Kiss of Death, is another ‘heck’ of an instalment in the career DS Mark ‘Heck’ Heckenburg. As always it is a treat of a read, with a cleverly constructed gripping plot, that will have you rooting for our hero throughout, and rapidly flipping the pages keen to discover what’s next?

Book 7 already! I love this series and it is not for the faint hearted! Heck determinedly gets on the trail of the top 20 most wanted men and then things really do go crazy when it seems someone is getting to them first! And oh, what a twist! How could you Paul?!

Although this is book 7 I would recommend this as a standalone too (although why wouldn't you want to read the whole series?!)

Thanks to Avon Books UK for access to this fantastic book in exchange for a review and shares.

This is the first book I have read in this series, normally the fact that it is the 7th would put me off but I soon got drawn in.

A fast paced thriller that kept me on the edge of my seat and wow what an ending. I’m definitely going to start from book 1.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy in exchange for a review.

Once again Paul Finch delivers a perfect story

If you are a reader of this author’s books you will know what im talking about they just sort of draw you in making for a very easy fast paced page turner

Excellent

This is only the second book by Paul Finch I've read, and already I'm a convert! The book was a gripping, thrilling, entertaining read from beginning to end, and I can't wait to see if there will be a follow up book. Recommended.

A weird thing happened to me. I picked this book up back when it was first released and for some reason after a few chapters I put it down. Don’t ask me why, I think I just wasn’t in the mood for it. It has taken me all this time to finally get back to it. Well now that I have finished I am just plain pissed off. I am thoroughly pissed off that Mr Finch has left us readers in LITERALLY a state of disarray with that cliffhanger of an ending.

Listen I have blogged for years now and gone are the days when I am going to list all the things I loved and give people a detailed rundown of the story line. If you have a keen interest then check out all of my 6 previous Paul Finch reviews for the Heck series. What I will say is this is a typical Finch book featuring Heck. Heck is working a cold case and we see the return of Gail Honeyford as his new partner. Both of these things I wasn’t expecting but they worked tremendously well. There is plenty of action and pace as per normal and the story line kept me entertained throughout.

I found the beginning a little slow which is unusual, but a quarter of the way in and I was gone. A straight session took me all the way through to the end by which point I was practically foaming at the mouth with impatience. I literally was reading so fast with excitement I realised I was missing bits so had to force myself to slow down….and the last chapter….well I was torn between wanting to slap Paul Finch and hugging him for writing such a magnificent ending. This series truly is a fabulous one and I literally CANNOT wait for the next Heck book……

Kiss of Death by Paul Finch

The Serial Crimes Unit is under threat. There’s every chance that it will be disbanded and it’s unlikely that any traditional police force would welcome a maverick risk-taking detective like DS Heckenburg (that’s ‘Heck’ to you and me). Cold Crimes are feeling the heat as well and so a plan is forged to combine their efforts in such a way that will ensure their survival. For Operation Sledgehammer they are going to catch some of the country’s most high profile and feared multiple offenders, the murderers and rapists who have committed crimes so heinous that not even other criminals will have anything to do with them.

Heck and his boss (and ex-girlfriend) Detective Superintendent Gemma Piper are given one of the nastiest men to catch – armed robber Eddie Creeley. The problem is nobody seems to know where he is, even his sister is worried about him, and it would seem that he’s not the only one on the Operation Sledgehammer list of nasties to have disappeared. It’s almost as if somebody is trying to beat the police to it…

Kiss of Death is the seventh novel in Paul Finch’s excellent DS Heckenburg series. I’ve loved all of these books, including this one, and yet there’s something a little extra special about Kiss of Death. Heck has been doing some thinking about his future and what he wants. Perhaps it’s time for a change. If you’ve read the other books that you’ll appreciate the long and troubled history between Heck and Gemma. If you haven’t, then you’ll have no problem catching up. The book works well on its own. But if you’re invested in these characters, then you won’t want to miss Kiss of Death.

