The Poe and Bradshaw series is one of the best detective series I have read. They are incredibly dark, up to their waist in blood and gore, but also feature so much heart and humour through their characterisation. You keep coming back to the stories because you want to see these characters grow and change. Craven keeps these different dynamics balanced impeccably with shifting relationships and this sprawling overarching story that you just have to know the answers to. The series is not afraid to go there with extremely difficult topics covered and shocking scenes. It exposes the true darkness and monstrosity of humanity, showcasing examples of absolute evil. Craven has also delivered some of my favourite twists with this series. There are multiple examples that still make my jaw drop. All of this and so much more is delivered yet again here with a story that remains with you long after the final page.
This latest instalment sees Poe and Bradshaw in new territory after the explosive events of the last book. They are operating in a new manner, which loosens the guidelines around them and makes their moral territory even murkier. When a teenage girl knocks on their door, they are drawn into a web of secrets, lies and international implications that may just be their toughest case yet. The development of these two characters, as well as their three-dimensional, lovable supporting cast of rogues, is the shining light of this series. They are two vastly different people with some excellent humour emanating from their clashes but they also would go to the ends of the earth for one another. Poe is a fractured man who is carrying the weight of the past books but his intellect is still sharp, his instincts keen and his belly craving some pie and pints. Tilly Bradshaw is a deeply caring character whose intelligence is frankly frightening. She could make or destroy the world if she so chose. Luckily, her powers are channelled for good and seeing the way she’s grown from her first introduction is heart-warming. This is a series that champions found family and forging bonds in blood, trauma and being able to fight your way out of the hole you are stuck in. These people have stolen slivers of my heart.
Craven’s writing is always incredibly cutting and this is no exception with horrifying scenes and delving into topics that will make your skin crawl. There is a relentlessness to the pacing that makes it impossible to tear yourself away from the pages. It is brutal and Craven makes you sit in the continuous horror that unfolds as the story reaches its explosive crescendo. There are layers to the evil in this book and it is deftly handled by a master of the genre.
It is a complicated book that sits within the morally grey, especially as events escalate towards the latter half of the story. Poe and Bradshaw have always sat in an ambiguous place in terms of the law, with the series often occupied with questions of justice, vengeance and how power affects the dynamics of a case. This takes it step further with a conspiracy that will unnerve you and has far-reaching effects for the world of these stories. I think the book is brilliantly encapsulated by a conversation Poe has with a certain character towards the end of the book. It is a scene composed of dialogue but the tension chokes you from the page. There is this palpable sense of menace and death, it is a blood-stained scene that is all the more horrifying because of the seemingly quiet nature of it. Those climactic confrontations with evil have always been brilliantly delivered within the series, especially as they often reveal the nuance of situations and the messiness of humanity that has culminated in violence. This ending though is one that will leave you with a queasy feeling in your stomach and plenty of questions about the consequences this will have. Fans of the series are in for one last surprise as Craven leaves you on a dastardly cliffhanger too.
The Killer’s Mark is a macabrely magnificent book that feels eerily prescient. Come for the guts, stay for the whip-smart humour and characterisation. Either way, you’ll be entirely lost in its grip.
The Killer’s Mark is available Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Bookshop.org, Waterstones, and other good book retailers, like your local bookstore.
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Synopsis
When Vice Admiral Boyer, RN (retd) died without leaving a will, his estranged daughter inherited his – not inconsiderable – estate. Called home to sort through his belongings, she found an AegisBox – a tamper proof safe within a safe designed to self-destruct if anyone without the code attempts to open it. Unable to walk away without the truth, she uncovered something so horrifying it launched the biggest investigation in the National Crime Agency’s history. Five years later, Washington Poe is unwittingly, and unwillingly, sucked into its gravity…
Finally able to escape the authority they railed against, Washington Poe and Tilly Bradshaw are enjoying their new jobs as private detectives or – as the sign on their door says – ‘Gumshoes for Hire’. When a teenage girl walks into their office, looking for the mother she long believed to be dead, they agree to take the case. As Poe and Tilly investigate the girl’s claims, they find themselves drawn into a murky world of trafficking, pornography and prostitution. Will they be able to help the girl find her mother, or will the dark forces at work, who will stop at nothing to protect themselves, get there first…
