MALIGN INTENT

by Robert Craven

The Neo-noir sequel to A KIND OF DROWNING

“Tag, bag and bury the bastard, Crowe…”

An August bank holiday should be about relaxation, taking time out to see family and friends and enjoying a beer or two. 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, is called to examine the scene.

Crowe has seen enough dead bodies in his time to suspect that Aonghus Hanafin wasn’t the hanging kind. He discovers a puzzling detail too; the late journalist had MS.

So how could Hanafin hang himself from a tree along a desolate estuary between two rural parishes?

Directed by his superiors to close off the former journalist’s death as a suicide, Crowe delves deeper and finds Hanafins death leads to a retired Chief Justice who is slated to take a prestigious appointment in Europe. Crowe gets to learn of a Swiss bank account, with over a million Euros in it that may be fuelling a lifestyle that the retired Chief Justice, Barry Gartland can barely afford.

In this contemporary neo-noir thriller, in Crowe’s investigation into how Hanafin died, loyalties blur and justice and truth are not always what they seem, placing him in the line of fire with a powerful elite…

… and may end up costing him his life …

% Star review -

"This was the first novel from Robert Craven I have read and it definitely will not be the last!

A crime novel that was a gripping read.

Inspector Garda Crowe is a great complex character and can't wait to see how he develops in the future.
Crowe, not keen on rules and just wants to get to the truth, goes after the criminals without a care about who they are.

Fans of Stuart Macbride and Mark Billingham would enjoy this novel.

I received a copy of the book from the author via Voracious Readers Only."

Paperback

First published January 27, 2024

About the author

My latest novel - The Payout Game will be released January 2026

A body on the rocks.
A bookmaker with dangerous secrets.
When the case is ruled a misadventure, Inspector Crowe digs deeper — and enters a world where murder is just another wager.

ARC review

"There was a lot of your trademark writing in there, the nuances that suggest something without telling us, sometimes in the right direction, sometimes in the wrong direction, keeping the suspense building.

Crowe has an edgy depth that never really comes out, his complexities never shade the plot itself, which I like. It stays focused, like him, on the case.
It kept me hooked. A page-turner. Right up to your high standard and a very original plot.
Thank you!"

EAGLES HUNT WOLVES won the
FIREBIRD BOOK AWARD 2021 - ACTION / ADVENTURE.

I write too under the pen name W.T. Edsel

Reviews

[Noreen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you to Voracious Readers only for my copy of Malign Intent. Robert Craven wrote this book fantastically. Right from the start, you had ideas of who done it…. But every step of the way you have to question yourself about what you think.
I have no negatives about this book, writing was great, storyline was great. Kept surprising me right to the end.

[Andrew Atkinson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Here is yet another Irish author for me to follow on a regular basis. How does a relatively small island produce so many literary greats? Mr. Craven may be familiar to other readers but was new for me. No longer; I’ll be following up ‘Malign Intent’ with other works by this author. Part noir and part police procedural with a leading detective, Crowe, with a troubled background. An apparent suicide appears anything but so to Crowe who must battle his superiors who are determined to close the case forthwith. Crowe must also battle his own demons. Money and power are shown to be a corrupting force. Can a small low-ranked police force outwit an elite of crooks and those in authority who are willing to turn a blind eye to curry favour? Read this book to find out.
Well written, well plotted and makes for great reading.
Many thanks to the author and Voracious Readers Only for providing a copy. This is my personal and independent review.

[Myra McCulloch · Rating 4 out of 5]

A free book from Voracious Readers thank you

Ruthless manipulation, greed, theft and murder with a cast of diverse characters are all held in the twisted story.
Crowe, already on the wrong side of his superiors, refuses to close a suspicious case.
Crowe battles the blurred lines of the system to see justice done.

[Peter Mills · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an outstanding book which I can confidently recommend.
Detective Crowe is a complex and gritty character whose pursuit of justice is compelling.
I've never previously read any of Robert Craven's work but this book has made me a devotee.

[Mairead Hearne (swirlandthread.com) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Malign Intent by Robert Craven was published recently and is the second book in his crime fiction series featuring Detective Pius John Crowe, following on from A Kind Of Drowning (2021). Set primarily in the seaside town of Roscarrig, outside of Dublin, Malign Intent sees Crowe attempting to get back on his feet, after his mental health issues and his marriage breakup. Crowe now resides in a small bedsit in the town and is slowly acclimatising to life away from his wife and teenage son. He is quite a reckless individual when it comes to his own health, just about surviving on TV dinners, cigarettes and whiskey. Crowe isn’t all too happy with the cards dealt him. In the radar of the powers that be, his job in the force is under scrutiny. Any excuse and he’s out. But Crowe pays little heed to his superiors, so when he is called to the scene of an unexpected suicide case, he is unprepared for the web of lies and deceit he is about to get tangled up in.

