Washington Poe

'Fantastic' Martina Cole 'Dark, sharp and compelling' Peter James 'A thrilling curtain raiser for what looks set to be a great new series' Mick Herron A serial killer is burning people alive in the Lake District's prehistoric stone circles. He leaves no clues and the police are helpless. When his name is found carved into the charred remains of the third victim, disgraced detective Washington Poe is brought back from suspension and into an investigation he wants no part of... Reluctantly partnered with the brilliant, but socially awkward, civilian analyst, Tilly Bradshaw, the mismatched pair uncover a trail that only he is meant to see. The elusive killer has a plan and for some reason Poe is part of it. As the body count rises, Poe discovers he has far more invested in the case than he could have possibly imagined. And in a shocking finale that will shatter everything he's ever believed about himself, Poe will learn that there are things far worse than being burned alive... Find out why everyone loves The Puppet Show 'A page turner' Sun 'So dark and twisty' Elly Griffiths 'A powerful thriller from an explosive new talent. Tightly plotted, and not for the faint hearted!' David Mark 'A gripping start to a much anticipated new series' Vaseem Khan 'Satisfyingly twisty and clever and the flashes of humour work well to offer the reader respite from the thrill of the read' Michael J. Malone 'Britain's answer to Harry Bosch' Matt Hilton 'Dark, disturbing and so very clever. Highly recommended' Anne Cater

'A brutal and thrilling page-turner' The Sun 'Compelling' Heat 'The best pure mystery plot of the year' Morning Star 'Gleefully gory and witty, with a terrific sense of place' Sunday Mirror After The Puppet Show, a new storm is coming... Jared Keaton, chef to the stars. Charming. Charismatic. Psychopath... He's currently serving a life sentence for the brutal murder of his daughter, Elizabeth. Her body was never found and Keaton was convicted largely on the testimony of Detective Sergeant Washington Poe. So when a young woman staggers into a remote police station with irrefutable evidence that she is Elizabeth Keaton, Poe finds himself on the wrong end of an investigation, one that could cost him much more than his career. Helped by the only person he trusts, the brilliant but socially awkward Tilly Bradshaw, Poe races to answer the only question that matters: how can someone be both dead and alive at the same time? And then Elizabeth goes missing again - and all paths of investigation lead back to Poe. The gripping new thriller in the Washington Poe series from M. W. Craven, winner of the CWA Gold Dagger Award for best crime novel of 2019. *Longlisted for the Crime Writers Association Gold Dagger 2020* Praise for MIKE CRAVEN 'Dark, sharp and compelling' PETER JAMES 'Fantastic' MARTINA COLE 'Britain's answer to Harry Bosch' MATT HILTON 'A powerful thriller from an explosive new talent' DAVID MARK 'Truly mind-blowing' A. A. Dhand 'A book that shines with tension, wit and invention' William Shaw 'Washington Poe - a rising giant in detective fiction' Alison Bruce 'A twisty thriller with a killer plot Ed James 'I loved this book!' Jo Jakeman 'One of the best British crime novels I've read in a long time... Simply an unputdownable page-turner' Nick Oldham 'Grabs you from the very first page. A dark and brilliantly twisted crime thriller' Colin Falconer 'Dark and twisted in all the right places' Robert Scragg 'In Tilly and Poe, MW Craven has created a stand-out duo who are two of the most compelling characters in crime fiction in recent years' Fiona Cummins 'Dark, thrilling and unputdownable' Victoria Selman

