The second book in the Washington Poe series. After I finished the first book in no time, I picked this one up and was agIn transfixed to the spot by M.W Cravens brilliance.

Washington Poe along with Tilly and their boss DI Stephanie Flynn are back and Black Summer opens the way it means to go on. I just couldn't get enough of this case. The author has a knack of horrifying you while making you need to know everything and NOW!

I love this series and I wish I had got to it before now! Thanks to NetGalley for the copy of the book.

This latest round of reviews is brought to you under the heading “Fancy A Quickie.” I am not reviewing erotica I am grabbing an opportune moment to get down and dirty and rip back the covers to expose two books and tell you about the time we spent together in bed.

Yup, these are books I read in bed during nights I struggled to find sleep. Part of the reason I struggled to sleep was down to the fact I was enjoying these stories. But when I finish a book in bed I don’t review it there and then and all too often the review remains unwritten. Until now. Two quick reviews follow.

First up the second book in M.W. Craven’s excellent Washington Poe series: Black Summer.

Black Summer brings back the most readable duo in crime fiction: Washington Poe and Tilly Bradshaw. The pair met in The Puppet Show and I was very keen to see what may lie in store for them next – particularly as The Puppet Show was a dark, gritty page turner.

The good news is that Black Summer is another absolute gem. Poe finds himself not just facing a perplexing mystery which links to a former case he was involved in but also a mystery which drags him very much into the firing line in the present day. But when Poe is in trouble he has an advantage over his opponents which will always give him the edge to endure…Tilly Bradshaw.

Jared Keaton is the villain of the piece and he very much enjoys the limelight which he gets within the story and is a dominating figure that Craven uses to great effect. There is a palpable power-struggle in Black Summer which has Poe and Bradshaw on one side with Keaton using all the resources of the law to undermine the postition of the police officer he is trying to bring down.

Although this is the second book in the series it was the third I had read. After each book I have the same mantra – you need to be reading this series. Terrific fun.

I was looking forward to this book and it did not disappoint. I just loved it especially on characters of Tilly and Poe. They build on their story from the first book in the series and you can see their friendship grow. The story is interesting with twists and turn, with the story growing to the end. Can’t wait for the next Tilly and Poe story. Thank you net gallery for letting me review this book.

Follow-up to 'The Puppet Show' featuring DS Washington Poe. A clever and complex crime thriller that will keep you totally captivated. Highly recommend.

Having absolutely loved The Puppet Show, the first book in the Washington Poe series, I wondered how M.W. Craven could possibly write a book good enough to follow it. Well he's only gone and done it with Black Summer; a book that is as unputdownable as it is unforgettable, but more about that unforgettable part later.

I have to admit to being slightly disappointed that my favourite analyst, Tilly Bradshaw, didn't feature from the start but it's more realistic and in-keeping with Poe's solitary characteristics not to have them joined at the hip. The compelling plot more than made up for Tilly's initial absence and what a plot it is. It had me on the edge of my seat, scratching my head and admittedly holding back a bit of vomit at times. It's so very clever and highly original that it keeps the reader on their toes and I decided to enjoy the ride and save the inevitable headache from trying to second guess the unguessable.

I don't want to give away any spoilers but I just have to mention the unforgettable part of the book for me. It's all down to M.W. Craven's brilliantly vivid and descriptive writing and I now have my own proof that 'the book was better'. The story in Black Summer revolves around a famous chef and there's a particular dish that is served to Poe which had my stomach heaving. I paused to google it and found that the same dish had been featured in the TV show Billions. Now I've seen and enjoyed every episode of Billions but could only vaguely remember the dish in question when I saw images from the episode. M.W. Craven's writing is so exquisitely evocative that reading about something made so much more of an impression than seeing it on the screen. Bravo Mr. Craven!

Black Summer is an outstanding follow up to The Puppet Show and it would read very well as a standalone too. With a breathtakingly brilliant plot and characters that are second to none, Black Summer is an unmissable book. Scooping a full house of stars, this is a very highly recommended book.

I chose to read an ARC in ebook format and then bought a paperback for my M.W. Craven collection; this is my honest and unbiased opinion.

Black Summer is #2 in the Washington Poe series, but can also be read as a stand-alone.

In a small village in Cumbria, Police Officer Alsop holds a monthly surgery in the local library. Here village residents can voice their concerns and worries they have.

At one of these sessions a young woman arrives, all dishevelled and tells him she had been kidnapped 6 years ago and has just managed to escape.

DS Poe is called back from London to help with the investigation, as he had been involved in the original case. Is this woman Elizabeth who had disappeared 6 years ago? DNA says it is, but Poe has doubts…...had he put an innocent man behind bars?

