Book Synopsis:
This is going to be the longest week of Washington Poe’s life…
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 guilelessly innocent civilian analyst, Tilly Bradshaw of course. Insanely brilliant, she’s a bit of a social hand grenade. 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. Dark and dangerous and sexy as hell. It’s true the caustic pathologist has never walked down the sunny side of the street, but has she gone too far this time? 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. Since her arrest she’s only said three words: ‘Tell Washington Poe.’
Meanwhile, a poisoner called the Botanist is sending the nation’s most reviled people poems and pressed flowers. Twisted and ingenious, he seems to be able to walk through walls and, despite the advance notice given to his victims, and regardless of the security measures taken, he is able to kill with impunity.
Poe hates locked room mysteries and now he has two to solve. To unravel them he’s going to have to draw on every resource he has: Tilly Bradshaw, an organised crime boss, even an alcoholic ex-journalist. Because if he doesn’t, the bodies are going to keep piling up . . .
My Review:
I’m a huge fan of this author so I pre-ordered this book as soon as I knew about it. Once again the author has written a gripping, twisty book that was hard to put down.
It was great being back with Tilly and Poe following them as they tried to catch another murderer. The Botanist has to be one of the worse villains I’ve come across in a book. Not because he was particularly cruel or violent but because of how cold and calculated he was. He seemed to have absolutely no regard for people he considered below him (most people as it turned out) and this sent a shiver down my spine as I read. He seemed impossible to catch which I found very interesting and I enjoyed following Tilly and Poe as they investigated.
As always the fab police team was very entertaining to follow throughout the book. I loved the easy banter and in jokes that exist between them which helps break up some of the darker moments in the book. I felt like I was part of the team at times which I really enjoyed, especially as I recognised some of the in jokes that are mentioned from previous books.
This story drew me in from the start and I quickly found that I couldn’t put the book down. There was always something happening to keep my attention either from the case or from the teams antics. There were lots of twists and red herrings that kept me guessing and I honestly couldn’t figure out how the botanist was doing it until the characters figured it out in the book. It was nice to see a different side of Poe too and for him to get a win in his personal life for once. The double twist ending was brilliant, and unexpected as I thought the story was winding down. Highly recommended from me!
About The Author:
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 and became an instant Sunday Times bestseller.Website: mwcraven.comTwitter: @MWCravenUK
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