☼ Delighted to host today's stop on this exciting blog tour ☼
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Little Brown Books 4 June 2020 My thanks to the publishers for my copy of this book and the invitation to be part of the blog tour |
A serial killer is leaving displayed body parts all over Cumbria.
A strange message is left at each scene.
Called in to investigate, the National Crime Agency's Washington Poe and Tilly Bradshaw are faced with a case that makes no sense. Why were some victims anaesthetized, while others died in appalling agony? Why is their only suspect denying what they can irrefutably prove but admitting to things they weren't even aware of? And why did the victims all take the same two weeks off work three years earlier? And when a disgraced FBI agent gets in touch things take an even darker turn. Because she doesn't think Poe is dealing with a serial killer at all; she thinks he's dealing with someone far, far worse - a man who calls himself the Curator.
And nothing will ever be the same again...
What did I think about it..
It's not your average Christmas in Cumbria as random body parts seem to be turning up in the most bizarre places and other than leaving only a strange sort of calling card at the scene there are no other clues as to the identity of the killer. From the very start of The Curator I was absolutely gripped by another exciting glimpse into the world of murky crime, and as National Crime Agency investigator's Washington Poe and Tilly Bradshaw are about to discover, crime doesn't get much murkier than what's happening in their current investigation.
As we have come to expect from this author, the story moves along at an absolutely cracking pace and both Poe and Tilly find that they are constantly thwarted by a killer who seems to be able to keep one step ahead of them at every twist and turn. There's so much going on that I can't even begin to recount the story, so I am not going to disturb any of the crime scene by telling you details of the plot other than to say be prepared to do absolutely nothing until the whole of this incredibly complex investigation has come to its VERY dramatic conclusion.
With each successive story this talented crime writer just goes from from absolute strength to strength, and just when you think Cumbrian crime can't get any darker, along comes another story which blows everything out of the water. Taut, tight and so very, very dark, The Curator had me, quite literally, on the edge of my seat, and even though I was reading this book on one of the hottest days of the year, in my mind, I was chilled to the bone in icy, cold Cumbria with Poe and Tilly as they search and search for a ruthless killer.
If you enjoy gritty crime novels, and be warned, these aren't stories for the faint hearted, and if you haven't read any of the Washington Poe series of novels before, then I urge you to start at the very beginning to fully appreciate this series from the start. You won't be disappointed.
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 a decade later to complete a social work degree and spent seventeen years as a probation officer in Cumbria, rising to the rank of assistant chief officer. The first in the Washington Poe series, The Puppet Show, won the 2019 CWA Gold Dagger, has sold in numerous foreign territories and has been optioned for TV by Studio Lambert. M. W. Craven has been shortlisted for the Goldsboro Glass Bell Award and an Amazon Reader Award. He is also the author of the Avison Fluke novels, Born in a Burial Ground (shortlisted for the CWA Debut Dagger) and Body Breaker. The second in the Washington Poe series, Black Summer was published in June 2019.
The Curator is out now and available to buy at all good book outlets.
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