The Puppet Show cover art

The Puppet Show

Winner of the CWA Gold Dagger Award 2019

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About this listen

 'Fantastic' Martina Cole

'Dark, sharp and compelling' Peter James

'A thrilling curtain raiser for what looks set to be a great new series' Mick Herron

*SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2019 CWA GOLD DAGGER AWARD*

*SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2019 BEST CRIME NOVEL OF THE YEAR IN THE AMAZON PUBLISHING READERS' AWARDS*

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 ...

Find out why everyone loves The Puppet Show

'A page turner' Sun

'A powerful thriller from an explosive new talent. Tightly plotted, and not for the faint hearted!'
David Mark

'A gripping start to a much anticipated new series' Vaseem Khan

'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

'Britain's answer to Harry Bosch' Matt Hilton

'Dark, disturbing and so very clever. Highly recommended' Anne Cater©2018 M. W. Craven Crime Thrillers Modern Detectives Mystery Police Procedural Thriller & Suspense Thriller Crime Fiction Exciting Suspense

Critic reviews

A thrilling curtain-raiser for what looks set to be a great new series. (Mick Herron)
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)
Mike Craven is a forceful new voice in British crime fiction. (Caro Ramsay)
Washington Poe is a name destined to be spoken by crime fiction enthusiasts everywhere: Britain's answer to Harry Bosch. The Puppet Show is a wickedly, twisting and turning, mystery that will have readers breathlessly turning the pages until the final shocking conclusion. (Matt Hilton, author of the Joe Hunter series)
This book is twisted and dark and I loved it - not sure what that says about me (Simon Toyne)
A brilliant start to what promises to be a fantastic series; get it now or kick yourself for missing out (Graham Smith)
Dark, sharp and compelling (Peter James)
Nothing you've ever read will prepare you for the utterly unique Washington Poe (Keith Nixon)
A gripping start to a much anticipated new series (Vaseem Khan)
A page turner
All stars
Most relevant
Brilliantly written, superbly narrated, I thoroughly enjoyed this book, the characters had an impact on me, I loved the friendship between Tilly and Washington, laughing out loud on more than one occasion because Tilly's innocence was so sweet.

The story was excellent, and kept me guessing. I feel sad having to wait for the next book in the series!

What a find!

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Great story line. Find the characters to be really well developed. the Poe & Tilly combo is entertaining.

Brilliant 👏

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Anyone who has watched Mark Kermode’s programmes on film genres knows that genre films and books follow certain rules. That’s exactly what this book is. No major messing with the formula but you can tick off the times each genre piece falls into place. This is not the same as the book saying the book is poor. I enjoyed it even though I worked out who and how very early on.

Genre fiction

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excellent book, a real page turner that highlights the evil of child abuse and a system that looks the other way. Great read.

The puppet show

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Struggling to find new detective audio novels to listen. This is excellent, within the first few hours you feel you know the characters and are invested in the outcome of the story. Really well written too

What a gem

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