Body Breaker

‘This is high quality crime writing’ A A Dhand

The second dark and twisted thriller in the Avison Fluke series by M. W. Craven, the acclaimed author of The Puppet Show.

Investigating how a severed hand ends up on the third green of a Cumbrian golf course is not how Detective Inspector Avison Fluke has planned to spend his Saturday. So when a secret protection unit from London swoops in quoting national security, he’s secretly pleased.

But trouble is never far away. A young woman arrives at his lakeside cabin with a cryptic message: a code known to only a handful of people and it forces Fluke back into the investigation he’s only just been barred from.

In a case that will change his life forever, Fluke immerses himself in a world of New Age travellers, corrupt cops and domestic extremists. Before long he’s alienated his entire team, has been arrested under the Terrorism Act – and has made a pact with the Devil himself. But a voice has called out to him from beyond the grave. And Fluke is only getting started…

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

‘Fluke is a magnificent creation; a man with an intriguing present as well as a past, and one who will follow whatever path seems right to him to achieve his goals. This leads to plenty of outrageous scenarios – and highly entertaining reading. Other characters are also individual and well drawn; not the mish-mash of indistinguishable police people you sometimes find. The suspects were satisfyingly evoked and the game of find the murderer played out very well. It wasn’t a book with just a murder: it had themes such as how people react to authority, and how identities can be assumed, lost, refound, never left. I enjoyed the setting of northern Cumbria, and I enjoyed the modern terrorist reincarnation of old Troubles. Very pacey, hugely interesting, never a dull moment and with characters and a conclusion I could enjoy’
Mystery People.

NOTE:

Please note that this is the revised and updated edition of Body Breaker, first published by Caffeine Nights in 2017.