Robert Craven's Blog
November 9, 2025
*PRESS RELEASE _ The Payout Game / Publication Date: January 24, 2026
The Payout Game
Irish crime author Robert Craven returns with the third novel in the acclaimed P.J. Crowe thriller series
Dublin, Ireland — Award-nominated Irish crime writer Robert Craven announces the release of The Payout Game, the third novel in his gripping contemporary crime series featuring Garda Inspector P.J. Crowe. The book launches January 24, 2026 in paperback and eBook formats.
Set against the stark beauty of North County Dublin’s coastline, The Payout Game opens with a grim discovery: a celebrity bookmaker — a man known for excess, wealth, and notoriety — is found dead on the rocks beneath a lighthouse during a charity regatta. The case is quickly ruled a misadventure, but Inspector Crowe isn’t convinced.
As Crowe digs deeper, what begins as a routine investigation spirals into a dark network of:
Illegal dog fighting rings
High-stakes crypto betting
A gambling empire built on violence and fear
With pressure mounting from forces determined to bury the truth, Crowe and his small team race against time — and powerful enemies — to uncover what really happened before the killer cashes out for good.
“Crowe is flawed, stubborn, brilliant – and refuses to walk away when the powerful say ‘drop it.’”
— Early ARC reader feedback
About the Author
Robert Craven is an Irish novelist praised for his atmospheric settings and tightly-wound plots. His P.J. Crowe series — beginning with A Kind of Drowning and Malign Intent — has earned comparisons to Tana French, Ian Rankin, and Stuart MacBride for its realism and emotional depth.
Advance Praise for the Series
“Brilliantly paced. A gripping Irish noir that keeps you guessing.”
— Reviewer, Goodreads
“Crowe feels like someone you know — imperfect, relentless, unforgettable.”
— Crime Fiction Book Blog
For Review Copies / Interviews / Media Requests
Press Contact:
cravenwr@gmail.com
https://www.robert-cravenauthor.ie
Irish crime author Robert Craven returns with the third novel in the acclaimed P.J. Crowe thriller series
Dublin, Ireland — Award-nominated Irish crime writer Robert Craven announces the release of The Payout Game, the third novel in his gripping contemporary crime series featuring Garda Inspector P.J. Crowe. The book launches January 24, 2026 in paperback and eBook formats.
Set against the stark beauty of North County Dublin’s coastline, The Payout Game opens with a grim discovery: a celebrity bookmaker — a man known for excess, wealth, and notoriety — is found dead on the rocks beneath a lighthouse during a charity regatta. The case is quickly ruled a misadventure, but Inspector Crowe isn’t convinced.
As Crowe digs deeper, what begins as a routine investigation spirals into a dark network of:
Illegal dog fighting rings
High-stakes crypto betting
A gambling empire built on violence and fear
With pressure mounting from forces determined to bury the truth, Crowe and his small team race against time — and powerful enemies — to uncover what really happened before the killer cashes out for good.
“Crowe is flawed, stubborn, brilliant – and refuses to walk away when the powerful say ‘drop it.’”
— Early ARC reader feedback
About the Author
Robert Craven is an Irish novelist praised for his atmospheric settings and tightly-wound plots. His P.J. Crowe series — beginning with A Kind of Drowning and Malign Intent — has earned comparisons to Tana French, Ian Rankin, and Stuart MacBride for its realism and emotional depth.
Advance Praise for the Series
“Brilliantly paced. A gripping Irish noir that keeps you guessing.”
— Reviewer, Goodreads
“Crowe feels like someone you know — imperfect, relentless, unforgettable.”
— Crime Fiction Book Blog
For Review Copies / Interviews / Media Requests
Press Contact:
cravenwr@gmail.com
https://www.robert-cravenauthor.ie
May 31, 2025
The Origin of Crowe
https://www.abctales.com/story/robert...
I was asked recently by a reader what made Crowe the way he is as a character.
I gave it some thought and created his first 'incident'.
Its on the ABCTales platform (link above)
I was asked recently by a reader what made Crowe the way he is as a character.
I gave it some thought and created his first 'incident'.
Its on the ABCTales platform (link above)
March 16, 2025
I'm now on Spotify!
https://open.spotify.com/episode/3gUh...
Listen to my latest conversation with the wonderful Edith Zeitlberger at EZ Fiction / Book lover's companion
I hope I offer some good advice
Listen to my latest conversation with the wonderful Edith Zeitlberger at EZ Fiction / Book lover's companion
I hope I offer some good advice
May 4, 2024
Koontz's excellent novel
The House at the End of the World by Dean KoontzMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
This is a masterclass in tension building. With a nod to Edgar Allan Poe and the early 1970s books of Crichton, Tryon and Levin, Koontz develops the character Katie who lives alone on a lighthouse coming to terms with a tragedy. The nearby island of Ringrock, she discovers is home to a government research facility and something over there has gone very wrong.
