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Born in a Burial Gown / Body Breaker
Born in a Burial Gown (Avison Fluke):
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.
Body Breaker (Avison Fluke):
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.
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.
Body Breaker (Avison Fluke):
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.
Paperback
Published January 1, 2020
3 people are currently reading
30 people want to read
About the author
M.W. Craven
43 books2,811 followersM. W. Craven was born in Carlisle but grew up in Newcastle, running away to join the army at the tender age of sixteen. He spent the next ten years travelling the world having fun, leaving in 1995 to complete a degree in social work with specialisms in criminology and substance misuse. Thirty-one years after leaving Cumbria, he returned to take up a probation officer position in Whitehaven, eventually working his way up to chief officer grade. Sixteen years later he took the plunge, accepted redundancy and became a full-time author. He now has entirely different motivations for trying to get inside the minds of criminals . . .
M. W. Craven is married and lives in Carlisle with his wife, Joanne. When he isn’t out with his springer spaniel, or talking nonsense in the pub, he can usually be found at punk gigs and writing festivals up and down the country.
M. W. Craven is married and lives in Carlisle with his wife, Joanne. When he isn’t out with his springer spaniel, or talking nonsense in the pub, he can usually be found at punk gigs and writing festivals up and down the country.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
December 16, 2024
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!
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!
May 30, 2022
A really good storyline with a believable detective who you can easily get on board with.
The whole character list are instantly identifiable, so unlike in many books you know who the goodies and baddies are right from the start, so obviously you're bound to get it wrong when it comes down to the "who done it" bit.
Our man, Inspector Avison Fluke, is a thoroughly decent guy with a slightly doggy past. But it's nothing we can't overlook if we really try.
There's a bit of romance thrown in, just to spice things up and of course there's the threat of him losing his home, his job, his pension and the lady in the romantic bit. Oh! and just to keep us involved, who knows, he might not catch the murderer. So, how do you think it all shakes out?
OK, so you've guessed, but it's a great book and there are more from the same author.
And perhaps one day he will get the girl.
I've read one other book by MW Craven and enjoyed it as much as this one, and I'd be tempted to go again.
The whole character list are instantly identifiable, so unlike in many books you know who the goodies and baddies are right from the start, so obviously you're bound to get it wrong when it comes down to the "who done it" bit.
Our man, Inspector Avison Fluke, is a thoroughly decent guy with a slightly doggy past. But it's nothing we can't overlook if we really try.
There's a bit of romance thrown in, just to spice things up and of course there's the threat of him losing his home, his job, his pension and the lady in the romantic bit. Oh! and just to keep us involved, who knows, he might not catch the murderer. So, how do you think it all shakes out?
OK, so you've guessed, but it's a great book and there are more from the same author.
And perhaps one day he will get the girl.
I've read one other book by MW Craven and enjoyed it as much as this one, and I'd be tempted to go again.
September 14, 2025
I read this series after I finished the available Washington Poe books and needed more by M W Craven. A part of me disliked Fluke’s disregard for himself, for his team, and for procedure. His jadedness tended to endanger everyone. But overall the crimes and the unfolding of the stories were engaging.
May 28, 2021
I enjoyed this. It took me a while to get into it but then I really liked the characters which is always the most important part to me. Fluke seems like a standard damaged police officer that appear in so many crime novels but he really grew on me. An intriguing mystery too.
August 2, 2025
Wow! Couldn’t put this book down. A real page turner from start to finish.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews