Washington Poe Series 2 Books Collection Set By M. W. Craven (The Puppet Show, Black Summer)

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Apart from my slight rub, this was another great story from Craven with superb character development superb and another expertly written book by the master of suspense. A sensational, daring thriller! Washington Poe is a fierce, compelling new character. I cannot praise this highly enough.” – AA Dhand As the series begins, DI Walsh has just been saved from a permanent suspension thanks to a transfer to the “Last Chance Saloon” crime unit. His first case involves a letter sent by a woman who was murdered 20 years prior. That letter brings new suspects into the picture, and DI Walsh and his colleagues will have to try to make sense of the very cold case if they're to bring the real culprit to justice. I really enjoy M W Craven's Washington Poe series with its quirky characters, well-developed and quite clever plots, and quality but not ¨look how smart I am¨ writing. I suspect that I would enjoy having a beer with Craven and not talking about anything special.

Plausibility ⭐⭐⭐ The one rub I had with ‘The Botanist’ was the plausibility. Individually all the killings were believable but when you combine and look at the total picture, they start to feel inconceivable. Yes, someone might have a secret room that a killer could hide in. Yes, it might be possible to change someone’s prescription to administer poison but combine all the plot elements and it starts to feel this book was right on the edge of being a bit too far-fetched. In contrast however, the investigative work was convincing. You could imagine these highs and lows in any police investigation, and the way Poe and Tilly unravelled the plot also felt authentic. So mixed. You get a serial killer of course and mystery - all the bells and whistles of a real mind bender. As I said you really don’t know how this is going to tie together… but it does beautifully. It is not handed to you on a silver platter either you are taken there on a journey. ☠️ In terms of “heat” level, these books are definitely NOT cozies. Some murders are described in-depth, and there are cases that involve things like rape and child molestation (in a historic sense, not a play-by-play). These parts are mostly pretty contained and easy to skip/skim if you're inclined to do so. Someone is torturing and burning wealthy old men alive, then leaving their remains in stone circles around Cumbria. With virtually no evidence to go on, disgraced detective Washington Poe and talented young data analyst Tilly Bradshaw will have to unravel the mystery and stop the killer. There is CONSTANT action and suspense. There are two stories that go along side by side, and usually I would prefer one story over the other, but this book is the prime example of masterfully weaving two stories together. I was obsessed with both. I have been off work this week due to health problems, and I have gotten up every morning at 6am to read.

Publication Order of Washington Poe Books

You get humour - omg this one had me laughing out loud and giggling hours later when I thought about some of the things that happened to Poe because of course it was going to happen to Poe. Tilly’s innocence and never ending loyalty are beautiful and filled with laughs. Poe as always is his dry and grumpy self which just never gets old. He adores his friend Tilly and will always defend her - never end this friendship it is truly delightful. 🤣 Could you ever see the series as films (and if so, do you have anyone in mind for the parts of Tilly and Poe)? I always start the new novel on December 1 st. I have a break for Christmas and then hit the computer. I aim to get it with my agent by late summer as invariably I’ll have December submission date. This gives us a chance to work on it before it goes to my editor. The draft I submit is never what ends up in the final book though. It goes through editing, line editing, copy-editing, desk editing and proofreading, and all this takes time. I’d say workwise, it’s the best part of a year to get from what’s inside my head to the finished product.

A notorious misogynist, Kane Hunt, reveals a death threat, a pressed dried flower and appalling poetry, prior to dying on a live TV talk show, he is found to have been poisoned. This is followed by the shamelessly corrupt and disgraced Tory MP for Sheffield East receiving the same type of threat, and despite being closely guarded, found dead in his bath. A far right social media commentator, monetising racism, claiming truth and facts are 'fake news', is isolated and closely monitored in hospital by both medical staff and the police, yet once again The Botanist manages to slip through the net. DI Stephanie Flynn, Poe and even Tilly struggle to find any leads, how is the botanist getting away with his crimes, he has surfaced out of the blue, how did he get to be so good? Surely he must have committed similar crimes before? In a twisted narrative a popular killer develops a cult following and Doyle is charged with murder, the pressure is on to solve 2 impossible time sensitive cases. At the same time, a poisoner known only as The Botanist is sending poems and pressed flowers to celebrities. Even though his targets get advance warning of his attentions, he or she seems to be able to kill with impunity.The Washington Poe and Tilly Bradshaw series follows the investigative adventures of two central characters working for the National Crime Agency's Serious Crime Analysis Section. The main character, Washington Poe, is a disgraced detective with intuition that's matched only by his issues with authority. He lives alone (aside from his dog) in a converted shepherd's croft on the desolate Cumbrian moorlands. Then, a disgraced FBI agent reaches out with a theory that sends the case in an even darker direction. Could they be dealing with someone even worse than your garden variety serial killer? You get a serial killer of course and mystery - all the bells and whistles of a real mind bender. As I said you really don���t know how this is going to tie together… but it does beautifully. It is not handed to you on a silver platter either you are taken there on a journey. ☠️

Once again, the team's investigative abilities are tested, this time by a crazed killer who seems to be able to poison his victims, even though they are under protection. The killer, named 'The Botanist' by the media, gains somewhat of a public following as the victims he is targeting initially are people with extreme views or who have taken morally-reprehensible actions. The author is married to his wife, Joanne. The two live together in Carlisle. Michael enjoys going out with his springer spaniel or hanging out in the pub talking about nonsense. When he isn’t busy with that, he can be discovered at punk shows or writing festivals all over the country. After two minutes Bradshaw stood up and said, ‘I have two favourite dogs now, Poe. Do you think we could train Edgar to sniff out guns?’

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Writing Style ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ I love Craven’s writing style and the way he builds a story. It works brilliantly for my personal tastes, and I often think you couldn’t write any of this differently. The balance of humour and sensitivity, with the fear and tension and a forensically plotted story, put Craven up there as a favourite crime / thriller writer. A serial killer who is as elusive as he is famous, daring in his actions as he is methodical in his planning. A man with a grudge but we don’t know how and why he chooses his victims; we just know he is able to penetrate the most secure and protected of places and people. Carlisle-born M. W. Craven took up a probation officer role in Whitehaven in 1999. Seventeen years later, at the rank of assistant chief officer, he became a full-time author.