An invisible killer with a 100% success rate. No one is safe. Not even those closest to Washington Poe…
A shooting at Gretna Green. A bride is murdered on her wedding day, seconds after she slips on her new ring. It’s brutal and bloody but she isn’t the first victim and she won’t be the last. With the body count now at 17, people are terrified, not knowing where the sniper will strike next.
With the nation in a state of panic, the police are at a loss and turn to Washington Poe and Tilly Bradshaw – the only team who just might be able to track down a serial killer following no discernible pattern and with the whole country as his personal hunting ground. Can Poe and Tilly stop an unstoppable assassin, who never misses his mark and never makes a mistake? Or will he find them before they find him…
I'm thrilled to be sharing my review of The Final Vow by M.W. Craven today, many thanks to Constable for my advance digital copy received through Netgalley.
A new book in M.W. Craven's Washington Poe series is always cause for celebration and The Final Vow is no exception. The ongoing development of the main characters means I'd recommend reading the novels in order, even though they can all be read as standalones but I'd particularly urge you to read at least the previous story The Mercy Chair if you haven't already, due to a returning character meaning significant spoilers.
Talking of spoilers, M.W. Craven has given me a real challenge here because I really don't want to reveal too much about the plot but also need to explain why I raced through the pages of this outstanding thriller! I can, however, say that the first chapter had me torn between throwing the book across the room and frantically reading on to find out more! Obviously, my need to discover more won out and I was rewarded with one of the most addictive, satisfying novels I've read this year.
After the explosive opening, the storyline skips back a few weeks; the country is being terrorised by a gunman who, in the last six months, has shot and killed seventeen people. He has a 100 per cent success rate and with nothing obvious linking the victims – he's killed men, women and children, of all colours and from across the country which has gone into a sort of unofficial lockdown because people are understandably terrified. The economy is flatlining and hospital waiting lists are longer than ever. It's a case that has the SCAS (Serious Crimes Analysis Section) written all over it. However, our beloved Scooby gang were disbanded at the end of The Mercy Chair; Stephanie Flynn has been promoted to DCI and gone to a modern slavery unit, Tilly Bradshaw has been seconded to the security services and as for Washington Poe himself, it's fair to say his new role literally stinks. Poe is still dealing with the PTSD wrought upon him following his last case and has been regularly seeing a trauma counsellor but is very much a work in progress. He is working alongside two Border Force officers described as seeming to rejoice in their own stupidity. I had to smile when I saw that M.W. Craven had named one of them after Amer Anwar, a fellow crime writer who passed away earlier this year and whose loss is sadly felt by many people within the crime writing and reading community. I've no doubt Amer would find it hilarious.
Another returning character from The Mercy Chair recognises that Poe and his team are the only people who can possibly help and the first scene between them crackles with Washington's rightfully bitter resentment at the way they were all treated. It's moments like this which really underline why I recommend reading the series in order; Poe will always be a sardonic misanthrope but now he also has friends and his loyalty towards them has become paramount. His best friend is, of course, Tilly Bradshaw and the development of her character over time has been equally as impressive. She may still not always understand social mores but she is fiercely protective of Washington Poe, defending him against others and valiantly trying to manipulate him when she believes he is being his own worst enemy – especially when it comes to his diet. Poe's military past becomes vital here while Tilly's brilliance comes into play when she fathoms out how the gunman is deciding upon his next course of action. In one of the most poignant scenes in the book, M.W. Craven cleverly portrays both her vulnerability and her inner core of strength while Washington is humbled by his sudden understanding of what she has needed from him.
To complicate matters still further, Poe is also due to marry Estelle Doyle in a matter of days but weddings have become particularly dangerous. Nevertheless, preparations go ahead and include carnivorous plants and Estelle's irascible Uncle Bertie. At first he appears to be an entitled boor but M.W. Craven always imbues his characters with nuanced depth, understanding that it's the juxtaposition between a person's flaws and virtues which make them real, and Bertie is a memorable creation who springs from the page every time he appears.
Although the identity of the killer and his motive remains a mystery for most of the novel, there are points in the storyline which follow him as he lines up his next victim. These scenes are agonisingly tense and the abrupt contrast between the lighter moments filled with warmth or dry humour and the awful, apparently unstoppable terror paralysing the country almost gave me whiplash. Poe has a secret weapon who helps him devise an audacious plan but as events build towards the stunningly nail-biting climax, what unfolds is a shocking battle between the sharpest of minds – and not everyone will survive...
Almost unrelentingly intense, yet full of heart throughout, The Final Vow is a breathtakingly good crime thriller and an immensely enjoyable way to spend a few hours. I say a few because the definition of unputdownable just needs to be a picture of M.W. Craven! Another unmissable gem from a writer consistently at the top of his game.
The Final Vow is published by Constable, purchasing links can be found here, also available to order from your favourite independent bookshop.
About the Author
His US-set series, starring ex-US Marshal Ben Koenig, has been picked up by a major streamer.
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