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...
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
No comments:
Post a Comment