Shortlisted for the VN Thriller of the Year 2022 Longlisted for the Crime Writers' Association Gold Dagger 2021 'Dark, sharp and compelling' PETER JAMES 'Fantastic' MARTINA COLE 'Britain's answer to Harry Bosch' MATT HILTON 'A powerful thriller from an explosive new talent' DAVID MARK LONGLISTED FOR THE CWA GOLD DAGGER Nothing says Christmas like severed fingers It's December and a serial killer is leaving body parts all over Cumbria. Called in to investigate, the National Crime Agency's Washington Poe and Tilly Bradshaw are faced with a case that makes no sense. Why were the victims killed in such different ways? Why is their only suspect denying what they can irrefutably prove but admitting to things they weren't even aware of? And what could the cryptic message left at each scene - #BSC6 - possibly mean? When a disgraced FBI agent gets in touch things take an even darker turn. Because she doesn't think Poe is dealing with a serial killer at all; she thinks he's dealing with someone far, far worse - a man who calls himself the Curator. And if you think you know what's happening, you're exactly where he wants you to be... *THE NEW THRILLER FROM THE WINNER OF THE CWA BEST CRIME NOVEL OF 2019 AWARD* Praise for M. W. Craven: 'Jaw-droppingly shocking and intense, there's no escaping this novel's tense narrative and tightly woven mystery' Women & Home on The Curator 'Superb' Daily Mail on The Curator 'An intriguing, fast-moving mystery' The Times on The Curator 'Witty, clever and shocking' Cumbria Life on The Curator 'Pacy, gory and clever' Crime Monthly on The Curator 'Atmospherically moody' Peterborough Telegraph on The Curator 'Unlike most procedurals; MW Craven grabs the reader by the scruff of the neck and drags them bodily over the grit and grimness of this expertly-crafted tale; leaving them bruised, broken, but ultimately satisified' Matt Wesolowski on The Curator 'Truly mind-blowing' A. A. Dhand on Black Summer 'A book that shines with tension, wit and invention' William Shaw on Black Summer 'Washington Poe - a rising giant in detective fiction' Alison Bruce on Black Summer 'A twisty thriller with a killer plot Ed James on Black Summer 'I loved this book!' Jo Jakeman on Black Summer 'One of the best British crime novels I've read in a long time... Simply an unputdownable page-turner' Nick Oldham on Black Summer 'Grabs you from the very first page. A dark and brilliantly twisted crime thriller, bringing back the inimitable Washington Poe and Tilly Bradshaw' Colin Falconer on Black Summer 'Dark and twisted in all the right places. Poe is a great mix of compelling, complex & charismatic, and well on his way to becoming one of the standout characters in crime fiction' Robert Scragg on Black Summer 'In Tilly and Poe, MW Craven has created a stand-out duo who are two of the most compelling characters in crime fiction in recent years. They deserve to join the ranks of Holmes and Watson, Rebus and Clarke, Hill and Jordan...' Fiona Cummins on Black Summer 'Dark, thrilling and unputdownable with sharply drawn characters that stride off the page' Victoria Selman on Black Summer 'Gleefully gory and witty, with a terrific sense of place' Sunday Times on Black Summer

Winner of the prestigious CWA IAN FLEMING STEEL DAGGER AWARD 2022 Longlisted for the Theakston Old Peculiar Crime Novel of the Year 2022 'Heart-pounding, hilarious, sharp and shocking, Dead Ground is further proof that M.W. Craven never disappoints. Miss this series at your peril.' Chris Whitaker 'Dark and entertaining, this is top rank crime fiction.' Vaseem Khan, Author of the Malabar House series and the Baby Ganesh Agency series 'M. W. Craven is one of the best crime writers working today. Dead Ground is a cracking puzzle, beautifully written, with characters you'll be behind every step of the way. It's his best yet.' Stuart Turton 'Fantastic' Martina Cole 'Dark, sharp and compelling' Peter James 'You can taste the authenticity' Daily Mail Detective Sergeant Washington Poe is in court, fighting eviction from his beloved and isolated croft, when he is summoned to a backstreet brothel in Carlisle where a man has been beaten to death with a baseball bat. Poe is confused - he hunts serial killers and this appears to be a straightforward murder-by-pimp - but his attendance was requested personally, by the kind of people who prefer to remain in the shadows. As Poe and the socially awkward programmer Tilly Bradshaw delve deeper into the case, they are faced with seemingly unanswerable questions: despite being heavily vetted for a high-profile job, why does nothing in the victim's background check out? Why was a small ornament left at the murder scene - and why did someone on the investigation team steal it? And what is the connection to a flawlessly executed bank heist three years earlier, a heist where nothing was taken... Praise for Dead Ground: 'Unmissable' Sunday Express 'I've been following M.W. Craven's Poe/Tilly series from the very beginning, and it just gets better and better. Dead Ground is a fast-paced crime novel with as many twists and turns as a country lane. I can't wait for the next one.' Peter Robinson 'Dead Ground is both entertaining and engaging with great characters and storyline. I loved this first dip into the world of Tilly and Poe!' BA Paris Praise for M W Craven: 'A brutal and thrilling page turner' Natasha Harding, The Sun 'A thrilling curtain raiser for what looks set to be a great new series' Mick Herron 'One of the most engaging teams in crime fiction' Daily Mail 'A powerful thriller from an explosive new talent. Tightly plotted, and not for the faint hearted!' David Mark 'A gripping start to a much anticipated new series' Vaseem Khan 'Satisfyingly twisty and clever and the flashes of humour work well to offer the reader respite from the thrill of the read.' Michael J. Malone 'Nothing you've ever read will prepare you for the utterly unique Washington Poe' Keith Nixon 'Beware if you pick up a book by M.W. Craven. Your life will no longer belong to you. He will hold you spellbound.' Linda's Book Bag 'Craven's understanding of the criminal world is obvious in this cracking read' Woman's Weekly 'Breath-taking' Random Things Through My Letterbox '5 Stars... another fantastic literary experience and a welcome addition to the already brilliant Poe and Tilly series' Female First 'An explosive plot, slippery twists and my fave new crime-busting duo...Fantastic!' Peterborough Telegraph

