EXCERPT: A blue murky was spreading amid the gnarled stanchions of the trunks. Here and there, ground level bushes hung heavy with dew. There was a reek of woodland decay, of fungus and leaf-mulch. All was deathly still.
It looked as if he was about to start retreating. But then he stopped short.
Ten yards to his right, he'd spotted the pair of knickers suspended from their twig.
Hurriedly, he lumbered over there, fingers twitching, apparently eager to fondle that soft, pliable material.
Yeah. . . . so much for the avuncular uncle.
He yanked the garment down and spread it out in two hands, to check its authenticity no doubt. Then he folded it into a small, neat square and inserted it into his left hip pocket before ambling back to the path and proceeding along it towards her, penetrating deeper into the ever-gloomier trees but now with a big lewd grin on his mug.
She'd have laughed aloud if it wouldn't have given her away.
The poor stupid sod really thought he was going to get some.

ABOUT 'STRANGERS': A stranger is just a killer you haven’t met yet…

The SUNDAY TIMES bestseller returns with the next big thing to hit the shelves. If you haven’t discovered Paul Finch yet, this book will have you hooked.

Unknown, alone, and fearing for your life: as PC Lucy Clayburn is about to find out, going undercover is the most dangerous work there is.

But, on the trail of a prolific female serial killer, there's no other option and these murders are as brutal as they come. Lucy must step into the line of fire a stranger in a criminal underworld that butchers anyone who crosses the line.

And, unknown to Lucy, she's already treading it.

MY THOUGHTS: Strangers is a rather gritty and gruesome book featuring PC Lucy Clayburn who aspires to become a detective, but for whom things inevitably go wrong.

She blew her first chance, big time. Now, years later, she is offered a second chance, but her determination to redeem herself leads to increasingly reckless behaviour putting not only herself but others in danger.

This is not my first novel by Paul Finch, but it is the first time I have felt ambivalent about the main character. Lucy is twenty-nine years old but, at times, behaves like a recalcitrant teenager. Yet, despite Lucy, and despite organised crime being one of my least favourite tropes, I quite enjoyed the entertainment value of the storyline.

There were a few things which didn't make sense to me, like using valuable police resources to pose as prostitutes when the person they are looking for is a woman. Are the women expected to gather for a cosy chat over a cup of cocoa at the end of their night to talk about the murders? I think not.

There's a lot of action in Strangers - shootings, stabbings and assaults - some of it a bit too OTT for my taste. I was amazed at the ease with which Lucy managed to convince a more experienced police officer to take unnecessary risks and place himself and Lucy in danger. Lucy learns the truth about her family background when her mother springs an unwelcome surprise on her, and this side-story felt just a bit unwieldy and too much.

Strangers isn't Paul Finch's best book, but at no point did I consider abandoning the read.

⭐⭐⭐.4

#StrangersPaulFinch #NetGalley

THE AUTHOR: Paul 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.
Paul lives in Wigan, Lancashire, UK with his wife and children.

DISCLOSURE: Thank you to Harper Collins UK, Avon, via #NetGalley for providing a digital ARC of Strangers by Paul Finch for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.

Strangers by Paul Finch were published 22 September 2016.

It did take me awhile to get into this book but when i did it kept me gripped and i really enjoyed it.

Thank you Netgalley for a copy for an honest review

Okay, so this was my first Introduction to this authors work. Overall, it was a good read. A typical police procedural. The first 5 chapters were quite slow, it was dry in some spots. I wasn’t a fan of the mother’s secret, or her sudden change in character. The whole female serial killed storyline could have been a fantastic given that it’s a rare phenomena in fiction and and real life, but this was a let down. There was no acceptable explanation of why the offender did it in the end. Very 2 dimensional. In saying that, the action scenes were well written, and I did find myself caught up with the characters. But the plot twists were few and far between, and not very surprising. So overall I found this read to be good, but not spectacular.

Thank you so much for the advanced readers copy. I apologise for the late review, I had read this in 2018 though had forgotten to upload my review.

Paul Finch is one of them writers that stands out in a crowd and thus book only cements my opinion further.
In strangers Lucy is an ambitious cop but things don’t seem to be going the way she’d hoped. Her sheer determination helps her through as she works on a tough serial killer case.
A brilliant new series and one I really enjoyed
Thanks to NetGalley for the book

Finally got round to reading this one on the back of Finch's newest book One Eye Open, which was the first Finch novel I read.
'A stranger is just a killer you haven’t met yet' - what a chilling line. Truth be told, I enjoyed this one far more than his more recent one. It was more chilling and I'm a bit of a sucker for a serial killer novel and I loved Lucy Clayburn's character. This was a definite edge of the seat, chilling thriller. Loved it!
Piece of advice - Not to be read when you're home alone!

It took me a bit to get into it but once I did it was worth it. It was a gripping strory that was very entertaining.

Dark and enthralling from the start, this will have you hooked.

Unknown, alone, and fearing for your life: as PC Lucy Clayburn is about to find out, going undercover is the most dangerous work there is. But, on the trail of a prolific female serial killer, there's no other option – and these murders are as brutal as they come. Lucy must step into the line of fire – a stranger in a criminal underworld that butchers anyone who crosses the line. And, unknown to Lucy, she's already treading it…
Think Linda La Plante or Martina Cole and you’ll begin to get the idea of this book. Gangland bosses, general bad behaviour, secrets and lies, they’re all in here. The opening was great, it really catches the attention and the book pretty much runs on a pace from there. Definitely entertaining.

This was the first book by Paul Finch I've read, and bloody brilliant. It had me hooked from beginning to end and I could not read fast enough.
It has been a while I've read a book like that, so this is really worth the effort, I promise you!

This book was very slow paced but it worked as each part of the case needed to be given to us at a certain time and it really did work. I really enjoyed the story I just wish there was some earlier clues as to who the killer was.

An absolutely brilliant book which i devoured in two sittings.. Twists and turns - well worth a read.

This thriller took me a bit to get into, but flew along once I did. It was set in the UK, which can sometimes throw me with police terms, but not at all this time. I'm interested to see where the series leads, since we got a pretty good backstory in this one.

Loved this book!! Paul is a great writer and this book is fantastic. I reviewed it on my blog and was part of his blog tour . Well worth a read! X

Nice read and easy to follow story line. Look forward to reading more from this author

This is the first Paul Finch book I have read but certainly won't be the last.
Very well written, great story line, kept me interested the whole way through
Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC in return for an honest review.