A Poison Tree

DCI William Blake #1

by J.E. Mayhew

Would you forgive your child anything?
The murder of a young girl found barefoot in a country park and the re-emergence of shoes from the victims of a serial killer from over forty years ago. A coincidence or a connection?
Will Blake is determined to find out, but as he unearths the past, questions are raised about the original investigations and it becomes clear that The Wirral has a killer on the loose once again.
Victor Hunt, the father of the last dead girl from the original case, lies in a hospice with weeks to live. The truth lies hidden in Hunt’s tangled family tree, and the actions of his wayward daughter. Time is against Blake and his fractious team. If they don’t get to the root of past crimes, then innocent blood will flow again.

A Poison Tree is the first thrilling mystery in the Will Blake crime series. A great read for fans of Luca Veste's and JD Kirk’s Jack Logan series.

Genres: Crime, Mystery, Fiction, Detective, Thriller, Mystery Thriller

372 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 15, 2021

Reviews

[Lee · Rating 3 out of 5]

The storyline is fairly good, but far too many characters for my senior brain to keep track of. Also, the author needs to return to school and learn how to use commas. I don't think I'll be reading another in the series.

[Emma L.J · Rating 3 out of 5]

A slow burn book

I must admit I struggled reading this book up to about 50% I wasn’t connecting with the characters I could see a good storyline was under way but it just wasn’t happening for me. I did finish the book and I enjoyed it , Blake’s mother’s disappearance has me intrigued so I’m about-to start book 2

[Michelle · Rating 1 out of 5]

Way too many characters and way too many grammatical errors. At times, I could not even figure out who was speaking because, the paragraphs all ran together without quotation marks. Add in spelling errors, too. Geesh!

[Steven R. McEvoy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the third DCI William Blake story I have read and the fourth book by J.E. Mayhew. I have been jumping around a bit. I started with book 2 in this series, then the prequel, and then back to this story. There was some information I knew that if this was your first story, you would not be privy to. But even so each of the stories is strong enough to be read on its own. But I am jumping around again here in the review. Let us ask ‘where to begin’. I am sure that is a question many authors start with, but it is seldom one I start with when reviewing a book. But in this case, I find I must. This series was recommended to me by Alex Smith, author of the DCI Kett books. I had read all the Kett books and was awaiting the next Softley Softley book when Smith mentioned book two in this series, Fearful Symmetry, and gave it a plug. After reading that volume I discovered that the author publishes under two names, much like Smith. One for Adult crime novels, J.E. Mayhew and another for Young Adult and younger readers, Jon Mayhew. And I have now read books under both names. I was glad I gave it a try and after reading 3 of the 5 stories know I will read this series as long as new books are published in it. These books are not as gritty and do not pack as much punch as the Kett novels, but they are still great British crime procedural stories. When I reviewed a Kett story I stated I could see Jamie Bamber as DCI Kett, and while reading this I could not help but picture Karl Urban as DCI Will Blake. Let’s now return our focus to this specific book.

This is book 1 in a series that currently consists of 4 novels and a prequel novella. These stories are tightly packed. This one begins on Wednesday October 23rd and concludes on Thursday October 31st. Or at least that is the last date given in the story. The final chapter is 3 days later after Blake has a hospital stay.

In this story events from the past come back to haunt. They haunt not only the man who first realizes, but the whole area. DCI Will Blake is on a case. And he is exploring options for his missing mothers’ cat. He is tired and drawn out. But he is also determined to get to the bottom of a case. A dark tale of family and deception. Blake does not have a lot of time, and the events race towards events you will never see coming.

As the first book in this series and the first crime lit from J.E. Mayhew it is an impressive story. It really draws you in and keeps your attention. The pace is excellent. And the story well crafted. If you like crime procedural novels I am certain you will like enjoy this book and series!

Another great read from J.E Mahew!

Read the review on my blog Book Reviews and More and reviews of other books by J.E. Mayhew.

[Sandra Leivesley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this first book in the DCI William Blake (genius name!) series set on the Wirral. It is well written with quite a complicated plot with enough twists and turns to keep me interested right till the end.

