1
of
1
The Mercy Chair
Series: Washington Poe
Ratings/reviews counts are updated frequently.
Check link for latest rating. ( 7,043 ratings, 830 reviews)
Brief Description
Winner of the Fingerprint Award 2025 for Crime book Shortlisted for Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel 2025 'Macabre and wry' Telegraph 'Mesmerising, macabre and magnificent. The Mercy Chair is truly terrifying, laugh-out-loud funny, and impossibly clever. Poe and Tilly are unstoppable' Chris Whitaker 'Washington Poe is...
Read More
Format: Paperback / softback
$2799
Unit price
/
Unavailable
AVAILABLE WITH SUPPLIER
Ships from our Auckland warehouse within 4-6 weeks
Found a better price? Request a price match
The Mercy Chair
$2799
Unit price
/
Unavailable
Latest News
Vanya Insull (aka VJ Cooks) visits Book Hero
We were lucky to have a visit from popular foodie, home cook and baker Vanya...
Is the newest Jack Reacher one of the best?
Our favourite crime solving, bad guy beating nomad is back and Lizzy and Edd were...
Heartstopper's Alice Oseman visits Book Hero
We were so excited to have Alice come to visit Hero HQ, as huge fans...
Shirl and Lizzy Review The Starving Bride
Catherine Chidgey does it again with another incredible novel that will have people talking for...
New Releases to add to your TBR this week (19th October)
One of my favourite sci-fi authors has a new book that I cannot wait to...
See moreA dark and twisted crime novel, this is the eagerly anticipated follow up to The Botanist.
Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and
still learning, it may not be perfect - your
feedback is welcome!
Description
Winner of the Fingerprint Award 2025 for Crime book
Shortlisted for Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel 2025
'Macabre and wry' Telegraph
'Mesmerising, macabre and magnificent. The Mercy Chair is truly terrifying, laugh-out-loud funny, and impossibly clever. Poe and Tilly are unstoppable' Chris Whitaker
'Washington Poe is a brilliant creation, from one of the finest and most inventive crime writers of today' Peter James
Are you sitting comfortably? Then I'll begin . . .
Washington Poe has a story to tell.
And he needs you to listen.
You'll hear how it started with the robber birds. Crows. Dozens of them. Enough for a murder . . .
He'll tell you about a man who was tied to a tree and stoned to death, a man who had tattooed himself with a code so obscure, even the gifted analyst Tilly Bradshaw struggled to break it. He'll tell you how the man's murder was connected to a tragedy that happened fifteen years earlier when a young girl massacred her entire family.
And finally, he'll tell you about the mercy chair. And why people would rather kill themselves than talk about it . . .
Poe hopes you've been paying attention. Because in this story, nothing is as it seems . . .
MORE PRAISE FOR MW CRAVEN:
'Craven renders the darkness of the human condition with immense skill, ratcheting the tension to a nails-on-chalkboard pitch. Don't turn out the lights.' Vaseem Khan
'The kind of novel that inspired me to write fiction in the first place. A guaranteed great time.' Chris Brookmyre
'Darkly entertaining' The Telegraph
'If you haven't read any M.W. Craven yet, fix that immediately' S. A. Cosby
'I've been following M.W. Craven's Poe/Tilly series from the very beginning, and it just gets better and better' Peter Robinson
'Poe and Tilly books are a joy' Steve Cavanagh
'In Tilly and Poe, M.W. Craven has created a stand-out duo who are two of the most compelling characters in crime fiction in recent years' Fiona Cummins
'Darkly comic . . . Thrilling' The Independent
'Clever, sophisticated, utterly gripping thriller from one of the best writers around' Mari Hannah
'Craven has unleashed Ben Koenig into the thriller world. Long may he raise hell in the pages. A superb thriller that will have everyone talking, and gasping.' David Baldacci
'Paging Lee and Andrew Child: you've got company' The Times
Series: Washington Poe
View all-
Black Summer
'A brutal and thrilling page-turner' The Sun 'Compelling' Heat 'The best pure mystery plot of the year' Morning Star 'Gleefully gory and witty, with a terrific sense of place' Sunday Mirror ______________________ After The Puppet Show, a new storm is coming . . . Jared Keaton, chef to the stars. Charming. Charismatic. Psychopath . . . He's currently serving a...Paperback$2799Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks -
The Final Vow
The next unmissable novel in the Sunday Times bestselling, multi-award-winning Washington Poe series. Poe and Tilly fans: be prepared for the most twisted thrill-ride so far... --- 'Another standout entry in a series that keeps setting the bar higher', Heat The Final Vow is everything a thriller should be: clever, compelling, and packed with unforgettable characters. Gripping, darkly funny, and...Paperback$2799Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks -
The Puppet Show
‘Fantastic’ Martina Cole ‘Dark, sharp and compelling’ Peter James ‘A thrilling curtain raiser for what looks set to be a great new series’ Mick Herron Welcome to The Puppet Show . . . A serial killer is burning people alive in the Lake District's prehistoric stone circles. He leaves no clues, and the police are helpless. When his name is...Paperback$2999Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks -
