LoveReading Says
LoveReading Says
One of my all-time favourite series’ began with The Puppet Show, a serial-killer thriller like no other. The story follows the hunt for a killer who is burning people alive in the Lake District’s stone circles. I read much of this one through my fingers, by turns flinching and laughing out loud as Mike Craven has this rare ability to combine the macabre with effortless humour, a frantic pace and, in Washington Poe and Tilly Bradshaw, the kind of odd couple protagonists that see me counting each day until their return. Wildly entertaining and not for the faint of heart.
Selected by Chris Whitaker, Our Spring 2022 Guest Editor. Click here to read the full Guest Editor Piece.
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The Puppet Show Synopsis
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 ...
About This Edition
| ISBN: |
9781472127457 |
| Publication date: |
24th January 2019 |
| Author: |
M. W. Craven |
| Publisher: |
Constable an imprint of Little, Brown Book Group |
| Format: |
Paperback |
| Pagination: |
368 pages |
| Series: |
Washington Poe |
| Primary Genre |
Crime and Mystery
|
Press Reviews
M. W. Craven Press Reviews
A page turner - Sun
A gripping start to a much anticipated new series -- Vaseem Khan
Nothing you've ever read will prepare you for the utterly unique Washington Poe -- Keith Nixon
Dark, sharp and compelling -- Peter James
A brilliant start to what promises to be a fantastic series; get it now or kick yourself for missing out -- Graham Smith
This book is twisted and dark and I loved it - not sure what that says about me -- Simon Toyne
Washington Poe is a name destined to be spoken by crime fiction enthusiasts everywhere: Britain's answer to Harry Bosch. The Puppet Show is a wickedly, twisting and turning, mystery that will have readers breathlessly turning the pages until the final shocking conclusion. -- Matt Hilton, author of the Joe Hunter series
Mike Craven is a forceful new voice in British crime fiction. -- Caro Ramsay
A powerful thriller from an explosive new talent. Tightly plotted, and not for the faint-hearted! -- David Mark
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
A thrilling curtain-raiser for what looks set to be a great new series. -- Mick Herron
Author
About M. W. Craven
Multi-award winning author M. W. Craven was born in Carlisle but grew up in Newcastle. He joined the army at sixteen, leaving ten years later to complete a social work degree. Seventeen years after taking up a probation officer role in Cumbria, at the rank of assistant chief officer, he became a full-time author. The Puppet Show, the first book in his Cumbria-set Washington Poe series, was published by Little, Brown in 2018 and went on to win the Crime Writers' Association Gold Dagger in 2019. It has now been translated into twenty-one languages. Black Summer, the second in the series, was longlisted for the 2020 Gold Dagger as was book three, The Curator. The fourth in the series, Dead Ground, was published last June, became an instant Sunday Times bestseller and won the 2022 Ian Fleming Steel Dagger.The latest book in the series, The Botanist, published in June, also became an instant Sunday Times bestseller.
More About M. W. Craven
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