When the body is identified as that of the troublesome, but apparently, retired journalist, Aonghus Hanafin, Crowe is intrigued and sets about finding out more. His superiors request that he quickly wrap up the investigation and mark it as suicide but Crowe is unconvinced. When the evidence starts to pile up highlighting discrepancies, Crowe is determined to get to the bottom of it, with little disregard for his own safety and his career.

Roscarrig is home to the Chief Justice, Barry Gartland and it is on his land that the dead body was discovered. Barry Gartland is on target to take up a very prestigious EU appointment but there is a shadow over his reputation. Crowe on meeting Gartland, is left with a bad taste in his mouth so sets out to investigate the truth of what happened. Crossing the path of such a exalted individual carries its own dangers but Crowe, no matter his own personal situation, is always driven by uncovering the truth and demanding justice.

Like a man possessed and with nothing to lose, Crowe starts to dig deeper than his bosses back at HQ want him to, unearthing a hornets nest that could put his life in serious danger.

Crowe is a great character. He has grit, with a slightly off-beat and irreverent personality. It’s not all police work though as we do get to delve a little into Crowe’s personal life. His temper has caused a lot of damage in the past and reigning it in is a constant struggle. There is a tantalising scene alluding to a possible development in the romance department but I expect we’ll have to wait for more as this series develops further.

There were a couple of incidents in the plot that were a little disjointed but it did all, more or less, iron itself out at the end. Malign Intent is another enjoyable addition to this series. I am a fan of Crowe and his cantankerous personality appeals to me! It will be interesting to see where Robert Craven takes him to next.

[Wendy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Malign Intent does not allow the typical murder mystery trope of a troubled detective taking poor care of his health, being hushed up by people with powerful friends, to cause the story to suffer. Rather, Inspector Crowe makes inroads into your good graces. Refusing to sign off on a suicide that begs for investigation, Inspector Crowe will not be swayed by the powerful, the charming, or the intimidating. He will follow the leads all the way to the realistically, bitter end.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from the author via Voracious Readers Only.

[Ellis Shuman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Garda Inspector P.J. Crowe returns in Malign Intent by Robert Craven (December 2023), a sequel to the crime thriller A Kind of Drowning. As in the previous book, Crowe's career is in tatters, his position in the force uncertain. At the beginning of one shift, he is called to investigate when a body, dressed in outdoor gear, is found swaying from a tree at the edge of a forest.

"You are to close it off as a suicide," his boss, Chief Superintendent O'Suilleabháin, instructs him. "Official, like."

"Suicide, not proven," Crowe replies. For him, 'not proven meant doubt. Doubt implied a crime… He didn't like it, but Crowe had a murder on his hands.' Of this, only he is convinced, so he sets out himself to solve the crime.

Is Crowe up for the mission? His superiors believe he is 'still recovering from an adjustment reaction linked to the circumstances in which he finds himself.' His violent assault and battery escapades in a previous case are well known, leading him to avoid social media and its toxic trolling, but Crowe insists he is "calmer now… less extreme."

"I did what any good cop would do," Crowe reassures a fellow inspector. Solving this murder case is, for him, 'a solid piece of real police work… For the first time in nearly two years, Crowe felt the surge of intent. A reminder to him as to why he became a policeman. To protect the public.'

Malign Intent will appeal to readers who appreciate police procedural crime fiction. Capturing one's attention is the thriller's setting in rural Ireland. Ireland, with its rutted moonscapes and coastal fogs, and the vanilla and black thunderheads rolling inwards from the sea.

For Crowe, 'every crime has a window of opportunity; a golden few minutes, hours, and days before threads of evidence start to wither and go cold or disperse as life continues on without the dead.'. The long days of Ireland's Atlantic autumnal rains are coming, and the clock is ticking for Crowe to solve the crime. We are partner to his investigation, assured that no matter what its result, we anticipate meeting Crowe again in his future cases.

[Glenn Muller · Rating 4 out of 5]

D is for Detective, and when that refers to DI Pius John Crowe it also stands for disgraced, divorced, displaced and disgruntled. Just what we like our protagonists to be. And when he’s asked to whitewash a possible murder as a suicide, you can add determined to find the truth to that list. In Malign Intent, author Robert Craven hits all the tropes and delivers an atmospheric police procedural set in a quiet Irish backwater. The characters are nicely fleshed out and while it is a sequel to A Kind of Drowning, the first book in the series, the story stands nicely on its own. In short, it’s a good read from a seasoned writer. Recommended for fans of Peter Robinson and Reginald Hill.

[Lyndsay Fiorentino · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story follows the rough around the edges Irish police officer John Crowe while he deals with a mysterious case after a body is found. Interesting story, page turner, easy to read.
I was given a complimentary copy of the book from the author via voracious readers only.