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Mike Cramer is the lead protagonist in the Mike Cramer series of novels by one of the United Kingdom’s most successful thriller writers, Stephen Leather. Mike Cramer makes his first appearance in “The Chinaman”, the 1992 first published novel in the series. The novels in the series are mystery thrillers.
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Order of Mike Cramer Series
| # | Read | Title | Published | Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Chinaman | 1992 | Description / Buy | |
| 2 | The Long Shot | 1995 | Description / Buy | |
| 3 | The Double Tap | 1996 | Description / Buy |
Mike is a freelance operative and ex SAS agent, which makes his skillset one of the most valuable and sought after in the world of undercover intelligence. He has worked hard to prove that despite years of drinking and being out of shape, his years of in-field experience and training remain intact.
The first novel in the series introduces Nguyen a lethal, silent, and jungle skilled operative that has worked for the Americans, the Viet Cong, and the British. After helplessly watching Thai pirates rape his two eldest daughters, he had left the active life and resorted to drinking and running an unassuming take away business in South London.
He is living a fuss free life until his youngest daughter and wife are killed when the IRA detonates a bomb inside a Knightsbridge department store they were shopping at. He is treated as a nuisance by the authorities when he tries to get answers as to who were responsible and what was being done to apprehend them. As such, when his former commanding officer offers him a job that might get him the chance at revenge, he grabs it with both hands.
MIKE CRAMER BOOKS INTO TV/MOVIES
In 2017, The Chinaman, the debut novel in the Mike Cramer series of novels was adapted into a movie named, The Foreigner. David Marconi and Stephen Leather wrote the screenplay for the movie starring Pierce Brosnan and Jackie Chan as the lead chacacters.
BEST MIKE CRAMER BOOKS
The Long Shot: The second novel of the Mike Cramer novels, is one of the most popular in the series. Three snipers are holed up in a secluded corner of the Arizona desert reviewing a complicated assassination plan of one of the most protected targets in the world. Meanwhile, Cole Howard of the FBI just got wind of an assassination plot against a VIP, but the problem is that he does not know the day of the strike or the target. If he is to prevent the most devastating plot of all time, he has to work with Mike Cramer, the former SAS agent. But Cramer is currently on a personal undercover mission in the Irish community in New York. He has picked up the trail of a ruthless killer nicknamed Mary Hennessy that had destroyed his life and persuading him to join the FBI mission will not be so easy.
The Chinaman: The first novel of the Mike Cramer series and for many Cramer fan is one of the best novels in the series. While it is advertised as a Mike Cramer novel, technically it is not given that Cramer only appears at the tail end of the narrative. It has one of the most explosive beginnings of a Cramer novel starting with Nguyen Ngoc Minh a soft-spoken Chinese owner of a Chinese deli losing his entire family to a brutal killer. Mild mannered as he seems, he is an ex Vietnamese trained assassin that had fought in the Vietnam War. Leaving his tranquil life behind, he sets out on a journey of revenge against the IRA, which promises even more violence and blood in the name of justice.
Double Tap: The third novel in the series is another incredible novel in the series. Mike Cramer, the ex SAS operative takes the lead in this novel as he is brought in for one last but dangerous mission. He is to locate and neutralize the world’s most successful assassin, whose signature is one bullet in the chest and one in the head of his targets. Given his SAS training, Cramer is the perfect bait to draw out the cautious assassin. But things go haywire when Dermot Lynch, an Ex IRA operative who has held a vendetta against Cramer for years spots him. Dermot blames him for the death of his lover and is determine to take him out even as he undertakes the most dangerous mission of his career. He is now facing two of the world’s most vicious killers in the toughest case of his career yet.
OTHER BOOK SERIES YOU MAY LIKE
Fans of the Mike Cramer series of also enjoy the “Nick Stone” series of novels by Andy McNab. Stone is a crack SAS agent that has made a name for himself as the man for undercover, deniable, and dirty operations that no one in British intelligence would touch. Mike Cramer fans also enjoy the “Stratton” series of novels by Duncan Falconer. These are detective thrillers featuring Stratton an elite SBS operative with a reputation for loving danger, and even actively seeking cases that could put him in dangerous situations.
What Is The Next Book in The Mike Cramer Series?
There doesn't seem to be an upcoming book in The Mike Cramer Series. The newest book is The Double Tap and was released on January, 1st 1996.
Where art thou gone, Mike Cramer? These books were great and I’m so sad that Leather decide to discontinue them after the third book.
Leather is a great author who always has a thrilling pace and I felt that style worked best with Cramer. Cramer is the opposite of what you expect from the “former special forces” character as he grows out of shape while drinking too much, but still retains the skills that made him elite. The character is great and the series is enjoyable. I just wish Leather had given him a bit more time with us.