#BlogTour The Curator by M.W. Craven

It’s an absolute pleasure to take part in the BlogTour The Curator by M.W. Craven.

About the Author

A brand-new voice in British crime fiction, M. W. Craven was born in Carlisle but grew up in Newcastle. He joined the army at sixteen, leaving a decade later to complete a social work degree and spent seventeen years as a probation officer in Cumbria, rising to the rank of assistant chief officer.

The first in the Washington Poe series, The Puppet Show, won the 2019 CWA Gold  Dagger, has sold in numerous foreign territories and has been optioned for TV by Studio Lambert. M. W. Craven has been shortlisted for the Goldsboro Glass Bell Award and an Amazon Reader Award. He is also the author of the Avison Fluke novels, Born in a Burial Ground (shortlisted for the CWA Debut Dagger) and Body Breaker. The second in the Washington Poe series, Black Summer was published in June 2019.

Follow @MWCravenUK @LittleBrownUK on Twitter, on Facebook, on Instagram, on Goodreads, Visit mwcraven.com, Buy The Curator

About the book

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 some victims anaesthetized, while others died in appalling agony?

Why is their only suspect denying what they can irrefutably prove but admitting to things they weren’t even aware of? And why did the victims all take the same two weeks off work three years earlier?

And 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.

Review 

The best Poe by Craven yet.

Fingers are turning up left right and centre. Fingers that were severed while the victims were still alive. Poe and Tilly are determined to find out who is committing these atrocities, finding the victims identities and putting this monster, who has no scruples whatsoever, behind bars.

I suppose I am lucky I read the ecopy version of this book, because I highlighted a lot as I was reading, which I only do when the author writes the kind of points or ideas I want to refer back to eventually. I particularly liked the way Craven researched the whole BWC and BSC elements of the read – the psychological impact and how the victims go from a to b and finally to a very drastic z.

After reading this book there is no doubt in my mind that Craven is set to stay a successful fixture in the crime fiction world – it just gets better with each story. I really enjoy the way this author combines the ruthlessness of violent crime with an element of mystery, however it’s the crime duo of Washington and Tilly that makes this read and series for that matter.

At this point Poe feels protective towards Tilly and is quick to defend when others are critical of her. Tilly is concerned for his health and overall well-being. The two are symbiotic, and perhaps in a way they have become family. Either way they are a crime solving duo to be reckoned with.

Kudos to Craven for the ending. Nice one. In equal measures also the well-plotted perpetrator of the story. It really is a fantastic read.

Buy The Curator at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher: Constable- Little Brown Books Uk, pub date 4 Jun. 2020 – Hardback (£16.99), Ebook (£9.99) and Audio. Buy at Amazon com.

Read my reviews of The Puppet Show and Black Summer by M.W. Craven.

#BlogTour Black Summer by M.W. Craven

Today it’s an absolute pleasure to take part in the BlogTour for Black Summer by M.W. Craven. This is the second book in the Washington Poe series -it’s a cracking read.

About the Author

A brand new voice in British crime fiction, 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 first in the Washington Poe series, the Puppet Show, won the 2019 CWA Gold Dagger, has sold numerous foreign territories and has been optioned for TV by Studio Lambert.

M.W. Craven has been shortlisted for the Goldsboro Glass Bell Award, an Amazon Reader Award and a Cumbria Life Award. He is also the author of the Avison Fluke novels, Born in a Burial Ground (shortlisted for the CWA Debut Dagger) and Body Breaker. Black Summer is the second novel in the Washington Poe series.

Follow @MWCravenUK @LittleBrownUK on Twitter, on Facebook, on Instagram, on Goodreads, Visit mwcraven.com, Buy Black Summer

About the book

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.

Review

The first chapter will remain with me for a long time. It takes an excellent author to write something that is simultaneously innocent and the most menacing thing I have read in a long time. I just can’t get the birds out of my head – the description of the scene and the sound I think it must have made.

I’m sending curses to Craven, because I just can’t lose the imagery.

Washington Poe is called in to confirm the details of a gruesome past case. A celebrity chef killed his own daughter, and despite there being no body, he was convicted of her murder. But Elizabeth is back and she is very much alive and kicking, which means Poe made the kind of mistake that ends careers. It also means a psychopath will soon be walking the streets again.

Poe goes over every single step, especially the blood evidence, to find some kind of loophole that will explain how this was able to happen. He, and others, question his investigation and whether he neglected the truth in favour of a fast solution. Then Elizabeth goes missing once again and the shadow of suspicion falls on Poe.

It’s a psychological thriller, a police procedural with the vibe of the macabre, which is drawn from a deep well of darkness. The Puppet Show was good, but this second book in the Washington Poe series is even better. Craven is cementing his mark in the world of crime writers.

I really enjoyed the read and wouldn’t hesitate to recommend it. Craven has this knack for creating memorable characters that readers connect with – Tilly for instance – and writing his crime with a hint of horror, a dollop of suspense and a spoonful of noir. It’s a dark, riveting read – what can I say it’s Cravenesque.

Buy Black Summer (Washington Poe #2) at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher: Constable – Little Brown Books UK pub date Paperback 12 Dec. 2019 – £7.99. Buy at Amazon com.

Read my review of The Puppet Show by M.W. Craven

#BlogTour The Puppet Show by M. W. Craven

It’s my turn on the BlogTour The Puppet Show by M. W. Craven. Poe is a character I would always return to, and Craven as a writer of course, because of the perfect balance of crime, injustice and jovial interaction between the characters.

About the Author

A brand new voice in British crime fiction, 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 has sold in numerous foreign territories and has been optioned for TV by Studio Lambert.

Follow @MWCravenUK  @LittleBrownUK on Twitter, on Facebook, on Instagram, Visit mwcraven.com

Buy The Puppet Show

About the book

He pulls their strings. He watches them burn. Welcome to the Puppet Show…

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…

Review

Washington Poe messed up big time on his last case. He made the kind of decision that cripples careers and brings them to a dead halt, much like his own at this point, and yet here is the force asking him to come right back into the fold. Apparently their latest psycho has made it a necessity for Poe to be on board.

The sideshow favourite has got to be Tilly Bradshaw, who needs her mother’s permission to stay away overnight or engage in anything dangerous, bearing in mind that she works as an analyst for the NCA. Her naivety and intelligence combined with Poe with his devil may care attitude put the funny in this brutal serial killer plot.

However not everything is as it seems in this story filled with hatred and violence. It almost seems ironic that in the end the motives of the killer aren’t dissimilar to something that might drive Poe to commit a crime.

Regardless of that, Craven keeps the ball rolling and the plot twists popping with this revenge driven crime story. The characters are strong and more importantly they are believable, especially Poe. He is the perfect example of the rule-bending, risk-taking and laughs in the face of authority kind of character readers warm to. You can always trust him to do the right thing. Not necessarily the legally right thing or the thing the upper echelon wants him to do, but always the morally right thing.

It’s crime with a funny bone, despite the vicious nature of the crimes, and indeed the horrifying reason for said crimes. Poe is a character I would always return to, and Craven as a writer of course, because of the perfect balance of crime, injustice and jovial interaction between the characters.

Buy The Puppet Show at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher: Constable – Little Brown Uk: pub date 24 Jan 2019