Another enjoyable addition to the clocks and Paterson series. Like how the characters are developing and the humour within the wider story. Hoping the cliffhanger is resolved.

This was another thrilling read by a very talented author. It had twists and turns galore and I couldn't put it down. Recommended.

Thankyou to NetGalley, Joffe Books and the author, Steve Parker, for the opportunity to read a digital copy of The Burning Men in exchange for an honest and unbiased opinion.
I thought this book provided a good read with well drawn characters. I was hooked from the beginning.
Worth a read

The Burning Men is part of a series that I have not read. I tried this one, but I didn't care for how gruesome it was to me. I read bits of it and skimmed through the rest. Not for me. Thanks to NetGalley for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

The Third outing for Parker' s series about two London police investigating the murder of Davey Caine, whose father Billy is well known to Ray Paterson, the wealthy detective, and Johnny Clocks, his working class partner - a typical trope of class-conscious British procedurals. Canine is a crime boss who runs half of London; it soon becomes clear that his rival Tanner, who controls the other half, was behind the hit, a particular gruesome murder described other in the book's title. The double crosser in the deal is the kind of woman everyone - except the somewhat obtuse cops - can see coming.
Not a bad entry in the series, but not an exceptionally good one, either.

When the body of Billy Caine's son is found smouldering in a London park Patterson and Clocks know almost immediately that this will be the first of many more bodies to be discovered... Billy Caine will stop at nothing to discover the identity of his son Davey Caine's killer and does not care who stands in his way but can he handle the knowledge that the murderer is closer than he thinks

Another fantastic novel in the Patterson and clocks series and cannot wait for the next one

I absolutely love the series featuring Detectives Paterson and Clocks and I impatiently wait for each new book in the series to be released. I eagerly snatched up my copy of the third book in the series called ‘The Burning Men’ and started to read. Blooming nora it is certainly one hell of a read that I absolutely loved but more about that in a bit.
I have developed a real soft spot for the detective partnership of Detective Superintendent Ray Paterson and Detective Inspector Johnny Clocks. Paterson is a career detective who likes to do things by the book. He’s charming, kind, gentle, tactful, diplomatic and he is a policeman who certainly gets results. Paterson is a bit of a hard nut, he stands up to bullies and monsters and he doesn’t scare easily. As for Clocks, well what can I say? He needs a refund from whichever charm school he attended because it clearly hasn’t worked. Clocks is blunt, he tells it like it is, he doesn’t scare easily and he is also a clever man. He deliberately provokes those people he and Paterson go to question, so that Paterson can then play good cop in the hope that the insulted party will give away more information than they at first intended. Clocks is also sneaky and secures information by any available means. He certainly has his ear to the ground. Paterson and Clocks work well together but then each is the opposite of the other- a bit like chalk and cheese. This case tests them in more ways than one.
Oh my giddy aunt ‘The Burning Men’ is one hell of a fantastic book that had me on the edge of my seat all the way through. The story starts in such a way that I am not likely to forget in a hurry. For me, the story hit the ground running and maintained the pace throughout. The author tempts you into the book and then refuses to let you go. As soon as I started reading, I felt as though I was reuniting with old friends in Paterson and Clocks. I was pretty much addicted to reading this book by the end of the first page. I found it impossible to put the book down because I had to keep reading to see if Paterson and Clocks solved the crimes, who was responsible and why. I didn’t realise just how quickly I was racing through the book until I looked up and saw that I had cleared 40% of the book. I was so focused on the story, the characters and the crimes that the pages seemed to automatically turn themselves. I had mixed feelings about finishing the book because on the one hand I was pleased to finish because I knew how the story ended but I was disappointed to finish reading because I was enjoying the author’s writing style, the storylines and the characters so much that I just wanted the book to continue. Reading ‘The Burning Men’ was very much like being on a very scary and unpredictable rollercoaster ride with more twists and turns to the story than you would find on a ‘Snakes & Ladders’ board. There were also several unexpected moments that crept up on me and left me feeling as though I had been punched in the gut. There were times when I almost had to read between my fingers because I feared what was going to happen and the possible implications for Paterson and Clocks.
In short, ‘The Burning Men’ was one fantastic read and I thoroughly enjoyed it. For me, this is the best of the series so far. The ‘Paterson & Clocks’ series goes from strength to strength. I would definitely recommend this series to other readers. I can’t wait to read what comes next from the ever so slightly scary mind of Steve Parker. The score on the Ginger Book Geek board is a very well deserved 5* out of 5*.

