Kiss of Death – Paul Finch
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 thanks to Sabah at Avon for my review copy which I received through Netgalley
The seventh Mark “Heck” Heckenburg thriller from Paul Finch. Having read all the books which precede Kiss of Death I was more than a little excited at the prospect of reuniting with Heck – I love these stories and Paul Finch always delivers on thrills.
Suffice to say that I was not disappointed.
Kiss of Death is another corker and, if anything, the action is bigger, louder and more shocking than ever before. Heck is still working under Gemma Piper his current boss but his former lover. Although the pair work well together there is always an undercurrent of tension between the two and it is clear that Heck would love the chance to rekindle the relationship the pair shared at the start of their careers. Unfortunately for Heck his cavalier attitude clashes with Gemma’s “by the book” approach and she has kept him at arms length. Making things worse is the addition to their team of a new blue-eyed-boy who Gemma seems to favour and who is very much a “by the rules” player.
Trying to ignore the frustrations of seeing Gemma’s head being turned by another cop Heck throws himself into the latest investigation. There is a push to track down missing criminals but some shocking evidence will come to the police which throws their investigation into a new direction. Heck is not adverse to cutting corners to get a result but such is his desire to succeed that he will find himself exposed and taking too many risks. It makes for terrific reading.
Paul Finch always makes excellent use of shock tactics to keep me gripped when reading his books and Kiss of Death was no exception. The story builds and builds and the stakes creep ever higher. By the time the endgame had been reached I was lost to the outside world – the book was my sole focus and I was oblivious to everything else. Just when I thought it was done…a sucker punch. Oh my days what a finale – no spoilers but WOW.
If you have not had the thrill of reading a Paul Finch “Heck” novel you have missed a treat (well 7 treats now). These books are brilliant examples of top class crime fiction and I urge you to hunt them down. Kiss of Death nets Paul Finch and Heck another five star review from me – I cannot get enough of these books.
Kiss of Death is published by Avon and is available in paperback, digital and audiobook. You can order a copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Kiss-Death-Detective-Mark-Heckenburg-ebook/dp/B0796W5MPQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1533848174&sr=8-1&keywords=kiss+of+death+paul+finch
