Stalkers (Detective Mark Heckenburg, Book 1)

Really enjoyed this.Good story and kept me hooked from the beginning.Easy 4 starsOff to read the next one!

My first by the author and it will not be my last. I felt I knew both the main characters. I liked the fast pace.

This book was really enjoyable. It is however quite dark subject matter. It tries hard to strike a balance by having truly evil and dangerous villains but only really goes through one story of their victims (whilst lots are referenced). It could perhaps have done with a slightly longer build up and more background of Heck's cases. An extra 100 pages wouldn't have damaged the story and would have allowed me as a reader to really detest the bad guys.That said, the story raced by which made you want to keep reading. Perhaps it went too quickly and would have benefited from more more writing about what was going on with Heck's colleagues whilst he was on the run, in order to make his predicament even more haunting. For instance, due to the story sticking with the main character so much I wasn't sure what everyone else was doing. I found it hard to believe that they were just sat doing nothing. Also, why didn't he just call up his boss and ex flame to fill her in (she was never going to be a baddie), Heck never mentioned he doubted her, so just call her and try and get some help.Overall, really enjoyable cheap read.

This book is a weird one, it really is.Heck is a cross between Bond and Tony Hill (more Bond than Hill) with a touch of Superman thrown in.He’s a totally implausible hero. A police procedural with no procedure and you really do have to turn off any expectations of reality.It’s grimly violent yet somehow the overarching crime has the disturbing possibility of being real. It certainly makes sense in the story. It’s actually laugh out loud funny at times but might just be me.But, if you want a read that gallops along at an incredible pace with a near invincible hero who is apparently adrenal fuelled but shabby. And of course handsome. Not forgetting the hero part.Then give it a look. It took me a while to get into it as it’s so different but I’ve enjoyed the ride.And we have a cliffhanger....you don’t actually have to read the next book but I’m going to. Seat belt on and off we go.

I’ve never read a Paul Finch book before but when I Googled him I realised he is by no means a ‘newbie’ to the book scene. Paul has been writing all sorts and to date has had nearly 300 stories published. He’s done scriptwriting, journalism and (surprise, surprise) was once a copper. He is however, relatively new to the Crime genre. His debut novel in this genre is the book I have just read Stalkers featuring Detective Sergeant Mark ‘Heck’ HeckenbergHeck is investigating the disappearance of more than 30 different women. The difference with this case is that these women were happy and successful and had absolutely no reason to disappear. Heck gets himself into a situation where if he really wants to find out what happened, he has to operate outside of the law. Heck is an easy character to read and has the ‘likeability’ factor, but in the beginning nothing more than that.In addition to Heck, Lauren Wrexford is trying to find out about one of the missing girls, her sister, and tries to enlist Heck’s help. More by design they end up paired together and within the first half of the book find themselves not just operating outside of the law, but bending the rules until they are nearly at breaking point. I absolutely loved the feisty character of Lauren and think she added a great element to the story.Interweaved with the actual investigation Heck is on, we actually get to follow the story of one particular missing woman. I must say that Paul Finch’s history in writing is glaringly obvious as his writing is outstanding. As for being new to the crime Genre, I wouldn’t have had a clue and had I not known, would have made the assumption he was a seasoned Crime writer. The story has that mixed element of making me want to hide behind my husband with fear, and sit up straighter because I feel like something bad is literally just around the corner.I have to be honest and say that I couldn’t put this one down and at the halfway stage had already ordered the second book featuring Heck.

Good Story. Fast moving.. But My pet hate. Of getting Bashed around pretty badly and still able to carry on. Apparently adrenalin is the Best Pick up you can get..

WOW. What a book. I really loved it. The title wasn't very catchy for me but the story, well - Great. Lots of interesting characters, with so much happening to all of them. The main character, Heck, was a bit of a loose cannon whose superior officers proved to be a hindrance rather than a help to him but his stubbornness brought him through.At first, I wondered why Heck hadn't heard about Louise but as I progressed through the plot I read that only three days had passed. Amazing as so much had happened. The story went at breakneck speed and I was in there with him and Lauren. I did wonder why the author had brought in such a stand out character as Lauren but, as I read rapidly on, I understood.I did think that good Samaritan Deke was too good to be true and couldn't work out how he knew, in less than half an hour, where to find Ron. It was either a mystery or amazing, but turned out to be neither. The throw-away remark as he left the pub confirmed my suspicions - that there were others involved who we didn't know about.Not sure why Lauren decided to take Silver on rather than knee-capping him as I thought an ex soldier might have done but it took the story to the next level - and, hopefully, to the next book.Yes, I thought the book was full of tension, mystery, lust and brutality in all the right measures. Heck a hero with issues, a sort of darker version of James Bond, and lovely Lauren an excellent example of a true soldier, courageously rising to every battle with expertise, loyalty and grit. The whole story made me think that this could explain the disappearance of people in real life!