A Detective with Good Taste
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Ok, so I’m setting the scene! It’s Saturday afternoon and I’m behind the bar at The Spinners. It’s a sunny day pre-Covid lockdowns, but it’s fairly early on, maybe around 12.30. One of my regulars, a member of Solway CAMRA, is sat at the bar having just cycled up from Denton Holme. We’re having our usual chat about beer, music and books. We’ve mentioned Matt Hilton, a local author, who happens to be a good mate of one of my cousins and who worked with another of our pub regulars. Dick goes on to talk about someone he used to work with in the probation service who is writing crime novels.
Now, I love crime fiction – always have done - and I love finding new authors, especially if they’re writing about local places (so I’d already ploughed by way through books by Reginald Hill, Martin Edwards, Rebecca Tope and Michael Wood). I immediately ordered 2 books by M W Craven – Born in a Burial Ground and Body Breaker – on my Kindle.
Credit: Gary Barton
I really enjoyed them. The lead character had an odd name, his sidekick was fairly mental and some bits were fairly twisted. There were a few locations I recognised and, all in all, I thought I’d happily read more if he ever did anything.
A couple of years later, I got a copy of The Puppet Show, think it was a birthday present off my mum and blimey, I was blown away. It was so good!! I’m also addicted to stone circles so I’m not sure whether that’s a good or bad thing in this case. Again, another weirdly named lead character, an interesting sidekick and lots more twisted, dark bits (which I have to own up to, I just love!). I did nothing but read and finished it in 24 hours. The book got passed over to Alain and he thoroughly enjoyed it too. I then handed it back to my mum and she loved it. We were all hooked.
Around that time we were supplying the Old Fire Station with beer and we got asked to supply some Spun Gold for a Noir at the Bar event they were running. M W Craven was attending so I thought I’d pop along and have a listen. Had a great afternoon and got to speak to him after the event, so we’re now on first-name terms :D. I suggested that if he ever wanted to set a murder in a brewery, he was quite welcome to pop round and visit us.
Out of the blue, I received a message from Mike with this photo, basically being asked if it was OK to mention Spun Gold in his next book – I mean seriously?? Did he need to ask??? So, our beer is being drunk by Washington Poe, the main character in what is definitely going to be a cracking series of books! Erm, that’ll be a yes then. Couldn’t wait to get my hands on that book, Black Summer. (It’s blacker than The Puppet Show by the way!). Absolutely loved seeing our beer in print and had loads of people messaging to ask if we knew it was in there, which was sooo cool!
Since then, Mike seems to take every opportunity he can to have Poe drinking Spun Gold and has mentioned in a few interviews that it’s his own favourite tipple! We are so grateful for this, it’s given us a proper warm and fuzzy feeling completely opposite to the books themselves :D (No bribes have been put forward by the way! Although I have asked that if/when the books are televised, that he writes it into the contract that our pump clips/bottles are used and I may supply beer for product placement at that point!)
It's so good to have someone promoting Cumbria, local haunts and local produce, especially when that someone is producing some of the best crime fiction in the UK today! If you haven’t read any of the books yet, you’re in for a treat!! I’d highly recommend all of them and know that there are quite a few more to come as Mike has just signed another three-book deal with his publisher.
I’ve just got my copy of his latest book, The Botanist. I’m just waiting for a full 24 hours to myself so I can sit down with a bottle of beer or two and see what darkness is store this time. Apparently I have to wait until chapter 50 before Spun Gold makes an appearance, but I don’t think it’ll take me long to read to that point!!
Washington Poe Books
The Puppet Show
Black Summer
The Curator
Dead Ground
The Botanist
Cut Short (short stories)
The Cutting Season (novella)
Avison Fluke Books
Born in a Burial Gown
Body Breaker
P.S. Did you know you can get Washington Poe coffee from John Watts or that the Kings Head in Carlisle has their own Poe-themed pump clip when they have our Spun Gold on the bar?
