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

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Reading The Puppet Show, we were immediately drawn to the brilliant and surprising partnership of Detective Washington Poe and analyst Tilly Bradshaw. Mike Craven has created a distinctive, darkly humorous and compelling series that we can’t wait to develop for British and worldwide television viewers.” – Susan Hogg, Head of Drama: Studio Lambert Dead Man's Fingers– During a picnic at a nature reserve, Poe's dog Edgar chases a rabbit. Chasing after him, they stumble on a decades-old unsolved mystery.

At the same time, Washington Poe is trying to help his friend and colleague, pathologist Estelle Doyle, who has been charged with the murder of her father at his family home. Whilst totally believing in her innocence, all the evidence points only to her as the perpetrator - gunshot residue on her hands and a house surrounded by snow where the only footprints leading to or from the house are hers. They have loads left to do I suspect. The end of The Curator will leave everyone reeling and things won’t be the same for a while. That said, Dead Ground, Poe 4, is written and ready to go next June, Poe 5, The Botanist, is almost done and Poe 6, The Third Light, is fully plotted. Cut Short, a linked trio of short stories, including the recent freebie, ‘Why Don’t Sheep Shrink?’ is out in September. I have another short out in an upcoming anthology and another one out at Christmas. Another disgusting person, a racist podcaster, receives the next envelope. Because all of the Botanist's victims are nauseating people, the public loves him/her. T-shirts are sold, clubs are formed, speculation is rampant. 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. 🤣While he works very hard, Detective Sergeant Washington Poe has few friends on which he can rely. His civilian analyst at work, Tilly Bradshaw, would surely be on top of his friends list. This is why it seems so odd when he receives a call from Estelle Doyle, the long-time pathologist. Estelle’s father has been shot twice in the head and she has gunshot residue on her hands. The authorities see this as an open and shut case, though Estelle espouses her innocence and hopes Poe can prove it. 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. First Sentence: There were bastard trees and there were wait-awhile trees and there was a building that didn’t exist. 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. ☠️

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. Always a fan of M.W. Craven and his Washington Poe series, I raced to get my hands on the latest thriller. Each novel in the series has been highly unique and this was no exception. Someone is killing people through highly complex toxins, though the means by which they are administered remain the greatest mystery. Washington Poe and his team work to decipher what’s going on and how they can stay one step ahead of a killer given the moniker The Botanist. A chilling story that reads so easily, proving Craven’s superior abilities. He is a member of both the Crime Writers’ Association and the International Thriller Writers’ Association. 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.Plot -- 4 stars -- lots of unexpected twists and turns, but the criminal mind behind the evil doings is a bit too perfect to be true; it's all twisted a bit too well to have realistic feel to it. In the first book in the series, we meet DS Cross as he's trying to solve the murder of a man in Bristol's homeless community. Though others dismiss the death as a “homeless squabble”, Cross sees it for what it is – a murder that goes far deeper than a random misunderstanding on the streets.

There are 10 books in the series, and new volumes have been coming out every 3-6 months since late 2020. As if that's not enough pressure on its own, there's also a bit of evidence that suggests Poe himself might be one of the next targets.

Poe & Bradshaw Novella #1 | Cut Short (Book 3.5)

Characters -- 3 stars -- there isn't much character development or interesting characterization; the characters are an interesting bunch, but most are based on cliche: a female scientist with the brain of a genius and zero social skills; a tough and lonely down-to earth policeman with troubled past; a sexy, mysterious and super-clever pathologist; an evil genius criminal etc. The Mercy Chair (2024) – 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.

The Botanist (2022) – Detective Sergeant Washington Poe can count on one hand the number of friends he has. One of them is 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 Killing Field– While having breakfast and debating how to spend the remainder of their holiday, Poe and Tilly are requested to head to a Cumbrian airfield once known as the killing field. 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. 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.

Gritty? Cozy? Where do the Washington Poe Books Fall?

He had taken up a probation officer position in Cumbria and worked his way to become chief officer. Not long after that, he decided to go into it and become an author on a full-time basis. He now says that he has different motivations when it comes to trying to get into the criminal mind. His first book in the Washington Poe series, set in Cumbria, came out in 2018. The Puppet Show would then be awarded the Crime Writers’ Association Gold Dagger in 2019. It has been since translated into over two dozen languages. If you like this series, you'll be pleased to know there are 18 books in the series as of June 2022. The Washington Poe & Tilly Bradshaw books are set in Cumbria, a lovely and sparsely-populated county in the northwestern corner of England. I loved this book. It’s dark and twisty with a wonderful sense of place and it hascharacters that yougenuinelycare about. Ican’t wait for the next in the series” – Elly Griffiths Tilly and Poe are surely set to become firm favourites with crime fiction aficionados. The setting worked well with the murders – brutality set among England’s finest scenery. The plot was satisfyingly twisty and clever and the little bright-spots of humour worked well to offer the reader a little respite from the thrill of the read.” – Michael J. Malone, author of A Suitable Lie