Waiting on Wednesday – The Final Vow by M. W. Craven

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Murder Mystery, Thriller, Waiting on Wednesday

Welcome to my weekly segment, Waiting on Wednesday, where I look at upcoming books that I am planning to order and review in the next few months and which I think I will really enjoy.  Stay tuned to see reviews of these books when I get a copy of them.  For this latest Waiting on Wednesday, I highlight an upcoming thriller that will no doubt be one of the darker and more captivating upcoming reads of 2025 with The Final Vow by M. W. Craven.

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M. W. Craven is an outstanding author who has been blowing people away with his twisty and captivating reads for the last 10 years. I personally only started reading his works in 2023 when I was lucky enough to get a copy of his first Ben Koenig book, Fearless. An exciting, fun and extremely over-the-top thriller, Fearless was an outstanding read that I really got into, especially as the author featured some awesome characters and very imaginative scenarios.  Craven upped the ante on the Ben Koenig series the following year with the outstanding 2024 sequel, Nobody’s Hero, that took the reader on another wild thrill-ride with even higher stakes, and which proved to be another amazing read.

Due to how much fun I was having with the Ben Koenig books, I decided to also check out Craven’s other 2024 release, The Mercy Chair, which served as the sixth book in the author’s Washington Poe series.  A UK based crime fiction series, the Washington Poe books follow the titular protagonist and his unusual but brilliant civilian partner, Tilly Bradshaw, as they investigate some of the country’s most disturbing crimes.  The Mercy Chair for example saw the protagonist investigate the stoning-death of a controversial religious leader, which revealed some dark secrets about the local inhabitants.  I ended up having an absolute blast with The Mercy Chair, especially as Craven loaded it with shocking twist after shocking twist, as well as a compelling narrative structure, and it ended up being one of my favourite books of 2024.

As you would expect after I had such a great time with Craven’s last several books, I am very eager to grab anything new coming our way from this author.  Luckily it looks like Craven fans are going to have a great 2025 as the author has a new entry in his Washington Poe series coming out in August 2025 with the incredible sounding novel, The Final Vow.

The Final Vow, which will be the seventh Washington Poe novel, will once again bring the protagonist back to investigate a sinister serious crime.  This time, the protagonists find themselves hunting a dangerous sniper causing terror throughout the entire country in what promises to be a particularly epic read.

Plot Synopsis:

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 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 honestly love the sound of this cool upcoming thriller, and it looks like Craven has something very special in store for us in The Final Vow.  A dangerous sniper who never misses is a very interesting basis for a thriller narrative, and it is one that I know Craven will excel at utilising, especially with his very distinctive protagonists involved in the chase.  I am very excited to see what narrative devices Craven will utilise to tell this complex new story, and I have a feeling he will present this tale in a very compelling and chilling manner.  I am also expecting a ton of dark twists, especially once the antagonist starts hunting Poe and Tilly, and it wouldn’t surprise me if there is some major collateral damage.  I’m not entirely sure how the author is going to match the array of over-the-top twists that made The Mercy Chair such an epic read, but if anyone can pull it off its probably Craven.

Frankly, after how awesome I found The Mercy Chair to be last year, there is no way I will be missing this next Washington Poe book.  M. W. Craven has really impressed me with his last few books, and The Final Vow sounds incredibly intriguing with some great plot hooks around it.  I have a feeling that The Final Vow is going to be a very dark and powerful read, and I cannot wait to see the many twists, turns and shocking reveals will bedevil the protagonists.  This novel has so much potential, and I am fully expecting The Final Vow to be one of my favourite books of the year.