🎯 Where Should I Start?
ⓘ About Michael Craft
Michael Craft was born in the year 1950 in Elgin, Illinois, as Michael Craft Johnson. Craft has his MFA in creative writing from Antioch University, Los Angeles. He writes as Michael Craft, as it gives his author persona a much more “literary” ring to it. Michael Craft sounds more like a man of letters than Mike Johnson does. Three of his novels were honored as national finalists for Lambda Literary Awards. He grew up in Illinois and spent his middle years in the state of Wisconsin, which would later inspire the fictitious setting of his series of novels. Craft was able to get a job as the art director in the editorial design department at the Chicago Tribune. He was one of about twelve designers that was responsible for the look of the paper.
All Book Series by Michael Craft
? Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Michael Craft?
Michael Craft was born in the year 1950 in Elgin, Illinois, as Michael Craft Johnson. Craft has his MFA in creative writing from Antioch University, Los Angeles. He writes as Michael Craft, as it gives his author persona a much more “literary” ring to it.
Which Michael Craft series should I start with?
The best place to start is the Claire Gray Mystery series, the earliest of Michael Craft's multi-book series: it opens with Rehearsing (1993) and runs to 5 books across 1993–2005, ending with Desert Summer (2005). Michael Craft's other series stand alone, so they can be read in any order.
How many books has Michael Craft written?
Michael Craft has 141 books catalogued in this guide, published between 1993 and 2025. 139 of them belong to 5 named series — the largest being the Mark Manning Mystery series with 7 books — and 2 are standalone titles, collections or anthologies.
In what order should Michael Craft's series be read?
Read each series in publication order — the numbered entries in each series follow the year each book first appeared. Michael Craft's series do not depend on one another, so they can be started in any order; by start date they are Claire Gray Mystery (1993–2005, 5 books), Mark Manning Mystery (1997–2004, 7 books) and Mister Puss (2018–2020, 3 books), plus 1 more.
How are Michael Craft's books organised into series?
This guide splits Michael Craft's 141 books into 5 named series and 2 titles that stand alone or appear only in collections: Mark Manning Mystery (7 books, 1997–2004); Claire Gray Mystery (5 books, 1993–2005); Dante & Jazz Mysteries (3 books, 2022–2024); Mister Puss (3 books, 2018–2020); Akashic Noir (121 books, 2002–2025).