Washington Poe has a story to tell you…

When a body is found tied to a Cumbrian landmark, the Lightning Tree, stoned to death, Washington Poe and his team are called in, but the story didn’t begin there.

It didn’t begin months earlier when Poe discovered a murder in a churchyard.

It began years ago, in a hidden basement, with the most unspeakable thing Poe has ever encountered in his life.

It began with the Mercy Chair…

Sometimes, reviewing a favourite series can be difficult. You have a connection to the characters, you have enjoyed the books so far, so there is a certain loyalty to the series. Hence when you pick up the latest in a series, there is for me a certain trepidation – maybe this is the book where the series jumps the shark. Maybe this is the book where autopilot has kicked in. What if, as a reviewer, I have to be not 100% positive about the book?

After all, the Washington Poe series has only failed to win the Puzzly (my book of the month) once, and that’s because I read the first two books in the same month. Every book has been an impeccable combination of dark thriller and dark humour and have stood head and shoulders about the competition. The next book from this series has one of the highlights of my reading year – can this possibly be as good as what has gone before?

No. It’s even better. It’s one of finest books I’ve read in a very long time.

Craven picks some very dark themes here but as with previous books, he finds a way to write about them in an utterly chilling way without ever being prurient. There are so many books that I’ve read (or, more usually, stopped reading) that choose chilling actions and dwell on the details. Somehow – and I’ve no idea how he does it – Craven writes about these things without hiding the darkness and yet makes them a compelling part of the story. While the imagery may be shocking, it is clear that these things are supposed to be shocking and they have a profound effect on those who experience and witness them, Poe in particular, who, as you might expect, experiences the worst of everything.

The idea that Poe is not indestructible is an essential part of this series and these events have quite rightly pushed him right to the edge (if not a little further) as they should, and it’s clear that their effects will stretch beyond the end of the book, again, not something that is that common in the genre. The characters here act and react as real people would do, which, given the sort of book this is, is quite an achievement from Craven.

Plot-wise, I don’t want to say too much as the blurb is nicely vague, and the les you know the better. I’ve tried to be vaguer than usual with my own blurb – sorry, Mike, for wholesale pinching the joke, but no one will spot it – probably.

It’s also interesting to see the changes in the status quo that the book brings, but I’ll say no more than that.

One thing – I do notice that my copy of the book is labelled as a “Poe and Bradshaw” thriller. Interesting, as Tilly, Poe’s best friend and all-round genius (especially in Maths) seemed to be in the book less that usual – she’s in it a fair bit, just seemed to be missing for a good chunk of the second half. It’s probably for the best, as I wouldn’t want her anywhere near some of the stuff going on here, but hopefully we’ll see more of her in the future, as there’s aren’t enough serial-killer hunting mathematicians out there…

The Mercy Chair is out from Constable/Little, Brown in hardback and ebook on Thursday 6^th June and you should buy it because it’s bloody awesome. Many thanks for the review copy.