I liked the character of DCI Blake, who I feel has a very interesting backstory which so far we have only scratched the surface of. Loved Seraphina the cat and hope she features in the rest of the series!

I enjoyed the narration by Owen Welsh. The authentic Wirral/Scouse accent of the narrator helped me immerse myself in the story. Looking forward to the next in the series.

[Melanie Lewis · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was excited to start a new series, especially when the detective is named William Blake, a genius idea. Within the first few sentences I was intrigued. The action starts straight away and doesn't let up until the final word. The story is quite complicated with a number of people involved, and a few times I struggled with who was whom and where they fit in. However, that never impacted on my enjoyment of the book, as all the cards in the deck were displayed clearly at the end. We learn that Blake has an interesting back story but we will have to be patient as dark secrets were alluded to but not revealed. Serafina provided us with some light relief so the darkness of the book was never overwhelming. Owen Welsh narrates well although I'm not expert enough to distinguish between different Liverpudlian accents so they all felt spot on to me. An action packed book with credible police officers who I hope I'll have a long relationship with as this series should run and run. Get in at the ground level - I have a feeling this is going to be BIG.

[Terry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Audiobook review

A new series to get hooked on. Yes please.
Fab characters & ive a feeling as the books develop they will expand & become addictive.
The story was full on and really interesting. I listened until it ended in 2 days. Rewinding if I was interrupted.
Narrator was great. A nice voice to get lost in.

[george a strachan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent

Good start to what looks like a promising long series dci will blame novels.
From I started reading it I never literally put it down till I finished it

[Biff meechan · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Poison Tree⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

This was a really easy good read ,I love the atmosphere. of the stories & I am enjoying the characters& as this is the first then I think it's going to be a fab series with good storylines & characters who I will enjoy finding more about them,if you like police dramas then you should definitely like this book& the rest of the series too .J.E.Mayhew is an author who can write a good story with plenty of twists ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

[Niamh bonner · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of those detective series that I'm going to have on preoreder. I really enjoyed this book and have any follow ups in my tblt list.
The narration brought each carachter to life and it was a great listen.

[mandy sheehan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good read.Brilliant detective mystery

[Louise Dixon · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good read, with room to improve

I very much enjoyed the storyline in this book, and appreciated the clues that pointed me towards the killer but didn't give anything away too soon. Sadly, my enjoyment of the story was ruined by some truly awful editing (was it even proof-read?). I am in no way a 'Grammar Nazi ', but grammar and punctuation issues took my attention away from the flow of the story far too often for me to be able to forgive. Other than that, I will certainly read more in this series and look forward to the characters (and hopefully, editing) developing. Don't let my review put you off reading this book; it's a great story and the lead characters have potential for the future!

[David Ward · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the sort of book that starts simply enough and then grows into a complex case.

The many characters are well described, and even in book #1 of the series little subplots and relationships are starting to develop. I personally found myself a little overwhelmed by the number of characters introduced into the story.

The story itself proceeds at a good pace, and comes to a satisfactory conclusion. Although the story becomes complex, the style of writing is easy enough.

This isn't the simplest of reads, but it's worthwhile. I shall be returning to the series at some point to see how the characters grow.

[Genevieve Paquette · Rating 4 out of 5]

I listened to this one and enjoyed it. The mystery had a lot going on. Lots of messed up people dealing with the consequences of their messed up relationships. Some of the characters I just wanted to backhand, they were so twisted, and I actually really liked the protagonist, and appreciated the subplot with his angry cat. The blurb describes the police team as fractious, and it was (and that always makes me anxious) but there was real character development, which is nice.
It was a good one, and I'd definitely be up for reading more.

[Elissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good quick read

Good book and quick read. A few times I felt like it drew on or was a little flat. Nothing overwhelming though. I recommend the book as it's a great who done it mystery. I plan on reading the next in the series. The author does good at building up the characters, making you want to know more of their story while also focusing on the case at hand.