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<p>This is the third book in the Ray Paterson series, and they keep getting better and more horrific as the stories go on.</p>
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<p>This book revolves around a man being found burnt alive attached to a stake in the middle of London. This man turns out to be the son of one of the criminal lords who runs the city as a message from another criminal gang.</p>
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<p>As the book progresses there are more people from both gangs being murdered as the two gangs try and fight each other to gain control of the city's underworld, all whilst Paterson and clocks try to find out what is happening and how to stop it.</p>
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<p>Overall I loved this book, although it may be a bit gruesome for some people.&nbsp; The story had me hooked throughout as I tried to work out how the two of them would stop the murders.&nbsp; I also really like the chemistry between Paterson and Clocks, and they way they work together and bring the best out of each other is brilliant.</p>
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So this is the third in the Paterson and Clocks series while it could be read as a stand alone, it does refer to the previous books so I’d personally start with the first, Their Last Words, if you don’t want any spoilers.

Paterson and Clocks are called to a crime scene where a man has been cuffed to a pole and burnt alive. They quick find out that he is no other than David Caine who’s father Billy Caine is a notorious gangster.

As their investigation progresses they find themselves blocked at every turn by Serious and Organised crimes who claim that they will put their undercover operatives in danger.

Billy wants revenge for his son but can Paterson and Clocks stop him before it turns into a full scale gang war on the streets of London.

This a real gritty and gruesome novel! So much is pack into It’s pages, brutal and bonkers gangsters, kidnapping and people being burned alive!

As I said in my first review, Steve Parker really puts his police experience into his writing and gives a lot more of the procedural side of things than most authors to give it that realistic feel.

To me Clocks is his same old self in this novel, dishing out his own brand of pitch black humour and mouthing off to anyone and everyone. The only thing that has changed for me is his relationship with Paterson, which has become what looks more like a friendship with some grudging respect on either side. Paterson on the other hand is a broken man, self medicating and burying his problems which I feel are going to come to the surface soon!

To me the second half of the book turned into a bit gangland drama, which I have to be honest I’m not really a fan of and would have preferred a bit more focus on the police procedural side but of course that’s just my opinion.

I would recommend The Burning Man to anyone who loves a good gritty gangland thriller mixed with a police procedural. The ending leaves it open for another book, I’m interested to see where the story is heading.

Paterson is called out to the latest crime scene - a man burnt alive at an stake. It is soon determined that he is one Davey Caine, only son of criminal mastermind William ‘Billy’ Caine. Not before long a retaliation killing takes place. This is just the start of Paterson and Clocks introduction into the London underworld.
This is the third in the series and have read them all. Certainly an action book, not the usual type for me to read but I still enjoyed the story but wonder where the characters are going next.

Steve Parker gives us a brutal and violent investigation set within London gangs and the criminal underworld rivalries. Chalk and cheese detectives, Ray Patterson and Johnny Clocks, from opposite ends of the social spectrum and with completely different personalities, complement each other well but they are to find themselves really up against it when a man is burnt alive in a London park. The victim, Davey Cain, turns out to be the son of William 'Billy' Cain, a south east London gangster. Violence spills out on to the streets amidst a simmering gang wars, with men unafraid of the police. Patterson and Clocks have the thankless task of trying to find the killer before Billy Cain can take his own form of vengeance. This is a gritty and dark story of twists and packed with twists. I should warn readers they will need a strong stomach for the brutality present in this piece of crime fiction.

Detectives Ray Paterson and John Clocks find themselves sitting right in the middle of two notorious drug lords fighting to be top dog.

They are called in to investigate the finding of a man's body. The man, identified as the son of one of the city's most notorious crime lord has been burned alive.

The war between two criminal empires results in escalating violence on the streets of London. Many more bodies will fall .. one way or another ... unless the detectives can find the killer or killers soon. Men who have no fear of the law and its consequences and who are unafraid to kill anyone who stands in their way — including other police detectives.

Paterson is a young man who has plenty of money behind him. He's on track to be the youngest ever commissioner of police, but he doesn't have near enough experience. He is not well liked among his peers but he has the will to learn and the desire to be an excellent policeman.

Clocks is a different kind of man. He was raised in poverty, spent some time as a very young criminal. He loves to taunt people, jut daring them to react. Of course, he will never rise in the ranks of the police department and he doesn't seem to care. He has sort of befriended Paterson and it's quite entertaining to watch the relationship between the men.

This is the third in a series of action-packed, edge-of-your-seat crime thrillers, with an ending that will have your heart in your mouth. This easily reads as a stand alone, but there are just a few spoilers from the first two books. As always, I recommend starting at the very beginning.

Many thanks to the author / Joffe Books / Netgalley / Books n All Promotions / Jill Burkinshaw for the advanced digital copy of this crime fiction. Opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.