Kiss of Death has a great premise and it fully delivers on it, gradually revealing the true magnitude of what Heck and his colleagues are up against. It also means that Heck and the others are given something unusual to think about – the welfare of villains who have wasted no pity on their victims. How far will Heck go to protect a killer? It adds a depth to novel that is also full of interconnecting threads and lives. It’s all held together so well by Paul Finch who, as always, knows how to deliver a great plot. He also knows how to frighten – there are some disturbing, even scary, scenes here and moments of violence. But none of it’s gratuitous. We need to understand the evil that Heck and the others face.

There are shocks to be found in these pages and we know that they will have repercussions for the future. I can only wonder where Paul Finch will take Heck, and us, next. I can’t wait.

Other reviews
Hunted (Heck)
Ashes to Ashes (Heck)
Strangers (Lucy Clayburn)
Shadows (Lucy Clayburn)
‘What seven things you should know if you want to write crime fiction’ – Guest post

I’m delighted to post this review as part of the blog tour. For other stops on the tour, do take a look at the poster below.

I can't believe this is the 7th book in the series of DS Mark "Heck" Heckenburg.
I have loved all of the books and this one was as good as all the rest. Can't wait for the next one!

This is the seventh book in the DS Mark 'Heck' Heckenburg series and I absolutely loved it and I devoured the book in an evening!

I am a fan of this author's books anyway but this one was very enjoyable, had an excellent plot and the author's normal addictive writing style - this one was most definitely a hit with me!

I loved the interaction from the characters and I am so glad that the author has gone back and added a new book to the Heck series, I have been patiently waiting for this book to be released!

Five stars from me, very highly recommended - a thrilling read!!

I have a tendency to let the books I need to review pile up a bit. So, when I sat down to write reviews today and it was this book turn did the remembrance of the books godawful ending hit me again. And, I had managed to move on. And, now it all comes back to me...

First, I want to say that this is the first book I have read in the DS Heckenburg series, and I didn't know until I had started to read it that it was book seven. That didn't bother me much, just meant I have six books more to read. I had previously read the novella Death’s Door so I was a bit familiar with Heck.

As for this story, it was interesting especially when it all started to make sense, you know why all those dangerous men could have disappeared from the face of the earth. And I loved the fact that a short conversation at the beginning of the book where Heck learns some interesting, but at the time relevant, facts would, later on, be important to the case. Now, the story is good, I felt that this is a perfectly alright crime novel. And, then BAM Paul Finch decided to end the book with a twist so big that I mentally felt my jaw drop. Now, these are all pretty new characters for me, but that ending hit me so hard. I never ever expected that ending. I did feel before that godawful ending that the story had its ups and downs, you know a good crime novel. Some slow parts and some really good parts. However, Paul Finch saved the best (or the worts?) until the last minute...

Thanks Netgalley and the Publisher. DS Heckenburg is back with another fantastic read. This is probably the best of the whole series (not sure how that happened). This is a very worth 5 stars

Brilliant Series of books. Paul Finch writes with vim and vinegar! Heck stories have become one of my favourite reads. Bring on number 8.

EXCERPT: It was a strange thing, but as recently as one day ago, if you'd asked Brian Kelso which of two desperate criminals you'd expect to be the most unrestrainedly violent - the older one, or the younger one - he'd have opted for the younger one every time.

But of course, the last nine hours had not just changed his views on that, it had changed everything.

ABOUT THIS BOOK: Don’t let them catch you…

A Deadly Hunt
DS ‘Heck’ Heckenburg has been tasked with retrieving one of the UK’s most wanted men. But the trail runs cold when Heck discovers a video tape showing the fugitive in a fight for his life. A fight he has no chance of winning.

A Dangerous Game
Heck realises that there’s another player in this game of cat and mouse, and this time, they’ve not just caught the prize: they’ve made sure no one else ever does.

A Man Who Plays With Fire
How far will Heck and his team go to protect some of the UK’s most brutal killers? And what price is he willing to pay?

MY THOUGHTS: I have read some, but not all, of the previous books in this series and mostly loved them. Heck has always been a man of action but, even for him, Kiss Of Death takes this to the extreme. I admit to liking a bit, well actually a lot, more subtlety than what we get here, which is purely gung-ho action man stuff.

