It will officially be published on October 24, and all you have to do make sure you get it the moment it comes available is follow this LINK.
I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again, thanks very much to all of those Heck fans and loyal readers who encouraged and cajoled me with their messages and posts throughout the period when Heck was ‘off the air’. A change of publisher coincided (tremendously unfortunately) with the Covid crisis, and the Mark Heckenburg series was not the only project to hit the buffers because of this.
I wish we could have got things going again a little sooner, but looking back now, the world as I knew it after Covid was very different from the world before. People had left their positions and others’ priorities had changed. What once had been hot no longer was. The upshot was that it soon became apparent I was going to have to put in way more work than usual if I wanted to see the next DS Heckenburg novel, which was already written (and had been for a couple of years!), see the light of day.
Thankfully though, that time now has come. I’ll be talking a little bit more about it further down, when I offer you a first glimpse of the Dramatis Personae of this all-new Mark Heckenburg thriller.
In addition today, I’ll be posting another Thrillers, Chillers, hitting you all with another quick blurb for each of the novels or anthologies that I’ve recently read and been impressed by.
ROGUEWho’s Who
ROGUE picks up pretty much where KISS OF DEATH, the seventh Mark Heckenburg left off, Heck now on the trail of the two anonymous hitmen who gunned down 26 of his friends and colleagues and left him to take the blame. That’s all I’m going to say for now about the synopsis. If you can’t live without at least a little bit more, I suggest you get yourself over to the Amazon SITE, where it’s currently on pre-order, and feast on the slightly more extensive info we provide there.
If, on the other hand, you simply MUST know everything, all I can say is get your order in. It isn’t too long until October 24.
And now, as promised, a rollcall of all the key characters in ROGUE (some of whom regular readers will recognise, some of whom are completely new to the saga) ...
Mark ‘Heck’ Heckenburg
Formerly a detective sergeant in the Serial Crimes Unit sub-section of the National Crime Group, currently on suspension. An instinct investigator rather than an analyst. Not exactly a maverick, but he does prefer to go it alone, and is constantly frustrated by what he considers the inadequacies of the job’s higher echelons. Can be ruthless but mostly is affable, though at present he’s carrying a lot of grief, along with a lot of suppressed anger.
Detective Constable Gail Honeyford
One of Heck’s best and most loyal friends in the job. She is feisty, outspoken and excitable, and sometimes insufficiently respectful of her supervisors, for which she often gets reprimanded.
Detective Chief Superintendent Gwen Straker
SIO on Operation Sledgehammer and a very popular supervisor, Gwen has a maternal style rather than a bossy one, but like all good mothers, she can be firm when it’s required. Very measured. Doesn’t get shouty but can lay the law down when she needs to.
Detective Inspector Jude Penhaligon
Internal Investigations officer, so an outsider from the start – but that doesn’t bother her. Very well educated, cool and analytical. Doesn’t miss much and rarely gets ruffled.
Formerly a detective sergeant in the Serial Crimes Unit sub-section of the National Crime Group, currently on suspension. An instinct investigator rather than an analyst. Not exactly a maverick, but he does prefer to go it alone, and is constantly frustrated by what he considers the inadequacies of the job’s higher echelons. Can be ruthless but mostly is affable, though at present he’s carrying a lot of grief, along with a lot of suppressed anger.
Detective Constable Gail Honeyford
One of Heck’s best and most loyal friends in the job. She is feisty, outspoken and excitable, and sometimes insufficiently respectful of her supervisors, for which she often gets reprimanded.
Detective Chief Superintendent Gwen Straker
SIO on Operation Sledgehammer and a very popular supervisor, Gwen has a maternal style rather than a bossy one, but like all good mothers, she can be firm when it’s required. Very measured. Doesn’t get shouty but can lay the law down when she needs to.
Detective Inspector Jude Penhaligon
Internal Investigations officer, so an outsider from the start – but that doesn’t bother her. Very well educated, cool and analytical. Doesn’t miss much and rarely gets ruffled.
