Buy now and get STALKERS for only 99p

Anyone interested in buying my debut crime novel, STALKERS, can currently buy the electronic version for just 99p - though this special offer is available for a limited time only. If you're interested, just follow the link.

The above image shows me posing proudly with two of my hot-off-the-press author copies of the paperback; that's currently available for pre-order, but won't actually be published until February 14th, Valentine's Day.

Go on, I dare you ... treat the bloke or bird in your life to a heart-stopping crime caper filled with blood, terror and urban mayhem. How romantic would that be?

Still not convinced? Well, here's a brief snippet:

McCulkin laced his tattooed, nicotine-stained fingers in a tight, tense ball. ‘There are red flags all over this, Mr. Heckenburg. Any time it comes up in conversation, it’s like “you don’t talk about this”, or “do not even go there”.’

‘That’s Halloween stuff, Pat. It’s designed to stop people asking questions.’

‘Look, these people are bad news.’

‘And I’m not?’ Heck leaned forward. ‘These bastards are going to find out different. Now you tell me every single thing you know.’

‘You really going to spread it that I’m a snitch?’

‘Just watch me.'

Still not convinced ... well, the first review on Amazon gives it five stars. Read it HERE. Or check it out below, in full:

I was sent a copy of STALKERS for review by the publisher and loved it from page one. Paul Finch is a master of suspense, and he had me on the edge of my seat from the very first chapter.

Following a gang who kidnap women on demand for their clients, this is a tense cat and mouse chase between a gang so dangerous that no one dare mention their name, and a rough around the edges cop, Detective Mark 'Heck' Heckenberg. This is Heck's show, but he's joined by a great cast of supporting characters - including, refreshingly, a host of strong and very ballsy women - and some seriously distasteful baddies.

As I understand it, Paul Finch used to be a scriptwriter by trade and this shines through. The action is endlessly compelling, mixing up hard-nosed sleuthing and intelligent detective work with fast-paced fight scenes that are so vivid they may as well be happening right in front of your face. I don't want to give away anything here, but the fight with Deke is a scene I will never be able to forget. Paul is also a horror writer of some renown, and he certainly knows how to kill his victims. But there's nothing gratuitous in his violence, and whilst occasionally bloody, his murder scenes weren't too hard to stomach, and will satisfy both hardened crime fans and newbies to the genre.

Overall, this is a thrilling, unforgettable read from a fantastic new writer on the crime and thriller scene. I will be recommending Paul Finch wherever I go and I can't wait to get my hands on the next in the series in just a few months' time. I could easily see this book taking to the small screen, so if there are any TV producers out there, I hope they're watching Paul Finch closely, as I am in no doubt that he's a star of the future.

If I have any advice to you it's READ THIS BOOK!

(With thanks to the publisher Avon for providing a review copy.)

On a not entirely different matter, it's been quite a decent week for good reviews all round. Everyone in the UK's favourite horror mag, BLACK STATIC, has now got around to checking out my last collection of horror stories, ENEMIES AT THE DOOR, and the most recent volume in my round-Britain anthology series, TERROR TALES OF EAST ANGLIA.

With regard to the former, stories selected for special praise include: SLAYGROUND, which is described as "hugely enjoyable, with Finch ably counterpointing violent fire fights with the cheery camaraderie of men in arms and a final note that pulls the carpet out form under the characters' feet"; THE FAERIE, assessed as "a particular delight", WE, WHO LIVE IN THE WOOD, which "wonderfully builds its atmosphere of menace, escalating effects and mounting the tension", and DADDY WAS A SPACE-ALIEN, which is "a barbed satire of sensationalist tabloid reportage, made all the more apposite in the wake of Levenson".

For the latter, DEEP WATER by Christopher Harman, SHUCK by Simon Bestwick, LIKE SUFFOLK, LIKE HOLIDAYS by Alison Littlewood, ALDEBURGH by Johnny Mains and THE SPOOKS OF SHELLBOROUGH by Reggie Oliver are all underscored as notable highlights.

However, a question-mark is apparently raised against TERROR TALES OF EAST ANGLIA in terms of the various authors' credentials when it comes to knowing that part of the realm - simply because quite a few of them, my good self included, are not natives.

Well ... ahem - and of course I can only speak for myself in this regard - I know East Anglia pretty darn well, having travelled its length and breadth, and having stayed there with relatives many, many times - so there! And to prove it, the picture above was taken of me outside the infamous cell in Colchester in which Matthew Hopkins, the dreaded 'Witchfinder General' interrogated so many of his unfortunate prisoners.