Dead Ground

Washington Poe, Book 4

By: M. W. Craven

Narrated by: John Banks

Length: 10 hrs and 32 mins

Publisher's summary

Winner of the prestigious CWA IAN FLEMING STEEL DAGGER AWARD 2022

Longlisted for the Theakston Old Peculiar Crime Novel of the Year 2022

Detective Sergeant Washington Poe is in court, fighting eviction from his beloved and isolated croft, when he is summoned to a backstreet brothel in Carlisle where a man has been beaten to death with a baseball bat. Poe is confused—he hunts serial killers and this appears to be a straightforward murder-by-pimp—but his attendance was requested personally, by the kind of people who prefer to remain in the shadows.

As Poe and the socially awkward programmer Tilly Bradshaw delve deeper into the case, they are faced with seemingly unanswerable questions: despite being heavily vetted for a high-profile job, why does nothing in the victim's background check out? Why was a small ornament left at the murder scene—and why did someone on the investigation team steal it? And what is the connection to a flawlessly executed bank heist three years earlier, a heist where nothing was taken....

©2021 M. W. Craven (P)2021 Hachette Audio UK

Critic reviews

"Heart-pounding, hilarious, sharp and shocking, Dead Ground is further proof that M.W. Craven never disappoints. Miss this series at your peril." (Chris Whitaker)

"I've been following M.W. Craven's Poe/Tilly series from the very beginning, and it just gets better and better. Dead Ground is a fast-paced crime novel with as many twists and turns as a country lane. I can't wait for the next one." (Peter Robinson)

"Dead Ground is both entertaining and engaging with great characters and storyline. I loved this first dip into the world of Tilly and Poe!" (BA Paris)

Excellent

Another fantastic twisty satisfying Poe and Brandshaw mystery. This book was so well written with a layered plot and so many twists and turns. It was exceptional!

Outstanding

I am absolutely loving this series. Complex stories, intriguing characters and a strong sense of place. Have used up four credits just this week but worth it. Excellent narration as well.

Love it.

Once again, Washington Poe and pal bring another great book in the series. Looking forward to another

4.5 Stars 🌟

This is an author that I had been lucky enough to find, even though I apparently took a break between books in this series. I flew through the first three books in this series and then realized that the rest of the books were not out on audio yet. I intended to wait and look for them, but somehow...well, I guess I forgot.

Regardless, I rediscovered Mr. Craven and was thrilled to jump back in and join the crazy party that is Washington Poe and Tilly Bradshaw. I think that this series has taken a definite turn for perfection with the way these two characters have been developed and the relationship that they have with each other. Tilly is brilliant - genius level brilliant with absolutely no social skills or understanding of social nuances. Poe is very good at reading and understanding people, not as intellectually smart, but really needs some help with his people skills. What more can you ask for in a detective duo? I know, I know....it doesn't sound like it should work, but it does. It really does.

This case is another one of those that start out as one thing, but by the time you get to the end, it is a completely different thing. No spoilers, it's just good.

So- gotta go. I've got another book in this series to read/listen to now.

High quality continues

Another excellent book from Mike Craven. The characters are outstanding, the story is complicated and most entertaining. Terrific narration. A great fourth episode in the series of Poe and Tilly.