Winner of the prestigious CWA IAN FLEMING STEEL DAGGER AWARD 2022 Longlisted for the
Theakston Old Peculiar Crime Novel of the Year 2022 '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 'Dark and entertaining this is top rank crime fiction.' Vaseem
Khan Author of the Malabar House series and the Baby Ganesh Agency series 'M. W. Craven is
one of the best crime writers working today. Dead Ground is a cracking puzzle beautifully
written with characters you'll be behind every step of the way. It's his best yet.' Stuart
Turton 'Fantastic' Martina Cole 'Dark sharp and compelling' Peter James 'You can
taste the authenticity' Daily Mail 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 . . .
Praise for Dead Ground: 'Unmissable' Sunday Express '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
Praise for M W Craven: 'A brutal and thrilling page turner' Natasha Harding The Sun 'A
thrilling curtain raiser for what looks set to be a great new series' Mick Herron 'One of
the most engaging teams in crime fiction' Daily Mail 'A powerful thriller from an explosive
new talent. Tightly plotted and not for the faint hearted!' David Mark 'A gripping start
to a much anticipated new series' Vaseem Khan 'Satisfyingly twisty and clever and the flashes
of humour work well to offer the reader respite from the thrill of the read.' Michael J. Malone
'Nothing you've ever read will prepare you for the utterly unique Washington Poe' Keith Nixon
'Beware if you pick up a book by M.W. Craven. Your life will no longer belong to you. He will
hold you spellbound.' Linda's Book Bag ' Craven's understanding of the criminal world is
obvious in this cracking read' Woman's Weekly ' Breath-taking' Random Things Through My
Letterbox ' 5 Stars ... another fantastic literary experience and a welcome addition to the
already brilliant Poe and Tilly series' Female First 'An explosive plot slippery twists and
my fave new crime-busting duo...Fantastic!' Peterborough Telegraph
