Black Summer

Preview

Failed to add items

Sorry, we are unable to add the item because your shopping cart is already at capacity.

Add to basket failed.

Please try again later

Add to wishlist failed.

Please try again later

Remove from wishlist failed.

Please try again later

Adding to library failed

Please try again

Follow podcast failed

Unfollow podcast failed

£0.00 for first 30 days

LIMITED TIME OFFER

Get 3 months for £0.99/mo

Get this deal

Try Premium Plus free

Offer ends 29 January 2026 at 11:59PM GMT.

Prime members: New to Audible? Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.

Just £0.99/mo for your first 3 months of Audible.

1 bestseller or new release per month—yours to keep.

Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, podcasts, and Originals.

Auto-renews at £8.99/mo after 3 months. Cancel monthly.

Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.

Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.

Access exclusive sales and deals.

£8.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically.

Black Summer

By: M. W. Craven

Narrated by: John Banks

Get this deal

Try Premium Plus free

£8.99/mo after 3 months. Cancel monthly. Offer ends 29 January 2026 at 11:59PM GMT.

£8.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £12.99

LIMITED TIME OFFER | £0.99/mo for the first 3 months

Premium Plus auto-renews at £8.99/mo after 3 months. Terms apply.

About this listen

'A brutal and thrilling page-turner' The Sun

'Compelling' Heat

'The best pure mystery plot of the year' Morning Star

'Gleefully gory and witty, with a terrific sense of place' Sunday Mirror

LONGLISTED FOR THE CWA GOLD DAGGER
______________________

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.

The gripping new thriller in the Washington Poe series from M. W. Craven, winner of the CWA Gold Dagger Award for best crime novel of 2019.

Praise for Black Summer:

'Dark, sharp and compelling' PETER JAMES

'Fantastic' MARTINA COLE

'Britain's answer to Harry Bosch' MATT HILTON

'A powerful thriller from an explosive new talent' DAVID MARK

'Truly mind-blowing' A. A. Dhand

'A book that shines with tension, wit and invention' William Shaw

'Washington Poe - a rising giant in detective fiction' Alison Bruce

'A twisty thriller with a killer plot Ed James

'I loved this book!' Jo Jakeman

'One of the best British crime novels I've read in a long time . . . Simply an unputdownable page-turner' Nick Oldham

'Grabs you from the very first page. A dark and brilliantly twisted crime thriller' Colin Falconer

'Dark and twisted in all the right places' Robert Scragg

'In Tilly and Poe, MW Craven has created a stand-out duo who are two of the most compelling characters in crime fiction in recent years' Fiona Cummins

'Dark, thrilling and unputdownable' Victoria Selman©2019 M. W. Craven

Crime Thrillers

Thriller & Suspense

Thriller

Crime

Fiction

Suspense

Exciting

Mystery

Listeners also enjoyed...

The Engine House: A Black Beacons Murder Mystery cover art

A Litter of Bones: A Scottish Crime Thriller cover art

Absolute Zero: Misadventures from a Broad cover art

Critic reviews

Dark, sharp and compelling (Peter James on The Puppet Show )

A book that shines with tension, wit and invention (William Shaw)

A thrilling curtain-raiser for what looks set to be a great new series (Mick Herron on The Puppet Show )

Mike Craven is a forceful new voice in British crime fiction (Caro Ramsay)

Gripping. Taut. Twisty (Imran Mahmood)

Dark and twisted in all the right places. Poe is a great mix of compelling, complex & charismatic, and well on his way to becoming one of the standout characters in crime fiction (Robert Scragg)

Fantastic (Martina Cole on The Puppet Show)

I cannot recall the last time I binge read a novel in 36 hours . . . truly mind-blowing (A. A. Dhand)

So dark and twisty (Elly Griffiths)

Satisfyingly twisty and clever and the flashes of humour work well to offer the reader respite from the thrill of the read (Michael J. Malone)

A powerful thriller from an explosive new talent. Tightly plotted, and not for the faint-hearted! (David Mark on The Puppet Show)

In Tilly and Poe, MW Craven has created a stand-out duo who are two of the most compelling characters in crime fiction in recent years. They deserve to join the ranks of Holmes and Watson, Rebus and Clarke, Hill and Jordan (Fiona Cummins)

Washington Poe is a name destined to be spoken by crime fiction enthusiasts everywhere: Britain's answer to Harry Bosch . . . a wickedly, twisting and turning, mystery that will have readers breathlessly turning the pages until the final shocking conclusion (Matt Hilton on The Puppet Show )

This book is twisted and dark and I loved it - not sure what that says about me (Simon Toyne on The Puppet Show)

A brilliant start to what promises to be a fantastic series; get it now or kick yourself for missing out (Graham Smith on The Puppet Show)

Washington Poe - a rising giant in detective fiction (Alison Bruce)

A twisty thriller with a killer plot, backed up by solid research with characters you'll want to keep spending time with (Ed James)

One of the best British crime novels I've read in a long time. It's a great, brilliantly researched plot, not so much a whodunnit, more how the hell can that be? Simply an unputdownable page-turner (Nick Oldham)

Grabs you from the very first page. A dark and brilliantly twisted crime thriller, bringing back the inimitable Washington Poe and Tilly Bradshaw. You have to leave your fingerprints all over it (Colin Falconer)

Dark, thrilling and unputdownable with sharply drawn characters that stride off the page (Victoria Selman)

Most relevant

After reading The Puppet Show twice and loving it I couldn’t wait to read this beauty. Just when I thought M.W. Craven couldn’t get any better, he did just that and has blown my brain! OMFG this book is mind blowing….I just didn’t want it to end! and that is no exaggeration.

I actually listened to this audio, seems to be my thing at the moment. But this story is so damn good I actually had to stop listening to it….Can you believe that?! then two days later I finally listened to the last hour.

A big shout out to the narrator John Banks I absolutely loved the way the story was told, the narrators voice just suits the story. If you know what I mean.

This book blows all the books I have read out of the water, and I am just so excited for you all to read it. From Brilliant characters to an epic plot. I guarantee that you wont be disappointed. I can’t wait for the next book. This is without a doubt the one of the best books I have read/listened to this year!

If your looking for a book that will keep you on the edge of your seat then this is the book for you. Which I cannot recommend enough giving it all the stars.