The Puppet Show

De: M. W. Craven

Narrado por: John Banks

Duración: 9 h y 47 m

Resumen del Editor

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.

©2018 M. W. Craven (P)2018 Hachette Audio UK

Reseñas de la Crítica

"Dark, sharp and compelling." (Peter James)

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

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

That's a good book

I really enjoy it, likeable characters, despicable fiends, an extensive yarn with more twists and turns then a trip though the Moors
Can't wait to start the next one

Excellent!

I loved it! I’ve found another author and series to be obsessed over! Moving on to the next one.

Absolutely Amazing. Twists and Turns!

This was amazing. Tons of twists and turns keeping me off balance throughout the story.
It also helped that the Narrator's voice for Washington Poe sounds like Sean Bean!

Great story excellent narrative

My only criticism of this story was the dialogue between the protagonist and the antagonist towards the end. It branched off in a direction that made no sense.

Great Listen

This story took up most of a 2 day road trip. After the first hour, we couldn't get back into the car fast enough at rest stops. Highly recommend!

excellent

Great mystery. i really enjoyed the read except the character Flynn was a little weak.

A wonderful mystery

A mystery I didn't see coming. Nomral I can guess who the suspect is and have the plot figured out by halfway, but this I hadn't seen coming. Tilly is my favorite character by far. I loved the ending. At first I didn't understand why the story continued but the end wrapped up nicely.

10/10. Best crime novel I’ve read in years.

This is a walk-off home run. I loved it. Full of twists and turns, it’s a gripping detective story. Most fun crime novel I’ve read since a Harry Hole (Nesbo) novel a few years ago. Ordering Book Two now.

Fascinating premise

Let's talk about the narrator first. He was quite good, once I got used to his voices. I particularly liked his voice for Poe, who sounded almost exactly like Sean Bean. However, at times his inflections seemed a little off and his tempo was steady throughout, rather than adjusting faster or slower based on what's happening in the story.

I would have liked to have heard some more variation, but apart from that his narration was very good.

Now for the story.
I've always been fascinated by serial killer stories, although I tend to gravitate more toward true crime books than fictional novels.

And I have a reason for that. In true crime, the focus is usually at least 50% on the killer (sometimes much more than that), and frankly that's the part that fascinates me.

My favorite serial killer fiction are the Hannibal novels and psycho.

This one caused the same struggle I had with James Patterson's Alex Cross novels: the killer is basically incidental while we focus 90% (or more) on the detective.

This one has a huge advantage over Alex Cross in that regard, however: Washington Poe is actually interesting!

However, the most fascinating character in this book (and the one with the widest arc) is Tilly. She's such an awesome character, and once she gets pulled out of her comfort zone she grows, so much, into this amazing character who understands so much and yet so little at the same time.

I think a part of me fell in love with her, just a little bit.

Now, in keeping with my "no spoiler" policy, because there are so many twists and so many reveals, there's not a lot more I can say about the story.

Except for this.

My introduction to this book led me to expect some MASSIVE twists and turns. However, I found nothing shocking here. There were one or two twists I didn't quite see coming, but some were perfectly natural and others quite predictable.

That said, however, once the story finally gets going it is quite a ride and a lot of fun.

And if you're lucky enough not to see the ending coming, it's going to blow you away.

But, as I alluded to at the start, I would have liked to see more about the killer. The final explanations just seemed a little rushed and not wholly satisfying.

In closing, this is a fun (if gruesome) mystery with some genuine suspense and a few really awesome emotional moments. And while there are a few tangents that detract from that just a bit, they aren't weighty enough to overpower the story or the characters.

Excellent

Loved this book from page 1. Just enough of a damaged man to be a great cop. The story is interesting, the characters are well defined and the pace is perfect. The narrator is great too. You won't be disappointed.