Black Summer is an utterly compelling crime thriller. Poe and Tilly are great characters and the clever, twisty plot keeps you on tenterhooks. A fantastic, original and gripping read.

Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for an eARC of Black Summer.

Unfortunately I didn't start the series at book 1, but I really think Black Summer can be read nicely without any hassles as a standalone. I have no words to really do this book justice. I just couldn't stop reading it, nothing is as it seems from the start, full of many twists and turns until the very end. This book is highly recommended, really just do it!
TB

I adored the first book in this series The Puppet Show – and so I was quietly confident I would enjoy Black Summer just as much.. but I didn’t … I actually enjoyed it MORE… as Simon Cowell might say.. I didn’t like it… I LOVED it!

Black Summer follows on from The Puppet Show and whilst it can be read as a standalone, I personally always recommend starting a series at book 1 and therefore you get to know and understand the main characters, their back stories and follow their journeys through each book.

In this book we once again meet up with Tilly Bradshaw and Washington Poe and this time they are faced with a complex case that could put Poe in prison. It’s a fast paced cat and mouse game which puts these two fabulous characters in a race against time to solve the case and stop anyone else from being killed or Poe being arrested.

The relationship between these two characters is absolutely FABULOUS, the banter, the mutual understanding and respect, their loyalty to each other is a joy to read about. Tilly Bradshaw is a breath of fresh air, a socially awkward computer geek who is often unintentionally tactless in her own unique and observational way but brings a much needed injection of humour to this dark and disturbing series.

There’s not much I want to add to this review, except READ IT and if you haven’t read book 1 – READ THAT NOW.

Black Summer is a clever, witty, compelling, complex, action packed crime thriller which will keep the readers on their toes, turning those pages and being totally entertained from the opening paragraph to the final sentence. LOVED IT.

Absolutely enjoyed from start to finish, u didn't want the book to end. Highly recommended, if you like books that keep you guessing and on the edge of your seat.

4.5 stars
Setting the scene with an opening chapter that pulls you straight in to the story hook line and sinker I felt this book was going to be a good one and it did not disappoint.
The book is based around the reappearance of a girl six years after she was supposedly murdered. Her Father is in prison serving time for the crime that he obviously now didn't commit and Washington Poe was the one who put him behind bars and now he is on a mission with his side kick Tilly Bradshaw to prove what happened. This made for a action packed, dark, grisly, gruesome tale with some heart warming moments of humour between Poe and Tilly.
The characterisation was really good drawing me in as the reader to really feel for them as they had their ups and downs.
This author cleverly crafts a riveting tale with the right amount of tension to keep you totally captivated. One of the best police procedural books I have read.
My thanks go to the author, publisher and Netgalley in providing this arc for a honest review.

Another amazing book in the series . I just love the characters in these book . Can’t wait till number 3 . Another easy 5 stars

I read this book a while ago and thought I had already posted the review.
LOVED LOVED LOVED this book.
This is the first book I have ever read that made me feel queasy and want to turn vegetarian, I would love to know where M.W.Craven gets his ideas.
I am a massive fan of Poe and Tilly and i was over the moon a second book was written and it didn't disappoint. Another fantastic story that kept me hooked.
A must read for everyone!
☆☆☆☆☆+ for me

I actually feel a little bereft after finishing this.

Like the previous book of Poe’s adventures this too had me hooked from the outset.

Between the ongoing storyline of the main characters and the many twists and turns, this had me enthralled.

Thoroughly recommended.

The Puppet Show was my favourite read of 2019 so I was extremely eager to get my hands on the 2nd book. Unfortunately, I feel like this book never got started (please don't hate me!)

I love the connection that Poe and Tilly have in this book, I feel like they bring each other out of their shells. I enjoyed the investigation side of the story, it just didnt have me hooked like the first book.

The opening chapter of this book is particularly gruesome but also quite a genius move. It sets up the tone of the story perfectly and re-introduces us back to Washington Poe. Oh I have missed him! It is a few chapters until we are back with Tilly Bradshaw but it is worth the wait.

In The Puppet Show, Tilly was the unsung hero and it is brilliant to be back with her again. Still awkward but decidedly more confident, she even has her own Scooby Gang! She is a breath of fresh air as she once again comes to the rescue of Poe as a case from his past comes back to haunt him. When Poe was behind the life sentence of famous chef Jared Keaton for the murder of his daughter Elizabeth, it appeared to be an open and shut case. So when Elizabeth walks into a police station and claims she has been held captive for a number of years, a can of worms is opened and Poe is at the forefront of it all. He immediately begins to doubt himselfand everything that he believed in. How could he be so wrong? Is there something deeper going on? When Elizabeth once again disappears, Poe senses he is being set up for a genius crime.

