The Burning Men: A totally addictive and page turning police procedural thriller with a killer twist

Written by Will Shindler

Narrated by Tom Lawrence

THE FIRST IN A PHENOMENAL NEW PROCEDURAL SERIES FEATURING DI ALEX FINN AND DC MATTIE PAULSEN.

Perfect for fans of Mark Billingham, Peter James and Peter Robinson.

When a high-rise development in South London catches fire mid-construction, a close-knit team of fire fighters tackle the blaze. The building should be empty, but they find a man, unconscious, next to several cases of money.

The fire crew make a fateful decision; leave the man, take the money, quit the service and never speak of this again.

But five years later one of them is set alight in the toilets at his own wedding. Soon after, a second is found in the burnt out remains of his Maserati, nothing but a smoking corpse. It appears that someone knows what they did. And there are still three firemen left to go. . .

DI Alex Finn and DC Mattie Paulsen are an unlikely pairing, but they need to discover who is behind these killings before the last man burns.

This is first in Will Shindler's Finn and Paulsen series - a British detective series that ranks with Mark Billingham, M.J. Arlidge, Staurt Macbride.

(P) 2019 Hodder & Stoughton Ltd

• Language: English
• Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton
• Release date: Feb 6, 2020
• ISBN: 9781529301748

Will Shindler

Will Shindler has been a broadcast journalist for the BBC for over twenty-five years, spending a decade working in television drama as a scriptwriter on Born and Bred, The Bill and Doctors. His time on these leading prime time dramas has given him a rich grounding in authentic police procedure, powerful character development and gripping narratives. He currently combines reading the news on BBC Radio London with writing crime novels and has previously worked as a television presenter for HTV, a sports reporter for BBC Radio Five Live, and one of the stadium presenters at the London Olympics. He is the writer of The Burning Men, The Killing Choice and The Hunting Ground. The fourth book in the DI Alex Finn series - The Blood Line - will publish in 2023.

Reviews for The Burning Men

[runner56_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

It is with more than a little trepidation that I start book 1 in a new detective series. The reviews for The Burning men have been many and positive, so I was hopeful that such praise was justified and my goodness how right they were.

The past: A fire is blazing at One Pacific Square, a multi-billion-pound regeneration project. One resident is in situ and the first 4 fire fighters on the scene enter the burning building with little thought for their own safety. The consequences that follow will have fatal repercussions long into the future.

The present: DI Alex Finn & DC Mathilde (Mattie) Paulsen are assigned a new case. Finn has returned to full time duty following the sad demise of his wife Karin. He has much to prove, so many of his fellow officers will be suspicious of his early return and wonder if his state of mind can cope with the pressures of a new and at times complex investigation

Finn and Mattie attend the scene of a brutal crime.The charred body of a young man is discovered in the bathroom of an hotel….it was his wedding day. This is the start of seemingly random killings, but as the body count mounts, a tenuous association emerges between the Pacific Square fire and an historic bank heist. To me the mark of a good story is how believable the main characters are and how much of an impression they make on judgemental readers. DI Finn is a pedantic, organised, considerate private man always concerned with the minutiae, and the great responsibility placed upon him..."how smart his appearance was- the closely trimmed hair, the crisply ironed shirt, the carefully moisturised skin"........"He was a man of certainties and police work was the area of his life where he felt most certain".....DC Poulsen has to prove herself as a capable partner but does little to endear herself to Finn when she berates him in a moment of uncontrollable rage and unprofessionalism.

The pace of the narration is fast and although the plot is detailed it never becomes over complex and is always accessible. Future books in the series will undoubtedly reveal more in the colourful lives of Finn and Paulsen. The Burning Men has been a delight to read with a new army of admirers and I count myself amongst their number.

[pgchuis · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I read this mystery in one sitting and it definitely kept me guessing. The DI returns to work the day after his wife's cremation, and I thought his grieving was a strong aspect of the story. His new DC Mattie was rather a confusing character to me, and her 'outburst' made little emotional sense, but I think they will work well together in future instalments.

My only real difficulty was keeping all the characters (especially the firefighters) straight in my head. There were so many men (there was one peripheral female firefighter to be fair) and apart from Mattie and Ojo all the police officers were men too. It's just harder to keep Garys and Pauls and Martins and Phils and Mikes and Jims clear in my mind.

Recommended.