Director Joe Wullerton
Director of the National Crime Group, and one of Britain’s most senior and respected detectives. A gruff but approachable commander, who’s politically savvy enough to trust his top investigators (though he sometimes wonders why). Close to retirement but still a calm, capable leader.
Detective Superintendent Mike Garrickson
A throwback to the ‘good old days’. A diamond geezer who’s often so close to the underworld that he could equally be a villain. However, he’s deceptively clever and shouldn’t be underestimated.
Snake Fletcher
A classic inner-city toerag. A metalhead drug-user, spiv and sneak thief, who has also worked as Heck’s informer, though recently it’s become apparent that he has been playing for other teams. A weaselly, cowardly rat.
Dana Black
Heck’s older sister, and though she doesn’t always approve of his methods (and dislikes the cops anyway), she and he are the only two left of their family, and so the bond is tight. Very working class in her attitude and manner.
Leroy Butler
A former bank-robber but with a code of ethics. He dislikes the police but feels he owes Heck because Heck once took a terrible risk when he pulled his children out of a housefire.
Detective Constable Gary Quinnell
Another of Heck’s mates. Big boisterous character, a Welsh rugby union player and something of a roughneck even though he’s also a practising Christian. Tough as teak.
Kyle Armstrong
President of a Manchester Hells Angels chapter, and a dangerous, violent career criminal. At the same time, a cool, calculating customer who no one should underestimate. Devilishly handsome.
I should add that this isn't the entire list. The names and details of certain other participants have been withheld for the time being to avoid hitting you with any unfortunate SPOILERS.
Works of dark fiction that I have recently read, thoroughly enjoyed and heartily recommend (sometimes with a few lighter ones occasionally mixed in).
CHILD OF GOD by Cormac McCarthy (1973)
A rejected misanthrope goes it alone in the Appalachian wilderness and slowly degenerates into a predatory beast. Short but disturbing novel from the king of dark fables, and a far cry from the ‘subnormal mountain man’ horror some may expect, the antihero at its heart de-evolving through neglect and isolation. Sad, distressing, and a groundbreaker in its effort to understand extreme deviance.
THE ENTITY by Frank De Felitta (1978)
An LA single mother is raped repeatedly by a half-seen being, but an investigating psychiatrist suspects it’s a painful delusion created by trauma. Non-sensational, psychologically complex but fictionalised account of true-life events that shocked America in the 1970s. More like a case study than a horror novel, highly intelligent and soberly paced, and though hair-raising in parts, cleverly keeping many possibilities open.
MULADONA by Eric Stener Carlson (2016)
Texas 1918, the height of the Spanish Flu catastrophe. An abandoned boy falls victim to repeated visits by a demon, who, if his identity isn’t discovered during the course of seven terrifying tales, will drag him to Hell. Effective blend of Hispanic myth and occult horror, with a literary subtext about ignorance, fundamentalism and hypocrisy. Packed with full-on scares, and exquisitely written.
IMPERIUM by Robert Harris (2006)
The struggles of lawyer, Marcus Cicero, during the dying days of the Roman Republic. Political chicanery par excellence, set in a distant but not unfamiliar world, Harris hitting us with complex, intriguing tale and vividly evoking an era long gone.
GRENDEL by John Gardner (1971)
A retelling of the Dark Age poem but from the perspective of its main antagonist, Grendel. A marvel of fantasy fiction from an author who left us too soon. Mythology, philosophy and much metaphysical pondering combine to create a thinking man’s epic, complete with comedy, tragedy, heroism and brutality. At the same time a study of isolation, which asks lots of questions but provides no easy answers. A stunning literary feat, well worth its ‘modern classic’ status.
TESTIMONY by Mark Chadbourn (2014)
True case of an idyllic Welsh farm, which malignant spirits soon turn into a literal Hell. A British Amityville minus the charlatanism, the eerie tale of Heol Fanog is better known now after recent TV publicity, but for the full skinny read this excellent study by Mark Chadbourn, who flexes his journalist muscles in leaving no stone unturned to hunt an elusive truth. Very thorough, very engrossing, very frightening.