Koontz is a wonderful writer and a great observer of character. He keeps a tight reign on the plot and the jump scares when they come are well executed.
As good as King on a good day, I would recommend this excellent book - the characters, particularly Katie and Libby are fully realised and deal with the unfolding crisis and its aftermath plausibly.
View all my reviews
January 28, 2024
Silver Nitrate - 5 stars!
Silver Nitrate by Silvia Moreno-GarciaMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
Outstanding!
In my teens through James Herbert, Dennis Wheatley & Stephen King, I became fascinated with the occult and read several books by and on Aleister Crowley. This went on to my own writing notably the Vril Cult in Nazi Germany & its influence on my books Hollow Point; and, EAGLES HUNT WOLVES.
Garcia manages to deliver a superb book, compelling, gothic and at times well prepared jump scares. She manages to hold the reins on the supernatural aspect to the tale, while at the same time creating authentic, believable characters. A nod to Hitchcock about putting ordinary people in extraordinary situations and the realisation of the threat they face is well teased out.
A book, I'm going to re-read now as its pretty close to perfect.
View all my reviews
October 16, 2023
** Coming Soon ** MALIGN INTENT
“Tag, bag and bury the bastard, Garda Inspector Crowe…”
Genre: Crime Fiction
August - December, present day, one year after ‘A Kind of Drowning’.
The synopsis:
Robert Craven's Malign Intent, is a contemporary crime thriller set in Ireland with a slow burning neo-noir atmosphere:
Crowe has seen enough dead bodies in his time to suspect that Aonghus Hanafin wasn’t the hanging kind.
August bank holidays should be about relaxation, taking time out to see family and friends, but when former gonzo journalist, Aonghus Hanafin is found hanging along a desolate estuary, the nearest SIO to the incident, Garda Inspector Pius John Crowe, discovers a puzzling detail; the late Hanafin had MS.
The presence of a second ligature mark around the dead man’s neck raises further questions. Crowe’s instincts tell him there’s something not right about the scene and decides to investigate.
As Crowe delves deeper into the case, he becomes convinced that Hanafin’s death leads to Cillcreann House, the nearby palatial home of the retired bon vivant Chief Justice Barry Gartland and his trophy wife, Rosemary. Gartland, slated to join the prestigious role at the EJC in Strasbourg could do without Crowe nosing around, creating a stir, and pressures the Minister of Justice and the senior ranks to close off the case as a suicide.
Through a media connection, Stafford McCaffrey (who owes Crowe a favour or two), Crowe gets to learn of a Swiss bank account, with millions of Euro in it that was set up as part of a charitable organisation, called The Gatland Trust. It's in the process of being hollowed out from a lifestyle that the retired Chief Justice can barely afford. And one he needs to keep quiet about until he’s sold up his estate and Europe bound.
Crowe discovers the Hanafin holiday home on land owned by the Garlands with evidence that results in him being stabbed and hospitalised, but not before he has uncovered enough needed to implicate Gartland and a powerful elite which could lead to wider investigation of the judiciary and stymying Barry Gartland’s European appointment.
But is what Crowe discovers enough to convict and bring the Hanafin case to its rightful conclusion before Gartalnd takes up his influential seat on the European Justice Council?
Or will Crowe end his days alone, stabbed and bleeding out in an acre of greenhouse glass…
Malign Intent is the second book in the P.J. Crowe series by Robert Craven, following his break-through novel A Kind of Drowning in 2021. Set in present-day Ireland, the book explores the themes of power, corruption, and justice. It features a deeply flawed but determined protagonist in Crowe, who fights against the odds to uncover the truth and bring those responsible to justice; whatever the cost.
About the author:
Robert Craven lives in Dublin Ireland. His passion for writing began when he had a short story published in 1992 for a speculative fiction magazine.
Since then, he has authored books in several genres, with Malign Intent the second in his Inspector Crowe series.
Email: cravenwr@gmail.com
Ph: ++353 1 (0) 87 2150475
Website - https://www.robert-cravenauthor.ie
Genre: Crime Fiction
August - December, present day, one year after ‘A Kind of Drowning’.
The synopsis:
Robert Craven's Malign Intent, is a contemporary crime thriller set in Ireland with a slow burning neo-noir atmosphere:
Crowe has seen enough dead bodies in his time to suspect that Aonghus Hanafin wasn’t the hanging kind.
August bank holidays should be about relaxation, taking time out to see family and friends, but when former gonzo journalist, Aonghus Hanafin is found hanging along a desolate estuary, the nearest SIO to the incident, Garda Inspector Pius John Crowe, discovers a puzzling detail; the late Hanafin had MS.
The presence of a second ligature mark around the dead man’s neck raises further questions. Crowe’s instincts tell him there’s something not right about the scene and decides to investigate.
As Crowe delves deeper into the case, he becomes convinced that Hanafin’s death leads to Cillcreann House, the nearby palatial home of the retired bon vivant Chief Justice Barry Gartland and his trophy wife, Rosemary. Gartland, slated to join the prestigious role at the EJC in Strasbourg could do without Crowe nosing around, creating a stir, and pressures the Minister of Justice and the senior ranks to close off the case as a suicide.
