Reading order
| # | Title | Published | Author | Buy on Amazon |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Stalkers | 2013 | Paul Finch | Buy |
| 2 | Sacrifice | 2013 | Paul Finch | Buy |
| 3 | The Killing Club | 2014 | Paul Finch | Buy |
| 4 | Dead Man Walking | 2014 | Paul Finch | Buy |
| 5 | A Wanted Man | 2015 | Paul Finch | Buy |
| 6 | Hunted | 2015 | Paul Finch | Buy |
| 7 | Ashes to Ashes | 2017 | Paul Finch | Buy |
| 8 | Kiss of Death | 2018 | Paul Finch | Buy |
| 9 | Rogue | 2024 | Paul Finch | Buy |
| 10 | Beast of the Field | 2025 | Paul Finch | Buy |
The DS Heckenburg series launched in 2013 with Stalkers and quickly became Paul Finch’s most recognized work. Set primarily in and around Manchester, the books follow Detective Sergeant Mark Heckenburg of the Serial Crimes Unit as he investigates violent, organized criminal networks. The cases are dark and fast-paced, with Heckenburg regularly putting himself at personal risk to get results.
Each book in the series works as a standalone thriller while advancing the larger arc of Heckenburg’s career and personal life. The series has grown to ten books, with titles like Hunted, Ashes to Ashes, and Kiss of Death keeping the body count high and the tension constant. Finch draws on his background as a police officer’s son and former cop himself to give the procedural details an authentic edge.
The books have been compared to the work of Stuart MacBride and Mark Billingham for their combination of police procedure, dark humor, and unflinching violence. Heckenburg is a flawed protagonist who gets results through stubbornness as much as skill, and the northern English settings give the series a distinctive atmosphere that sets it apart from London-centric crime fiction.