Director of the National Crime Group, and one of Britain’s most senior and respected detectives. A gruff but approachable commander, who’s politically savvy enough to trust his top investigators (though he sometimes wonders why). Close to retirement but still a calm, capable leader.
Detective Superintendent Mike Garrickson
A throwback to the ‘good old days’. A diamond geezer who’s often so close to the underworld that he could equally be a villain. However, he’s deceptively clever and shouldn’t be underestimated.
Snake Fletcher
A classic inner-city toerag. A metalhead drug-user, spiv and sneak thief, who has also worked as Heck’s informer, though recently it’s become apparent that he has been playing for other teams. A weaselly, cowardly rat.
Dana Black
Heck’s older sister, and though she doesn’t always approve of his methods (and dislikes the cops anyway), she and he are the only two left of their family, and so the bond is tight. Very working class in her attitude and manner.
Leroy Butler
A former bank-robber but with a code of ethics. He dislikes the police but feels he owes Heck because Heck once took a terrible risk when he pulled his children out of a housefire.
Detective Constable Gary Quinnell
Another of Heck’s mates. Big boisterous character, a Welsh rugby union player and something of a roughneck even though he’s also a practising Christian. Tough as teak.
Kyle Armstrong
President of a Manchester Hells Angels chapter, and a dangerous, violent career criminal. At the same time, a cool, calculating customer who no one should underestimate. Devilishly handsome.
I should add that this isn't the entire list. The names and details of certain other participants have been withheld for the time being to avoid hitting you with any unfortunate SPOILERS.
THRILLERS, CHILLERS, SHOCKERS AND KILLERS
Works of dark fiction that I have recently read, thoroughly enjoyed and heartily recommend (sometimes with a few lighter ones occasionally mixed in).
A rejected misanthrope goes it alone in the Appalachian wilderness and slowly degenerates into a predatory beast. Short but disturbing novel from the king of dark fables, and a far cry from the ‘subnormal mountain man’ horror some may expect, the antihero at its heart de-evolving through neglect and isolation. Sad, distressing, and a groundbreaker in its effort to understand extreme deviance.
An LA single mother is raped repeatedly by a half-seen being, but an investigating psychiatrist suspects it’s a painful delusion created by trauma. Non-sensational, psychologically complex but fictionalised account of true-life events that shocked America in the 1970s. More like a case study than a horror novel, highly intelligent and soberly paced, and though hair-raising in parts, cleverly keeping many possibilities open.
Texas 1918, the height of the Spanish Flu catastrophe. An abandoned boy falls victim to repeated visits by a demon, who, if his identity isn’t discovered during the course of seven terrifying tales, will drag him to Hell. Effective blend of Hispanic myth and occult horror, with a literary subtext about ignorance, fundamentalism and hypocrisy. Packed with full-on scares, and exquisitely written.
The struggles of lawyer, Marcus Cicero, during the dying days of the Roman Republic. Political chicanery par excellence, set in a distant but not unfamiliar world, Harris hitting us with complex, intriguing tale and vividly evoking an era long gone.
A retelling of the Dark Age poem but from the perspective of its main antagonist, Grendel. A marvel of fantasy fiction from an author who left us too soon. Mythology, philosophy and much metaphysical pondering combine to create a thinking man’s epic, complete with comedy, tragedy, heroism and brutality. At the same time a study of isolation, which asks lots of questions but provides no easy answers. A stunning literary feat, well worth its ‘modern classic’ status.
True case of an idyllic Welsh farm, which malignant spirits soon turn into a literal Hell. A British Amityville minus the charlatanism, the eerie tale of Heol Fanog is better known now after recent TV publicity, but for the full skinny read this excellent study by Mark Chadbourn, who flexes his journalist muscles in leaving no stone unturned to hunt an elusive truth. Very thorough, very engrossing, very frightening.