the devastation caused by drugs, not just to the user but their families and to society in general. Mr Finch does an excellent job of portraying this devastation, be it the petty and not so petty crime committed by the users and suppliers or the disintegration of the family unit when asked to cope with a user. It makes for difficult reading in parts.

Ashes to Ashes is a high octane novel with plenty of action and some really good twists which I have no hesitation in recommending as a really good read for the broad minded.