The Killer's Mark (Washington Poe #8) M.W. Craven

Blurb:

"A MONSTER. A MOTHER. A MURDER?

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…"

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Absolute masterclass in crime fiction! 

I have been following Washington Poe and Tilly Bradshaw for a while now somehow we've got to book eight in this series which you would think might start to become a little stale, but not so by a long way.

This time around Poe and Tilly have left the NCA behind to set up their own private detective gig – complete with a sign on the door declaring themselves "Gumshoes for Hire".  Poe's hoping for a quiet life but that all vanishes when a feisty fifteen year old girl, Esmerée, walks through the door.  She wants them to find her mother, someone she believed was dead until seeing her alive in a video online.  What starts as a straightforward missing persons inquiry quickly spirals into a dark, complex case involving Chinese triads, corruption and lethal secrets that threaten to pull everyone under.

The plot is brilliantly constructed with twists that hit when you least expect them.  Craven handles some heavy themes here but the trademark banter between Poe and Tilly provides that perfect, laugh out loud light in the darkness.  Seeing Tilly step up and take charge in certain parts of this investigation was fantastic, and the dynamic between the two of them is as brilliant as ever.

If you're looking for a fast paced thriller, trust me, you won't be able to put this down.

My thanks to M W Craven, Little, Brown Book Group and NetGalley for enabling me to read and share my thoughts of this, another fantastic addition to a brilliant series.

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