M.W. Craven Books in Order
The complete Washington Poe series — all 7 novels in reading order
M.W. Craven is one of the most exciting names in British crime fiction — winner of the Crime Writers' Association Gold Dagger for The Puppet Show, he is the creator of Washington Poe, a Serious Crime Analysis Section detective who lives alone on a remote Cumbrian peel tower farm and operates at the very edge of his organisation's tolerance. Poe is brilliant, blunt, and pathologically unable to let anything go. His analyst partner Tilly Bradshaw — a mathematical genius who understands numbers far better than she understands people — is one of crime fiction's great double acts. The series is tightly plotted, darkly atmospheric, and frequently very funny.
Washington Poe Series — All Books in Order
1. The Puppet Show
Bodies are being burned on the prehistoric stone circles of Cumbria — and the victims appear to have been chosen for a reason that no one can identify. Washington Poe, recently reinstated after a misconduct case, is assigned to investigate. His first meeting with analyst Tilly Bradshaw is one of crime fiction's great introductions. The Puppet Show won the Crime Writers' Association Gold Dagger in 2019 — one of the genre's highest honours. Start here.
Buy on Amazon →
2. Black Summer
A woman apparently dead for six years walks into a police station. Washington Poe investigates a case built on an impossible premise — and finds that the original investigation was far more corrupt than anyone suspected. Black Summer expands the series' scope while deepening both Poe's character and his relationship with Tilly Bradshaw. A second novel that is, if anything, better than the first.
Buy on Amazon →
3. The Curator
A serial killer known as The Curator is leaving bodies displayed as if in a museum — and has sent Washington Poe a message, making the investigation personal. Craven raises the stakes considerably in the third novel, testing Poe and Bradshaw with a case that targets them directly while they pursue one of the series' most theatrical and frightening antagonists.
Buy on Amazon →
DI Tremayne — Phillip Strang
Washington Poe's Cumbria — ancient landscapes, remote communities, crimes rooted in history — finds its closest match in DI Tremayne's Wiltshire. An unconventional detective working the chalk downlands and prehistoric sites of rural England, where buried secrets have a way of surfacing. The same atmospheric British crime fiction, different terrain. 10 books.
Browse the Series →
4. Dead Ground
A senior MI5 officer is found dead — and the investigation immediately runs into a wall of classified information and official obstruction. Poe and Bradshaw are drawn into the murky world of intelligence services, where the rules that normally protect them do not apply. A thriller that moves the series into new and more politically charged territory without losing any of its character-driven warmth.
Buy on Amazon →
5. The Botanist
Someone is sending people personalised flowers — and then killing them. Washington Poe investigates a meticulously planned murder campaign with a floral signature that Tilly Bradshaw's data analysis begins to decode. The Botanist is Craven's most precisely constructed novel to date, a thriller in which every detail is placed deliberately and the solution, when it comes, is both surprising and inevitable.
Buy on Amazon →
6. The Mercy Chair
A victim is found in a chair, posed as if waiting for something — and the investigation leads Poe and Bradshaw into a world of extreme ideology and calculated cruelty. The Mercy Chair continues Craven's run of tightly plotted, character-rich thrillers that have established the Washington Poe series as one of British crime fiction's essential ongoing works.
Buy on Amazon →
7. The Final Vow
The most recent Washington Poe novel — a case that draws Poe and Bradshaw into territory more dangerous than anything they have faced before. Craven delivers another precisely engineered thriller with the wit, menace, and emotional intelligence that have made this series one of the most consistently rewarding in contemporary British crime fiction.
Buy on Amazon →If You Enjoy M.W. Craven — Try Phillip Strang
The Washington Poe series combines a rugged, unconventional detective with atmospheric British landscapes and intricate, darkly inventive plots. If you love character-driven crime fiction with real wit and a vivid sense of place, Phillip Strang's series offer the same combination.
DI Tremayne — set in rural Wiltshire
An unconventional detective working a remote landscape steeped in history and ancient mystery — the same ingredients Craven uses so effectively in Cumbria, rendered in the chalk downlands and prehistoric sites of Wiltshire. 10 books.
Browse the Series →
DI Sarah Lynch — set in the Scottish Highlands
Wild, remote landscape; a detective who operates outside the comfortable mainstream; crimes that expose the darkness beneath quiet communities. Lynch's Highlands share Washington Poe's Cumbria's particular atmosphere of beauty and menace. 13 books.
Browse the Series →
DCI Isaac Cook — set in London
For readers drawn to Craven's driven detective under constant institutional pressure, DCI Isaac Cook delivers the same combination of a relentless investigator and a richly realised urban setting. 19 books.
Browse the Series →More Crime Fiction Reading Guides
Frequently Asked Questions
What order should I read M.W. Craven's Washington Poe books?
Start with The Puppet Show and read in publication order. The relationship between Poe and Bradshaw develops continuously, and the emotional payoff of the later novels depends on knowing the earlier ones. Each book works as a standalone thriller, but reading them in sequence gives you the full benefit of Craven's careful character development.
Who is Tilly Bradshaw?
Tilly Bradshaw is Washington Poe's analyst partner at the Serious Crime Analysis Section — a mathematical genius, socially literal in the extreme, and almost certainly the most beloved character in the series. She takes everything at face value, has no idea she is funny, and is fiercely, unconditionally loyal to Poe. The Poe-Bradshaw double act is one of the great partnerships in contemporary crime fiction.
Has the Washington Poe series won any awards?
The Puppet Show won the Crime Writers' Association Gold Dagger in 2019 — one of the most prestigious awards in crime fiction worldwide. It was a breakthrough recognition for Craven, who had self-published earlier work before being picked up by a major publisher. The award significantly expanded the series' readership and confirmed Craven as one of British crime fiction's major talents.
Where is the Washington Poe series set?
The series is set primarily in Cumbria in north-west England — a landscape of fells, ancient stone circles, remote farms, and dramatic weather. Poe lives alone in a restored peel tower called Herdwick Croft on the Cumbrian fells, and the landscape is woven into every novel. Craven uses it as both setting and atmosphere, the bleak beauty of the north serving as a counterpoint to the darkness of his plots.
What should I read after M.W. Craven?
Readers who love Washington Poe's combination of ancient landscape and unconventional detective tend to move to DI Tremayne by Phillip Strang — the same atmosphere of remote English countryside and buried secrets, with a similarly driven investigator. For a wilder, more dramatic setting, DI Sarah Lynch in the Scottish Highlands delivers the same sense of landscape as both backdrop and threat.
As an Amazon Associate, Phillip Strang earns from qualifying purchases. This page contains affiliate links — buying through them costs you nothing extra.