18% offThe Final Vow
The Final Vow is the next unmissable novel in the Sunday Times bestselling, multi-award-winning Washington Poe series. Poe and Tilly fans: be prepared for the most twisted thrill-ride so far... 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...Paperback$3100Usually:$3799Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
The Botanist
WINNER OF THE THEAKSTON OLD PECULIER CRIME NOVEL OF THE YEAR 2023 'The most joyously exciting novel I've read in years... [The] sense of fun and adventure... allied to a remarkable lightness of touch over nightmarish subject matter, makes for the kind of novel that inspired me to write fiction in the first place.' Chris Brookmyre 'Mesmerising, macabre and murderously...Paperback$2999Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks -
Dead Ground
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...Paperback$2999Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks -
The Mercy Chair
Winner of the Fingerprint Award 2025 for Crime book Shortlisted for Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel 2025 'Macabre and wry' Telegraph 'Mesmerising, macabre and magnificent. The Mercy Chair is truly terrifying, laugh-out-loud funny, and impossibly clever. Poe and Tilly are unstoppable' Chris Whitaker 'Washington Poe is a brilliant creation, from one of the finest and most inventive crime writers of...Paperback$2799Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks -
The Killer's Mark
The next darkly-funny thrill-ride of a book in the bestselling Washington Poe series. Praise for M W Craven: '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...PaperbackSold Out -
The Curator
‘Dark, sharp and compelling’ PETER JAMES ‘Fantastic’ MARTINA COLE ‘Britain's answer to Harry Bosch’ MATT HILTON ‘If you haven't read M W Craven yet, now is the time to start’ Abir Mukherjee ______________________ It's Christmas and a serial killer is leaving displayed body parts all over Cumbria. A strange message is left at each scene: #BSC6 Called in to investigate,...PaperbackSold Out
Book Details
INFORMATION
ISBN: 9780349135595
Publisher: Little, Brown Book Group
Format: Paperback / softback
Date Published: 05 December 2024
Country: United Kingdom
Imprint: Constable
Audience: General / adult
DIMENSIONS
Spine width: 32.0mm
Width: 126.0mm
Height: 196.0mm
Weight: 300g
Pages: 432
About the Author
Multi-award-winning author M.W. Craven was born in Carlisle but grew up in Newcastle. He joined the army at sixteen, leaving ten years later to complete a social work degree. Seventeen years after taking up a probation officer role in Cumbria, at the rank of assistant chief officer, he became a full-time author. He is an instant Sunday Times bestseller and, for his Cumbria-set Washington Poe series, a recipient of the 2019 Crime Writers' Association Gold Dagger, the 2022 Ian Fleming Steel Dagger and the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year 2023. The series has now been translated into twenty-seven languages
Instagram: @m.w.cravenTwitter :@mwcravenukFacebook: MikeCravenAuthorAlso by M. W. Craven
View all-
Fearless
MAJOR STREAMING NEWS TO COME 'Koenig's insouciant style and sharp thinking pack a very hefty punch' The Times 'A superb thriller that will have everyone gasping' — David Baldacci 'Badass and brilliant' — Chris Whitaker 'A blistering barnstormer of an action thriller, this demands to be read' — Heat Magazine ' "Thrill-ride" gets tossed around a little too generously these...Paperback$2600Elsewhere:$2799Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks -
Nobody's Hero
'Craven has unleashed Ben Koenig into the thriller world. Long may he raise hell in the pages.' David Baldacci, #1 New York Times bestselling author 'Perhaps for the first time, Jack Reacher has a convincing rival in the form of M. W. Craven's Ben Koenig' The Times The man who can't feel fear is back, in a race against time...Paperback$2799Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks -
Black Summer
'A brutal and thrilling page-turner' The Sun 'Compelling' Heat 'The best pure mystery plot of the year' Morning Star 'Gleefully gory and witty, with a terrific sense of place' Sunday Mirror ______________________ After The Puppet Show, a new storm is coming . . . Jared Keaton, chef to the stars. Charming. Charismatic. Psychopath . . . He's currently serving a...Paperback$2799Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks -
Born in a Burial Gown
Deeply layered, fiendishly clever and absorbing — Matt Hilton, author of the Joe Hunter series The first gritty thriller in the Avison Fluke series by M. W. Craven, the acclaimed author of The Puppet Show. Detective Inspector Avison Fluke is a man on the edge. He has committed a crime to get back to work, concealed a debilitating illness and...Paperback$2799Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks -
The Puppet Show
‘Fantastic’ Martina Cole ‘Dark, sharp and compelling’ Peter James ‘A thrilling curtain raiser for what looks set to be a great new series’ Mick Herron Welcome to The Puppet Show . . . A serial killer is burning people alive in the Lake District's prehistoric stone circles. He leaves no clues, and the police are helpless. When his name is...Paperback$2999Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks -
The Final Vow