[Scott Kalas · Rating 2 out of 5]

One of those books I couldn’t wait to end

Too many characters, long stretches of boring ages, boring characters, including a boring protagonist and a boring plot. Did I mention it was boring 🥱

[Rox Burkey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Author J.E. Mayhew creates an interesting character, DCI William Blake as he launches this new series. In many ways I found it to be an interesting, complex crime story with a variety of twists and turns. A once beautiful dead teen is found barefoot in the park. Though she is identified early, the clues to her character are shared in pieces. Details of the brutal current and past murders are tied to shoes which find their way into a secondhand shop.

Blake is a complex character that takes care of Serafina, his dead mother’s cat. He takes care of the house, while the cat runs the roost. Their contentious relationship help clue you in on the man and his approach to solving the case. As the senior investigator of the murdered girl, he directs his team on the investigation while also being hands on. The details of police procedure appear correct, but in some places slow the story.

The descriptions of the locations, people and interactions provided a good framework for the story. I liked the descriptions home life of the various families pulled into the investigation.

As the story unfolds the connections between this murder and past murders add a level of suspense and interesting dark secrets which can no longer remain buried. The action is good and keeps the listener moving along with the story. It is one of those murder mysteries which require you to go all the way to the end.

The narration is clean without issues. I found good distinguishable accents by the narrator Owen Welsh. The pace up front was almost too slow yet pick up after a dozen chapters. I enjoyed the faster pace and race to the end.

It seems a good start to a series with a lead character like Will Blake whom I hope will continue to evolve. If you like the darker side of murder mysteries this may be just the ticket to start your new series.

[James Casey · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first book in the DCI Will Blake series and a quite gripping start.
Boxes of shoes appear at a charity shop they have the names of victims of murders which date back 40 yrs. one of the pairs of shoes is bought by a teenaged girl who is later found murdered herself but the shoes she was wearing have disappeared. When DCI Blake appears on the scene it slowly becomes apparent that it has an uncanny resemblance to the murders that happened in the past. The police seem to be running around in circles as they search for clues but they have to find just what really happened all those years ago or else more blood might be spilled again. Where does Will’s search go when nobody is telling the truth?
A well put together crime/mystery. I quite like the author, he weaves a good plot and I also like his characters. Will is a workaholic detective who doesn’t have much of a real life which he stumbles through from day to day so it will be interesting to find out how this develops because I am slightly gripped by his story and look forward to reading the next instalment. I mark it an entertaining 4/5.

[Martina Kovaříková · Rating 4 out of 5]

Personally, I would give 3.5 stars, yes it is good, but not as good for me as some of the other books I rated as 4 stars. Personally I enjoyed the book and was partly able to guess the whole story pretty early on. I just had a feeling or a guess or something. And it was actually correct. And then I had some further idea about one of the dead characters, which strangely also turned out pretty correct. But I did not guess the whole story completely, and there were still few surprises there along the way. Surprises which I did not expect.
I also liked how the past was connected to the present in several ways. And the connection between the past and the present murders. I also enjoyed the short glimses from the killers perspective, just wish they did not use words he/she, so it was less obvious who was potentially behind it.
I liked Will and his cat struggles, that was bit funny, as person who owns the cat, I could imagine his stuggles.
The ending was rather surprising, some unexpected twists and turns. So overall I can recommend it.

[Linda-Mary Sigley · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Merry Chase

There isn't much "merry" in this tale of 40 years of psychosis and betrayal. But it is a chase for Will Blake and his team. And of course there's Serafina the naughty cat who makes Will's life a bit miserable but brings a new lady into his life. Then there's the various shoes with names of murder victims on them, all found at a charity shop (thrift store). The shoes figure largely in the story. This story engaged me from the beginning and held my attention to the satisfying ending. Yes, there is quite a bit of action 3/4 of the way through. And takes place in a locale I'd never heard of before, The Wirral. It's a rectangular peninsula just south of Liverpool, England, where my father was from. If you want an interesting and offbeat take this is it. Enjoy!

[Patricia Burton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Catching up!

Book 1 - I read the 3rd book of this series first, not realising it was a series at the time, not a problem though as I soon realised they are equally enjoyable as standalone. This one I was completely thrown by the plot and storyline, cleverly leading you one way to a dead end only to realise it wasn't really a dead end. Hidden secrets keep you guessing all the way to the end as DCI Blake and his team chip away to get to the truth and those responsible for hiding it and covering it by murder!