The Burning Men, the third novel in the Detective Superintendent Ray Paterson and Detective Inspector Johnny Clocks series, is based around the intense and explosive nature of gangland warfare. As always I loved the recurring characters, especially the crime-fighting duo and main protagonists Paterson and Clocks. Although they are both fascinating characters they do fit the stereotype for investigators from this genre, however, they are so thoroughly developed that this didn't bother me as much as it usually would. On display are two very distinctive but different personalities - Paterson is young, ambitious, affluent and a ladies man whereas Clocks is an officer who very much enjoys regularly spouting profanity and is belligerent, temperamental and can be boisterous. Together they are a formidable, if unorthodox, pair.

Based around a menacing turf war between rival gangs in Bermondsey, London, it is nicely written and perfectly plotted, and as it gathers pace there are some wonderful, tense nail-biting moments. The most dangerous people out there are those who have nothing to lose by committing a crime, and there are plenty of those throughout this book. There are lots of twists, turns and red herrings to hide the suspect's identity. Gritty, violent and bloody, this is not the faint-hearted. The humour interspersed through the journey is necessary to lighten the mood from all of the darkness going on and works well. However, this novel lacked something that the first two had. Again, Steve Parker's former job as a police officer is used to craft a fairly realistic and authentic atmosphere to the novel which permeates through the pages.

Many thanks to Joffe Books for an ARC.

I have read other books by this author but this one disappointed me, I found myself skim reading as the story didn't hold my attention. Sorry If you got my previous review which was meant for another book.

What a good read Detective Superintendent Ray Patterson Detective Inspector John Clocks continue working for the Metropolitan Police murder investigation team. This shortly becomes obvious that it is between two rival gangs trying to gain control of the other in London. Once started this book is easy to read but becomes difficult to put down.
Totally enjoyable

WOW !!!!!
This is a real gritty british crime thriller par excellence, it is a real rollercoaster of a read.
I could not put this book down. I loved it.
Detectives Ray Patterson and Johnny Clocks were definitely not what i was expecting. This book has humour usually from Clocks but the action OMG. A turf war that is so violent. I could not get enough of this book.
This is the third book in the series and i have to admit this is the first time i have read this author but you can guarantee i will be reading more of his work. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
I would like to thank Netgalley and Joffe Books for the ARC of this book in return for giving an honest review.

Firstly, thank you to Joffe Books for the advance digital copy of this book. This is my unbiased review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Paterson and Clocks are back so I settled down for a few hours of adrenaline pumping reading and I was not disappointed. Steve Parker is not for the faint-hearted but if you love the grit and gore of crime fiction then this is an author that is right up your street.

The story begins with a man being burned alive. He is soon revealed to be the son of a gangster and so begins a war to gain control of the London underworld. Paterson and Clocks are not amused and set out to bring an end to the violence by whatever means they see fit.

I do love this pair. They balance each other out perfectly and we get to know them a little more each book and they are balance by other team members who we also get to know more about.

Humour, corruption, drugs, violence, twists, turns and curve balls this book has it all. An absolutely brilliant read ticked all my boxes and I am now eagerly awaiting the next book in the series.

Another gripping, fast paced and twisted caper for the most unorthodox police duo in UK fiction with a cliff hanger conclusion that might see the duo become a trio in the next instalment.

2 stars

Detective Superintendent Ray Paterson and DI Johnny Clocks respond to the scene of a crime. A man has been tied to a stake and burned alive. It is later ascertained that he is Davey Caine the son of a crime kingpin in London.

Ray is well educated and soft spoken while Johnny is a loudmouth who says exactly what is on his mind. When they go to tell Billy Caine senior that his son is dead, he already knows. Johnny gets mouthy and an altercation ensues. After Johnny is dismissed, it gives Ray the opportunity to question Caine, but he doesn’t get much information. Caine figures it is the Albanians who killed his son, not his other rival Tanner.

I was doing fine with this book until I read that Ray was a cocaine addict. The book is well written, but I didn’t get far enough into it to determine anything about the plotting. The cocaine addiction was such a big turn off for me that I couldn’t get past it and the scene with the television…Really? I did not finish the book.

I want to thank NetGalley and Joffe Books for forwarding to me a copy of this book for me to read and review.

DI Ray Paterson #3

A man is burnt at the stake in a London park. His smouldering corpse is a message of the most violent kind. Davey Caine was the heir to the criminal empire that was created by his father, Billy Caine. Billynis a notorious and most violent gangster who has total control of South East London. Two old gangsters have grudges, but one of them kills the other ones son. The violence is unrelenting, with a shooting and another body that had been set on fire. Clocks and Paterson have their work cut out trying to solve the case before there are any more murders.

This book had plenty of potential but it just seemed to lack something. The twists at the end were just plain stupid. I do like the characters of Clark and Paterson, they work well together. I did like the book but not as much as the first two books in this series.

I would like to thank NetGalley, Joffe Books and the author Steve Parker for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.