The next unmissable novel in the Sunday Times bestselling, multi-award-winning Washington Poe series. Poe and Tilly fans: be prepared for the most twisted thrill-ride so far... --- 'Another standout entry in a series that keeps setting the bar higher', Heat The Final Vow is everything a thriller should be: clever, compelling, and packed with unforgettable characters. Gripping, darkly funny, and...Paperback$2799Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks -
Body Breaker
This is high quality crime writing - A A Dhand The second dark and twisted thriller in the Avison Fluke series by M. W. Craven, the acclaimed author of The Puppet Show. Investigating how a severed hand ends up on the third green of a Cumbrian golf course is not how Detective Inspector Avison Fluke has planned to spend his...Paperback$2799Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks -
18% off
The Final Vow
The Final Vow is the next unmissable novel in the Sunday Times bestselling, multi-award-winning Washington Poe series. Poe and Tilly fans: be prepared for the most twisted thrill-ride so far... 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...Paperback$3100Usually:$3799Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
Dead Ground
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...Paperback$2999Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks -
Nobody's Hero
'Craven has unleashed Ben Koenig into the thriller world. Long may he raise hell in the pages.' David Baldacci, #1 New York Times bestselling author 'Perhaps for the first time, Jack Reacher has a convincing rival in the form of MW Craven's Ben Koenig.' The Times The man who can't feel fear is back, in a race against time to...Hardback$6000Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks -
The Botanist
WINNER OF THE THEAKSTON OLD PECULIER CRIME NOVEL OF THE YEAR 2023 'The most joyously exciting novel I've read in years... [The] sense of fun and adventure... allied to a remarkable lightness of touch over nightmarish subject matter, makes for the kind of novel that inspired me to write fiction in the first place.' Chris Brookmyre 'Mesmerising, macabre and murderously...Paperback$2999Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks -
Nobody's Hero
'Craven has unleashed Ben Koenig into the thriller world. Long may he raise hell in the pages.' - David Baldacci, #1 New York Times bestselling author 'Perhaps for the first time, Jack Reacher has a convincing rival in the form of M.W. Craven's Ben Koenig.' - The Times The man who can't feel fear is back, in a race against...Paperback$3799Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks
More from Crime & Thriller
View all-
New Release
King’s Ransom
Five innocent hostages. Five private investigators. A fiendish ransom game. Has Detective Sam Speedman met his match? A fast and deadly Matthew Reilly thriller. A DARING ABDUCTION The richest man in the world has been kidnapped. Along with four of his children. THE DEADLY CHALLENGE The kidnapper's demand: the five best private detectives in America must come to the missing...Paperback$2999Elsewhere:$3499Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
New Release
The French Illusion
Bestselling author John Grisham delivers a new gripping, suspenseful page-turner about aParis honeymoon gone horribly wrong - and the nightmare that follows. After Paul and Chelsea Tanner's fairytale wedding, their future is full of promise. But their honeymoon to Paris takes a dark, shocking turn when they are kidnapped while on a day trip to the French countryside. Who would...Paperback$3199Elsewhere:$3799Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
New ReleaseKing’s Ransom
Five innocent hostages. Five private investigators. A fiendish ransom game. Has Detective Sam Speedman met his match? A fast and deadly Matthew Reilly thriller. A DARING ABDUCTION The richest man in the world has been kidnapped. Along with four of his children. THE DEADLY CHALLENGE The kidnapper's demand: the five best private detectives in America must come to the missing...Hardback$4499Elsewhere:$4999Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
New ReleaseChain Reaction
Jack Reacher, \"the coolest continuing series character\" (Stephen King), returns in a brand new, pulse-pounding read from Lee and Andrew Child. The world’s bestselling hero is back in a brand new, high-octane adventure! ‘She knew that finding Reacher would not be easy . . .’ Washington DC. General Susan Turner needs help from the only guy she knows will get...Paperback$2999Elsewhere:$3800Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
New ReleaseThe Family Cross
In the gripping new thriller in James Patterson's globally bestselling series, Alex Cross faces his most personal case yet as a ruthless conspiracy targets Washington's most vulnerable... and his own family. Discover the latest gripping thriller in the globally bestselling Alex Cross series - now the inspiration for the original series CROSS on Prime Video starring Aldis Hodge as Alex...Paperback$3199Elsewhere:$3800Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
New ReleaseThe Heights
