Mike M.W. Craven Books In Order

Publication Order of Ben Koenig Books

Publication Order of DI Avison Fluke Books

Publication Order of Washington Poe Books

Publication Order of Short Stories/Novellas

Publication Order of Anthologies

Mike Craven is a popular author from England, who likes to write books of the mystery and fiction genres. He was born in the year 1968 in Cumbria, but spent most of the days growing up in the North East. The school from which he completed his high school education is the same in which the great center-forward player of England and Newcastle, Alan Shearer, has studied. Right after the completion of his school studies, author Craven ran away and enrolled himself in the army. In the army, he underwent rigorous training for a period of 2 years. But, the two years proved too much for him, forcing him to leave the army and live a civilian life. Author Craven spent the next 10 years of his life traveling to different places of the world and visiting the astonishing masterpieces. His traveling was mainly due to his interest in historical monuments. During the travels, he used to indulge in heavy drinking, a habit that he still continues to have. Up to this point in his life, author Craven was mainly involved in writing postcards and spending his time in enjoyable activities. Then, it was in 1995 that he took the decision of trying his hand in something sensible. This thought paved his way to obtain a law degree. In the meantime, Craven was also involved in doing some social work. After continuing this work for 2 years, the naive and pimply-faced Craven started taking his work more seriously and became a probation officer in Cumbria. And after a period of 16 years, Craven accepted redundancy to start writing full time. As of today, author Craven is believed to have a variety of motivations that help him to get into the minds of the criminals.

The first book that author Craven wrote features the lead character as Detective Inspector Avison Fluke. This book, Born in Burial Gown, was chosen for the Debut Dagger Award by the Association of Crime Writers. The Caffeine Nights publication had published this novel in 2015. Following the tremendous success of this book, author Craven penned a short story collection, which also featured DI Fluke as the main protagonist. In between working for the army and becoming a full time writer, author Craven found time for himself and developed several hobbies. One such hobby was looking after a crocodile as his pet. The period also saw author Craven get married to a woman of his choice, battle cancer and survive, and purchase a springer spaniel called Bracken. Craven says that he wished to call the spaniel as Gimli, but was suggested otherwise. Currently, author Craven resides in Carlisle. He does not like to come out of his house too often. In fact, Craven likes to spend most of his time writing books and developing his popular characters. Craven does not like the snow and hates all those people who feel its cool when it starts snowing. Besides writing and spending time for his hobbies, author Craven also remains active in various writers’ associations. The writing groups of which he is an active member include the Assocaition of International Thriller Writers and the CWA. Craven is represented at the DHH Agency by the literary agent named David Headley.

An initial book written by Mike Craven in his writing career is entitled ‘Born in a Burial Gown’. This book was released in 2015 by the Caffeine Nights publishers. At the start of this book’s story, it is shown that DI Avison Fluke is on the edge because of the recent happenings in life. He seems to have indulged in a crime for getting back to his work. Also, Fluke has concealed his illness from his colleagues and superior officers due to the fear of losing his job. And to add to his problems, he thinks that he is about to become homeless. At this point, Fluke faces the biggest difficulty of his life. He comes to know that a woman’s body has been found near a building site in Cumbria. The woman was shot from behind on her head, which makes it look like the murder was a cold and calculated one in the execution style. The post-mortem shows that the woman had undergone a surgery to hide her true identity. Fluke finds that in order to reveal the real identity of the victim, he has to solve a puzzle involving a number series. This gives him the impression that the murder mystery is not an ordinary one. Before finding the killer, Fluke must work out to establish the woman’s identity and the reason behind her murder. For this purpose, he is assisted by an ex-Para with psychotic nature, a woman who loves maggots more than people, and a leader of a gangland. The number of dead bodies begins to rise as Fluke begins his investigation. He searches for clues from picture perfect villages of Lake District to the poor estates. The only thing Fluke is able to realize in all these places is that his problems have just begun. He knows that if he is not able to figure out something very soon, then he might end up as the next victim. And Fluke cannot let this happen.

Another exciting book featuring DI Fluke is called ‘Body Breaker’. The Caffeine Nights released it in 2017. At the beginning of this story, Fluke is shown as investigating about the severed hand that was discovered on the golf course of Cumbria. Fluke was not at all interested in carrying out the investigation as he had other plans of spending the weekend. So, when he learns that a secretive unit has arrived from London to look after the matters of national security, he becomes very much pleased. But, trouble knows how to find its way to Fluke. A young lady arrives at his cabin located on the lakeside. She hands him a coded message, which is known to be decoded by a few selected people. Due to this, Fluke is again forced to take up the investigation, which he was reluctant to take up in the first place. The case appears to be a highly intriguing one and makes Fluke believe that it will end up changing his life forever. Soon, Fluke finds himself in the midst of corrupt cops, travelers of new age, domestic extremists, etc. Shortly after, Fluke gets alienated from his team and ends up making a deal with the evil forces, which gets him arrested under the charges of terrorism. However, the mystery seems to have just started and there is much more left for Fluke to face before going on to solve it once and for all. When a voice calls out for him, he knows that he can’t ignore it. DI Fluke tries to find a link between all the incidents so as to find the killer and put him behind bars.

6 Responses to “Mike M.W. Craven”

1. Tricia: 12 months ago

   Just finished The puppet show. Bought the book on holiday in lanzarote. What a brilliant read! Great author and I live in cumbria so can relate to it. Def one of my favourite books x

   Reply
2. Sue Bolton: 1 year ago

   Have read all your books. I devour them. I’m reading Fearless at the moment. It keeps shocking me. I hope the main character runs and runs.

   I am eagerly awaiting the next Poe book. We all love the partnership between Tilly and Poe.

   Keep writing please.

   Reply
3. Milton Haworth: 1 year ago

   Having devoured all the books up to now, I’m just waiting for the next book to hit the shelves. The plots are amazingly well thought out. The writing excellent with each book a step up. Bad guys are totally loathsome while Poe and Co. engender sneaking admiration.

   Reply
4. malcolm preston-green: 3 years ago

   hello, i recently discovered mr cravens books by accident, started with”born in burial gown which was absolutely brilliant, as i live in cumbria, appleby, could recognise a lot of the areas in the book, also discovered john watts coffee shop in carlisle, been passed it many times but was in carlisle the other day and ventured in, fantastic place, also bought the washington poe coffee mix excellent.
   nearly at the end of body reaker, another brilliant book, going to wetheral at the weekend to have a look at the viaduct. today i am off to waterstones to see if can get all the other book. Have really enjoyed the two books so far. been recommending to friends
   thank you so much for these books
   Malcolm

   Reply
   • John Barrett: 1 year ago

     The Washington Poe books are simply the best, and Tilly Bradshaw brings the series that extra something. More please.

     Reply
5. Ann-Marie Peterson: 3 years ago

   I have listened to nearly all the books. Washington Poe series are my favourite. Tilly brings an extra dimension, she is brilliant. Another added delight is John Banks, who too is brilliant. The three together keeps me wanting to keep listening.

   Ann-Marie Peterson

   Reply