Highly recommend this series, I'm now off to buy book 2 then I'll be up to date!!!

[Anne Petter · Rating 5 out of 5]

A good read

I enjoyed reading this book about DCI William Blake. However, in some places I felt the story got a bit messy. I found it a bit of a struggle to cope with all the characters. The story seemed to jump about a bit and I couldn't quite get to grips with some of it. Why oh why why does there have to be this Romance. I felt the part about the cat a bit off putting. I think there was quite a lot of suspense and I think William Blake will be a good detective. I hope however that the next story has less characters for me to come to grips with. He's certainly no Jack Logan but I think I could like him and I look forward to the next book.

[Kath Middleton · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the first of a series and, unusually for me, I’ve gone straight on to the second. The book begins with a collection of old shoes in a charity shop. A young girl has been murdered after buying one of the pairs. There’s obviously a connection, which becomes apparent later. There’s a big cast in here but they are easy to differentiate. Blake, the detective, finds himself with a lot on his plate – including his mother’s ferocious cat. I enjoyed the way the story panned out, with connections made, and wheels within wheels, so to speak. It’s a well thought-out story with an interesting cast of detectives. I’ve started the second and that’s going well too.

[Peggy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very Well Written British Police Case

I very much enjoyed the protagonist SCI Blake and the story was so intricately woven it just pulled me in. A well defined plot that wasn't too intricate with characters that you could be weighed down by or just get lost in the fog of story telling. Brilliant writing skills. I look forward to reading more in this series. If this is genre you enjoy, then you won't be disappointed. I highly recommend as an excellent book that is a great escape from the muddle of covid times.

[Sharon Boyd · Rating 4 out of 5]

J E Mayhew's "A Poison Tree" was a very convoluted mystery as the author fleshed out his police characters and to some extent the victims and those who did them harm. Most of the characters are likeable and believable. Relationships between the police team will likely be less forced in future DCI Will Blake mysteries. Like many British mystery writers, J E Mayhew continues his characters in a multi-book series. "A Poison Tree" was a fun read, so I've bought the other 6 in the series and look forward to a Summer in Northern England from my patio in Texas.

[Bryngel · Rating 2 out of 5]

A frustrating read. I wasn't thrilled with the writing, but I did somehow want to finish it, as I thought it would be better if I really got in to it. It kind of did, or should I say it held my attention enough to make me want to read the follow-up: Fearful Symmetry it might be a good one, I shall see.

(Please forgive my poor English, my excuse is I’m Swedish).

[Jillian · Rating 5 out of 5]

An enjoyable detective crime thriller

This book is really good. It follows in the footsteps of other crime detectives. I would recommend this one to readers that enjoy a good book without the hire that some authors out in their book. The description of Liverpool and it's environs really sets the scene. Detective Blake has his demons like many a good detective and that makes the book more relatable.

[J Davies · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! What a read.

I chose this rating because I enjoyed every minute and every page of this book. I live in the area the book is set and could really relate to the locations which added even more to it for me. DID Will Blake is a complex character with personal issues, but while this scenario has been used many times in books, the author manages to bring a freshness to it. I just know I'm going to end up buying the whole series, and fact I've already got the prequel.

[Fayer Tivi · Rating 4 out of 5]

3,5 ⭐️
C'est bien écrit - style J.D. Kirk que l'auteur remercie par ailleurs - et les policers sont, dans l'ensemble, attachants même s'ils sont plutôt caricaturaux. L'intrigue, en revanche, est à mon goût trop ambicieuse. Trop de personnages, trop d'évènements, trop de révélations font que ce qui aurait pu être un roman 5⭐️ n'est finalement qu'un bon livre. Cela dit je lirai le prochain de la serie sans l'ombre d'un doute.

[Ruhani · Rating 4 out of 5]

A well crafted mystery which kept me guessing till the end - despite the clues given in the book. I like William Blake and his relationship with Serafina as well :-) The detective team seem good and hopefully would be fleshed out better in the rest of the series. The writing style is ok for my taste - I didn't hate it. All of these should imply that I will eventually go on to other books in this series.