If you like lots of violent action, fight scenes, shoot outs and blowing things up, you will love this, but it's not for me. Definitely not my favorite in this series. But I still definitely recommend this series as a really good read.

😕😕😕

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.

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.

DISCLOSURE: Thank you to Avon Books via Netgalley for providing a digital ARC of Kiss of Death by Paul Finch for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.

Please refer to my Goodreads.com profile page or the about page on sandysbookaday.wordpress.com for an explanation of my rating system.

This review and others are also published on my blog sandysbookaday.wordpress.com https://sandysbookaday.wordpress.com/...

Couldn't wait for this to read, Love Heck, he's back doing what he does best, seeing the truth where others don't want to or can't, he goes with his gut feeling, you can't keep Heck down, would recommend

At long last Heck bursts back into being with this, the next instalment of this fantastic series by Paul finch.

Monetary cuts threaten Heck’s team and they are lumped in with the cold cases to try and massage their figures. This leads to heck discovering that many of their ‘most wanted’ are seemingly being killed in some sort of snuff/gladiatorial porn. Cue rogue and frenzied action from heck as he tried in his own intimitable style to catch the perps.

The writing is tight and thrilling. The characters are fully formed and believable. The pace whips along leaving you breathless as you try to keep up.

Unusually this tale has a more romantic thread running though it which has been simmering all series. Will it all end in heartbreak? You’ll need to read it to find out!

A great book!

A great short story. Heck is a likeable character. The book has bodies, a cliffhanger and plenty action. Paul Finch is becoming one of my favourite authors! I loved it.

Thankyou to NetGalley, Avon Books UK and Paul Finch for the opportunity to read an advanced readers copy of Kiss Of Death.
I found the storyline to be well thought out and written. The plot moves along at a good pace and kept my attention. A good read for a rainy day.

⭐️⭐️⭐️ three ok stars

This was an enjoyable cop catches bad guy book. Police story telling by numbers - lovable maverick police guy? Check. Few twists and turns? Check. Police politics and procedure? Check.

This is the third Heck book I’ve read and they are easy to read, not too challenging.

This is a fast paced thriller featuring DS Paul ‘Heck’ Heckenburg, a loose cannon on Britain’s Serial Crimes Unit. He’s survived for ten years in the job because he gets results that are worth more than chaos he creates. While displaying immature attitudes and behavior, he can be charming, and is not so set in his opinions that he can’t change his mind. He’s tenacious, and has let the job consume his life. Overall, Heck is an entertaining protagonist who comes to understand himself better over the course of the book. Of course, he gets help from his junior partner on this journey.

My only concern is the beginning.

There’s a prologue that is unnecessary and contributes only a little to the story. It set a level of expectation for me that didn’t pay off what it promised. Chapter one describes a sting operation on a series of priest-murdering-thugs. This is well written and suspenseful, but once the sting is over, the book dissolves into exposition disguised as dialogue that explains who the main players and their relationships to each other. Too many characters were introduced at one time, and I had to write them down to keep them straight. This is the seventh book in the series, and I understand Finch’s need to describe the players. I wish he’d found a more exciting way to accomplish this.

The story is set in London with a few side trips. It revolves around ubiquitous budget cuts and fear that the Serial Crimes Unit might be dissolved. To prove their importance, the unit combines with a cold case unit and goes after the twenty most heinous criminals in the country. Some of the cases are several years old, and the criminals have disappeared. Heck is paired with a junior partner that he previously worked with, and they are assigned the crime described in the prologue.

The author describes good police work in a credible fashion. He also makes clear when Heck steps over the line. The story has several plot twists, some predictable, but most not.

Once into the story, the action starts and doesn’t let up until the final page. The book is well worth the read.

Welcome back DS Heck! One of the best series around and not for the faint hearted! A real roller coaster of a ride in this book with DS Heck and the team tasked with trying to capture some of the most wanted men in Britain.

Heck lays his hands on some footage that shows one of the fugitives fighting for his life. There is a different type of club meting out justice and at a high price, Heck gets on their trail and then things really do go wild but what a twist at the end.

If I could give, I would give a 10!