‘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 is about to be made homeless. Just as he thinks things can’t get any worse, the body of a young woman is found buried on a Cumbrian building site.
Shot once in the back of the head, it is a cold, calculated execution. When the post-mortem reveals she has gone to significant expense in disguising her appearance, Fluke knows this is no ordinary murder.
With the help of a psychotic ex-Para, a gangland leader and a woman more interested in maggots than people, Fluke must find out who she was and why she was murdered before he can even think about finding her killer…
Praise for M. W. Craven:
‘Dark, sharp and compelling’ PETER JAMES
‘Fantastic’ MARTINA COLE
‘Britain’s answer to Harry Bosch’ MATT HILTON
‘Thrilling’ MICK HERRON
‘Brilliantly inventive’ WILLIAM SHAW
‘A powerful thriller from an explosive new talent’ DAVID MARK
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 is about to be made homeless. Just as he thinks things can’t get any worse, the body of a young woman is found buried on a Cumbrian building site.
Shot once in the back of the head, it is a cold, calculated execution. When the post-mortem reveals she has gone to significant expense in disguising her appearance, Fluke knows this is no ordinary murder.
With the help of a psychotic ex-Para, a gangland leader and a woman more interested in maggots than people, Fluke must find out who she was and why she was murdered before he can even think about finding her killer…
Praise for M. W. Craven:
‘Dark, sharp and compelling’ PETER JAMES
‘Fantastic’ MARTINA COLE
‘Britain’s answer to Harry Bosch’ MATT HILTON
‘Thrilling’ MICK HERRON
‘Brilliantly inventive’ WILLIAM SHAW
‘A powerful thriller from an explosive new talent’ DAVID MARK
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Reviews
A powerful thriller from an explosive new talent. Tightly plotted, and not for the faint-hearted!
Dark, sharp and compelling
Fantastic
A thrilling curtain-raiser for what looks set to be a great new series
A book that shines with tension, wit and invention
Washington Poe is a name destined to be spoken by crime fiction enthusiasts everywhere: Britain's answer to Harry Bosch. The Puppet Show is a wickedly, twisting and turning, mystery that will have readers breathlessly turning the pages until the final shocking conclusion
Satisfyingly twisty and clever and the flashes of humour work well to offer the reader respite from the thrill of the read
I cannot recall the last time I binge read a novel in 36 hours . . . truly mind-blowing
I loved this book!
A tightly-written debut . . . Packed with procedural detail, believable characters and rich dialogue it will keep you turning those pages long after bedtime. Avison Fluke is a fine creation . . . The prose is faultless . . . Mike Craven is one to watch out for
A brilliant start to what promises to be a fantastic series; get it now or kick yourself for missing out
Mike Craven is a forceful new voice in British crime fiction
Praise for M. W. Craven:
Dark, thrilling and unputdownable with sharply drawn characters that stride off the page