In The Heights by #1 Sunday Times bestselling author Sir Ian Rankin, murder comes to London's most exclusive high-rise - and every resident is a suspect... MURDER COMES TO LONDON'S MOST LUXURIOUS HIGH-RISE: AND EVERY RESIDENT IS A SUSPECT. The Heights: a gleaming, high-end high-rise looming over Hyde Park. Newly built from steel and smoked glass, it is a billionaire's playground offering sumptuous suites...Paperback$3199Elsewhere:$3799Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
New ReleaseDeath Row
With all hope of an appeal fading away, the fate of a condemned murderess takes a shocking turn in a breathtaking short story from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Housemaid! A thrilling novella from #1 New York Times bestselling author Freida McFadden! Death is coming for her… unless she finds the truth first. Talia Kemper is on death row for murdering...Paperback$2299Elsewhere:$2400Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
Signed Copy19% off
Dying Days
Award-winning writer delivers a pulse-pounding espionage thriller. Missing soldiers, MI6 secrets and European partisans collide in a deadly game where the lines between lies and reality are fast disintegrating. In the dying days of the Second World War, a new conflict is about to ignite. May, 1945: After fighting to liberate Europe from the Nazis, Tito's Yugoslav Army and Allied...Paperback$2600Elsewhere:$3699Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
19% offNew Release
Fury In Death: An Eve Dallas thriller (In Death 63)
In the new crime thriller from the bestselling author, Lt. Eve Dallas journeys into the darkness where murder is born… NYSPD homicide detective Eve Dallas has seen a lot in her time but even she is shocked by the savagery of a beating which leaves a wealthy biotech executive dead in his home office. The victim’s corpse is so mangled...Paperback$2600Elsewhere:$3799Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
19% offNew ReleaseTom Clancy Pressure Depth
Jack Ryan Jr leads a team of divers in a race to beat the Chinese Navy to a weapon of terrible destructive power in the latest entry in the #1 New York Times bestselling series. Jack Ryan Jr. is on Guam to work on a project for Hendley Associates. It's a perfectly ordinary insurance matter, but trouble finds the Ryans...Paperback$2600Elsewhere:$3799Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
10% offNew ReleaseThe Country Road Murders
From the Sunday Times bestselling author comes a pulse-pounding thriller about justice, vengeance and the roads that lead us home. No one gets this big without amazing natural storytelling talent - which is what Jim has, in spades — LEE CHILD Cross Rivers is the kind of small town where everyone knows your name – and your secrets. Silas Tucker...Paperback$2700Elsewhere:$3800Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
15% offEvery Lake
Scary stories are fun... until your life becomes one. When Alice was fifteen, her father killed Mia Heywood in their lakefront cottage before vanishing into the trees. At least that's what the locals think happened. Over a decade later, Alice has lost her job as a journalist, she's going through an expensive divorce and she desperately needs to sell the...Paperback$2800Elsewhere:$3799Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow
Why buy from us?
Book Hero is not a chain store or big box retailer. We're an independent 100% NZ-owned business on a mission to help more Kiwis rediscover a love of books and reading!
Service & Delivery
Our warehouse in Auckland holds over 100,000 books, toys, board games and puzzles in-stock so you're not waiting for your order to arrive from overseas.
Auckland Bookstore
We're primarily an online store, but for your convenience you can pick up your order for free from our bookstore, which is right next door to our warehouse in Hobsonville.
Our Gifting Service
Books make wonderful thoughtful gifts and we're here to help with gift-wrapping and cards. We can even send your gift directly to your loved one.
Crime & Thriller lists from the team
Explore our curated lists from our heroes to find your next read!
-
![]()
![]()
![]()
Lizzy's listCrime & Thriller
Thriller Novels for the Spooky Season
I love that my local book club always chooses a thematic book for October to fit with Spooky Season, but instead of...View the list -
![]()
![]()
![]()
Lizzy's listCrime & Thriller
Classics for the Crime & Thriller Reader
Here are some classics that are perfect for someone who already loves a crime & thriller novel - the fathers (and mothers)...View the list -
![]()
![]()
![We Need to Talk About Kevin]()
Lizzy's listCrime & Thriller
Thriller Novels that Won't Leave Lizzy's Brain
These are the books that Lizzy almost wishes she could forget about because they've ruined something for her - whether it's making...View the list -
![]()
![]()
![]()
Shirl's listCrime & Thriller
Shirl's Crime & Thriller Picks
I've always loved a good crime and thriller read! Here are a few of my favourites from past and present that have...View the list -
![]()
![]()
![]()
Lizzy's listCrime & Thriller
Lizzy's Top Kiwi Crime/Thriller Writers
Looking for your next Crime/Thriller pick? We have some amazing authors right here in Aotearoa doing everything from releasing amazing spine tingling...View the list -
![]()
![]()
![]()
Hannah's listCrime & Thriller
Gripping Crime and Thriller Books
From the fast paced and stressful to the laborious and creepy, this is a selection of some of my favourite crime and...View the list
