Stalkers

Finch's undistinguished crime debut introduces Det. Sgt. Mark "Heck" Heckenberg, currently attached to Britain's National Crime Group. The sole officer assigned to a case involving 38 missing women and stymied by a lack of official support, Heck is infuriated when he discovers the investigation is slated to be shut down. Forced to go on leave, Heck launches his own unauthorized inquiry. Assisted by ex-soldier Lauren Wraxford, whose sister is among the vanished, Heck discovers the existence of the "Nice Guys Club," a criminal enterprise that supplies rape victims for their well-to-do clients. Once the depraved clients are sated, the victims are murdered. Moreover, the conspiracy appears to extend to senior levels of the National Crime Group itself. This attempted thriller is sabotaged by subpar prose and a plot that claims to critique violence against women but instead exploits it for the reader's entertainment. (Aug.)