The entire storyline is a brilliant cat and mouse chase. The seemingly confident Jared Keaton holds all the cards and we really do begin to wonder if Poe has indeed got it wrong Keaton always appears to have an answer. As ever though, Poe has his support network of the genius Tilly who is determined to help Poe. But even when she struggles to find any evidence to clear Poe, you do begin to almost worry and I definitely felt myself tense up as I got more involved and invested in the plot.

This is such a brilliant follow up to The Puppet Show and even better if that is possible! Like other reviews I have read, I just couldn’t quite figure out how things had been done and this made me eager to keep reading.  How can someone we alive and dead at the same time? Indeed….

I’ll leave that for you to figure out!

Highly recommended from me.

I was really looking forward to reading Black Summer after loving The Puppet Show, book one in this series and I was not disappointed.

Poe is up against Jared Keaton, a chef who was convicted of killing his own daughter. However, said daughter has now just turned up alive and well and all eyes are on Poe Has Poe made a mistake? Did he convict the wrong man? Poe is totally baffled as all roads appear to lead to a wrongful conviction. What makes these books for me apart from the brilliant storytelling are the beautifully drawn characters. Tilly and Poe's working relationship is especially endearing as are Poe and the dog!!

Black Summer is a brilliant, entertaining novel and follows on nicely from book one. Can't wait to meet Tilly and Poe again. Highly recommend.

I absolutely loved the first book in this series The Puppet Show so I was a little nervous heading into this, however it didn't disappoint! I love the working relationship between Poe and Tilly, they definitely make me more invested in the case.

I love Tilly Bradshaw. She may not be a people person but her brain is amazing! Poe texts her, 13 hours later she’s banging on his door in the deepest darkest depths of Cumbria, cases handed over and gadgets galore. She is amazing. She is fast becoming one of my personal favourite characters! “Poe ate testicles” 😂😂

The loveable Washington Poe has got himself in a pickle. He got a smarmy chef convicted for murder but what’s this, the murder victim has returned from the dead, WHAT THE HELL?!? Suddenly it’s a race against the Cumbrian police headed up by a DCI who doesn’t seem to like our Poe and is hell bent of getting him behind bars by any which way!

And this smarmy chef, Keaton…he made my skin crawl!!!! Each time he appears on the page, I moved my kindle slightly further away from my face. He’s just one of those characters who you instantly dislike

Now Mr Craven makes me smile. His little quips are may seem like throw away comments or characters every so often he’ll throw in something to show his dark and warped sense of humour.

Black Summer is a twisted tale, Craven has upped his writing game with this second book in the series. The relationship between Poe and Tilly has taken on a new level and I personally loved it. CAN NOT WAIT FOR THE CURATOR!!!!!

i literally couldn't put it down my favourite crime book of 2019 .Highly recommend you read both M.W. Craven's books you will not regret it .

Oh my word, where the heck do I begin with this story. Honestly I am totally lost for words and I’ll apologise to anyone who knows me because after I read The Puppet Show (Book 1) I never shut up about it, my daughter read it and even my 81 year granny-in-law read it because I raved about it so much and I’m doing the same with Black Summer. It’s soooooo good.

It’s great to be back with Poe and Tilly, they’re like a special drop of medicine. No matter what kind of situation they find themselves in, the chemistry these two have will bring a smile to anyone’s face. Poe is quite charming, he’s determined but he doesn’t always like to play by the rules and Tilly is extremely clever, very socially awkward and doesn’t have any filter when it comes to sharing personal information but they work so well together and are a complete joy to read about.

In Black Summer Poe and Tilly find themselves with a very difficult case on their hands. When Elizabeth Keaton vanished, Jared Keaton her father was sentenced to life for her murder with the help of Poe’s testimony. Now Elizabeth has materialised as if from nowhere throwing a complete spanner in the works. Poe was convinced Jared killed his daughter but how can she be alive and dead at the same time and to make matters worse, Elizabeth goes missing again.

I honestly think I spent maybe 3/4 of this book with my mouth hanging open, especially at the beginning of the book. What a way to open, I’ll not say anymore but oh boy. I’m not sure how Mr Craven comes up with these plots, he maybe has a warped mind or maybe he is just very very clever but wow, I salute him. There isn’t a page where I wasn’t totally invested in the story and the characters and I really couldn’t see where this story was taking me. Each twist and turn was a surprise.

I could probably ramble on and on telling you how good Black Summer is so I’ll just let you find out for yourselves, obviously after you’ve read The Puppet Show if you haven’t already and if you haven’t, then why not? It’s super good too.

Black Summer could be read as a stand-alone but I definitely recommend The Puppet Show first, not only is it a cracker too but it gives you a real feel for the characters and they are just brilliant.

So to everyone I know and buy Christmas presents for, guess what you’re getting?