Through a media connection, Stafford McCaffrey (who owes Crowe a favour or two), Crowe gets to learn of a Swiss bank account, with millions of Euro in it that was set up as part of a charitable organisation, called The Gatland Trust. It's in the process of being hollowed out from a lifestyle that the retired Chief Justice can barely afford. And one he needs to keep quiet about until he’s sold up his estate and Europe bound.
Crowe discovers the Hanafin holiday home on land owned by the Garlands with evidence that results in him being stabbed and hospitalised, but not before he has uncovered enough needed to implicate Gartland and a powerful elite which could lead to wider investigation of the judiciary and stymying Barry Gartland’s European appointment.
But is what Crowe discovers enough to convict and bring the Hanafin case to its rightful conclusion before Gartalnd takes up his influential seat on the European Justice Council?
Or will Crowe end his days alone, stabbed and bleeding out in an acre of greenhouse glass…
Malign Intent is the second book in the P.J. Crowe series by Robert Craven, following his break-through novel A Kind of Drowning in 2021. Set in present-day Ireland, the book explores the themes of power, corruption, and justice. It features a deeply flawed but determined protagonist in Crowe, who fights against the odds to uncover the truth and bring those responsible to justice; whatever the cost.
About the author:
Robert Craven lives in Dublin Ireland. His passion for writing began when he had a short story published in 1992 for a speculative fiction magazine.
Since then, he has authored books in several genres, with Malign Intent the second in his Inspector Crowe series.
Email: cravenwr@gmail.com
Ph: ++353 1 (0) 87 2150475
Website - https://www.robert-cravenauthor.ie
July 30, 2023
As relevant now was when first published
Howards End by E.M. ForsterMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
a very modern novel in every sense of the word - although published in 1910, it has a modern feel. Forster's wonderful writing is never overdone or meandering. It explores through the eyes of two independent sisters, Margret and Helen the class division, status and the frenetic city life of London and the more sedate environs of Howard's End during the Edwardian era.
resonates today as much as when it was first published
View all my reviews
July 15, 2023
Revival by Stephen King
Revival by Stephen KingMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
There are few authors that can match King when he's on form & this novel like 11,22,63 is a welcome return to form. Eric Clapton m the blues musician was asked once how he kicked heroin and remarked part of the process involved being hooked up to a black box and given electrical impulses.
King runs with this idea and weaves a tale of how a local pastor, Charlie Jacobs befriends a young boy, James Morton in a small town. Jacobs has a fascination with electricity and when he suffers a tragedy, he becomes a healing preacher who takes a revival on the road.
Morton becomes a musician and lives the high life, becoming an addict. The two men meet, Morton is healed but in all Faustian pacts, what appears miraculous comes with a heavy price. As their paths cross year after year, Morton discovers that Jacobs has a plan for the ultimate electric shock and sets out to stop it.
a superb book that allows the characterisation to grow and like a great Hitchcock movie, only releases the horror in well placed junctures.
View all my reviews
July 10, 2023
P D James - master story teller
The Lighthouse by P.D. JamesMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
James (like Patrick O Brian) is heavily influenced by Jane Austen. And certainly this investigation on a small island off England's Cornish coast is a re-working of Then There were none. Among the themes are class divide, science - including a particularly nasty vivisecetionist and Dalgleish's past.
Beautifully written, James knows how to lead the reader through the story, with a clear grasp of characterisation.
a wonderful, well-paced page turner
View all my reviews
June 5, 2023
An inspirational life
Ron Carter: Finding The Right Notes by Dan OuelletteMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
Ron Carter's musical career spans nearly six decades and he was at the centre of at least three musical movements in modern Jazz.
Exposed to America's racism at an early age, culminating in never achieving his dream of joining an orchestra, he turned like so many of his Afro-American contemporaries to Jazz.
And here is why I struggled with giving this book 4 stars when 3 would have been more honest. The book is written by Dan Ouellette in a style of journalism that captures at times the bi-polar nature of the genre. It is littered with a bewildering number of artists names and quotes as if anchoring a fascinating life is some kind of thesis. It also requires ruthless editing as its strewn with adverbs peppered in jazz-speak.
And Carter's life is worth a biography. He's a true fighter, eschewing the habits that killed a great number of artists. He's an educator, a composer and a huge influence on a generation of musicians.
He has recorded Jazz, Classical, Hip Hop and cut his teeth on jingles (which were in their heyday in the 1970's) & film scores. And these should have been explored further, rather than later chapters.
After chapter 15, I found myself skimming and wishing this book had been written by someone like Stuart Cosgrove who's excellent trilogy 'Detroit 67', 'Memphis 68' & 'Harlem 69' would have cut out all the neurotic Oullette-isms and given Carter that status he deserves - right at the forefront of an era that resonates today.
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