'The most joyously exciting novel I've read in years...[The] sense of fun and adventure... allied to a remarkable lightness of touch over nightmarish subject matter, makes for the kind of novel that inspired me to write fiction in the first place..' Chris Brookmyre 'Mesmerising, macabre and murderously funny. The Botanist is M.W. Craven at his sinister best. I couldn't love this series more' Chris Whitaker 'I swear I'm one bad mood away from calling it black magic and going home...' Detective Sergeant Washington Poe can count on one hand the number of friends he has. And he'd still have his thumb left. There's the insanely brilliant, guilelessly innocent civilian analyst, Tilly Bradshaw of course. He's known his beleaguered boss, Detective Inspector Stephanie Flynn for years as he has his nearest neighbour, full-time shepherd/part-time dog sitter, Victoria. And then there's Estelle Doyle. It's true the caustic pathologist has never walked down the sunny side of the street but this time has she gone too far? Shot twice in the head, her father's murder appears to be an open and shut case. Estelle has firearms discharge residue on her hands, and, in a house surrounded by fresh snow, hers are the only footprints going in. Since her arrest she's only said three words: 'Tell Washington Poe.' Meanwhile, a poisoner the press have dubbed the Botanist is sending high profile celebrities poems and pressed flowers. The killer seems to be able to walk through walls and, despite the advance notice he gives his victims, and regardless of the security measures the police take, he seems to be able to kill with impunity. For a man who hates locked room mysteries, this is going to be the longest week of Washington Poe's life... 'Another classy thriller from the king of Cumbrian crime' Paul Finch 'Unputdownable, gripping, clever and with a rich seam of trademark Craven humour running through it' Imran Mahmood 'A sinful treat' Vaseem Khan 'Fast, furious, and utterly enjoyable.' Keith Nixon

Winner of the Fingerprint Award 2025 for Crime book Shortlisted for Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel 2025 'Macabre and wry' Telegraph 'Mesmerising, macabre and magnificent. The Mercy Chair is truly terrifying, laugh-out-loud funny, and impossibly clever. Poe and Tilly are unstoppable' Chris Whitaker 'Washington Poe is a brilliant creation, from one of the finest and most inventive crime writers of today' Peter James Are you sitting comfortably? Then I'll begin... Washington Poe has a story to tell. And he needs you to listen. You'll hear how it started with the robber birds. Crows. Dozens of them. Enough for a murder... He'll tell you about a man who was tied to a tree and stoned to death, a man who had tattooed himself with a code so obscure, even the gifted analyst Tilly Bradshaw struggled to break it. He'll tell you how the man's murder was connected to a tragedy that happened fifteen years earlier when a young girl massacred her entire family. And finally, he'll tell you about the mercy chair. And why people would rather kill themselves than talk about it... Poe hopes you've been paying attention. Because in this story, nothing is as it seems... MORE PRAISE FOR MW CRAVEN: 'Craven renders the darkness of the human condition with immense skill, ratcheting the tension to a nails-on-chalkboard pitch. Don't turn out the lights.' Vaseem Khan 'The kind of novel that inspired me to write fiction in the first place. A guaranteed great time.' Chris Brookmyre 'Darkly entertaining' The Telegraph 'If you haven't read any M.W. Craven yet, fix that immediately' S. A. Cosby 'I've been following M.W. Craven's Poe/Tilly series from the very beginning, and it just gets better and better' Peter Robinson 'Poe and Tilly books are a joy' Steve Cavanagh 'In Tilly and Poe, M.W. Craven has created a stand-out duo who are two of the most compelling characters in crime fiction in recent years' Fiona Cummins 'Darkly comic... Thrilling' The Independent 'Clever, sophisticated, utterly gripping thriller from one of the best writers around' Mari Hannah 'Craven has unleashed Ben Koenig into the thriller world. Long may he raise hell in the pages. A superb thriller that will have everyone talking, and gasping.' David Baldacci 'Paging Lee and Andrew Child: you've got company' The Times

The excerpts confirm this is the seventh Washington Poe novel and mention a sniper striking at random with seventeen unrelated victims, but do not provide enough plot detail to write a complete, accurate synopsis meeting the requirements.