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...
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Born In A Burial Gown by M W Craven was originally published in 2015 by Caffeine Nights Publishing. This updated version was published by Constable / Little Brown on 9 January 2020 and is the first book in the Avison Fluke series. I bought my copy in late 2020, and it's been sitting on my shelf for all that time. Do not ask me why. I have no idea! What an amazing book it is!
I think it's fair to say that I am a massive fan of this author. I have read and devoured all of his Washington Poe series and am a firm fan of his latest series featuring the fearless Ben Koenig. I am now also, a huge fan of Avison Fluke and his eclectic team of police officers who work in deepest Cumbria
I think it's fair to say that I am a massive fan of this author. I have read and devoured all of his Washington Poe series and am a firm fan of his latest series featuring the fearless Ben Koenig. I am now also, a huge fan of Avison Fluke and his eclectic team of police officers who work in deepest Cumbria
Craven always makes his settings a huge part of the plot, and in Born In A Burial Ground, the desolation of the Cumbrian countryside, mixed with the darker underbelly of the small towns in the area really do become characters in their own right. I doubt this would work so well in any other setting.
Avison Fluke is a complex guy. He's a dedicated police officer but has many issues of his own that impact on his ability to do his job. This does not stop him, despite being a man of the law, he often bends the rules, in fact he snaps them in two at times, just so that he can stay in the middle of the action. A desk-bound job is not for Avison, he needs to be out there, he thrives on the complexities of the cases that he investigates.
The body of a woman is found hidden on a building site. Shot once in the head, nobody knows who she was, or why she was killed. It becomes clear after the post-mortem that the woman had gone to great lengths to try to change her appearance. She was hiding from someone, but they've obviously found her. Avison not only has to find the killer, he has to find out her identity too.
Surrounded by a team who comprise of Avison's oldest friend, Towler; a man with his own dark issues to deal with, along with team members that Avison's boss, Chambers, considers to be a little strange, but who Avison knows he can depend on, he sets to work.
This is a gritty, often violent, but always thrilling piece of writing. There are scenes that will make your toes curl in horror, yet none of it feels as though it's done just to shock. Avison is dealing with dangerous people here, the sort who wouldn't think twice about killing their own grandmother for their personal gain. However, as with all of Craven's work, we do find some light, there's that trademark dry wit, along with an in-depth look at Avison himself. His history, his reasons for what he does. It's a combination of a thrilling, twisty thriller along with rich dialogue and excellent pacing.
Highly recommended by me. The next book in the series is called Body Breaker and I'm certainly not leaving that one for so long before I read it!
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Avison Fluke is a complex guy. He's a dedicated police officer but has many issues of his own that impact on his ability to do his job. This does not stop him, despite being a man of the law, he often bends the rules, in fact he snaps them in two at times, just so that he can stay in the middle of the action. A desk-bound job is not for Avison, he needs to be out there, he thrives on the complexities of the cases that he investigates.
The body of a woman is found hidden on a building site. Shot once in the head, nobody knows who she was, or why she was killed. It becomes clear after the post-mortem that the woman had gone to great lengths to try to change her appearance. She was hiding from someone, but they've obviously found her. Avison not only has to find the killer, he has to find out her identity too.
Surrounded by a team who comprise of Avison's oldest friend, Towler; a man with his own dark issues to deal with, along with team members that Avison's boss, Chambers, considers to be a little strange, but who Avison knows he can depend on, he sets to work.
This is a gritty, often violent, but always thrilling piece of writing. There are scenes that will make your toes curl in horror, yet none of it feels as though it's done just to shock. Avison is dealing with dangerous people here, the sort who wouldn't think twice about killing their own grandmother for their personal gain. However, as with all of Craven's work, we do find some light, there's that trademark dry wit, along with an in-depth look at Avison himself. His history, his reasons for what he does. It's a combination of a thrilling, twisty thriller along with rich dialogue and excellent pacing.
Highly recommended by me. The next book in the series is called Body Breaker and I'm certainly not leaving that one for so long before I read it!
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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
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