Dead Ground cover art

Dead Ground

Washington Poe, Book 4

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Dead Ground

By: M. W. Craven
Narrated by: John Banks
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About this listen

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 Crime Crime Thrillers Modern Detectives Mystery Police Procedural Thriller Thriller & Suspense Fiction Murder Law Suspense

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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)
All stars
Most relevant  
Well read with great twists to the end. Looking forward to meeting Sgt Poe again.

Another enjoyable story

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Nothing better than listening to the glorious Poe and Tilly! I love their adventures and this one did not disappoint. Can’t recommend highly enough but start with the first.
Is there a romance on the cards for Poe? Could be interesting!
More please!!

Excellent

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Yes, it's a complicated storyline, but that's one reason I loved it. Sometimes, you might feel you have to suspend belief but overall this is a very, very good story and it is superbly narrated by John Banks. Another reviewer said that it reminded him of Le Carre and I have to wholeheartedly agree with this. There's nothing wrong with being compared to a storyline master and I feel that MW Craven is in the same stratospheric company as the best of the best.

Loved it

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Another brilliant Washington Poe story. complex but nit confusing, and perfectly read, as always. Thank you!

Excellent

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Well rounded characters with deep dark corners weaved into a fast moving story. Compelling listening

Great twisted plot

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Fantastic narration by John Banks
Another amazing instalment of the Washing Poe series. MW Craven most definitely keeps up a very high standard of writing.
A must read/listen.

Simply brilliant

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I like these Poe books but I’m not really a fan of the reader. It’s sort of reminds me of children’s presenters like Mathew Corbett orGeoffrey Hays!

Good story

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Have enjoyed all four books in the series. Can't wait for the next one later this year. Plot, charactors, and narrator are all excellent and entertaining.

Each book in the series gets better.

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I found this really difficult to get into. Where Poe previously seemed witty, committed and intelligent. He was just coming over as conceited, arrogant and, well mean, frankly. I put it down to the fact that the three pillars that make the book, namely, Flynn, Tilly and Poe were not together (no spoilers, but one of them has a smaller part in this book) and it’s each of these three in combination that create the dynamic of the relationship and in my opinion, the whole book. In fact, later in the book, the character of Poe alludes to the missing person, so perhaps it was clever writing, rather than a change in in the character.

One thing that was very irritating, I don’t recall it from the previous books, but maybe it was present, was the (what seemed like constant) “and that’s when…”. Once or twice may be amusing more than that irritating, for me anyway.

I’m glad I persevered because I did enjoy it. However, I don’t enjoy the authors notes at the end of the book. We’ve paid for your book, we’ve read or listened to your book, leave it at that and avoid the additional major backslapping of yourself.

Almost gave up

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What a read I am normally good at guessing where we are going next but not this time. The twists and turns where not what I expected and I couldn’t stop listening.
If you haven’t read this series make sure it’s the next on your list you will not be disappointed.

Best yet

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