Navigating the twists and turns of murder trials was a challenge R. Charles McLravy II, ’77, never anticipated. And yet he finds himself surrounded by courtroom intrigue and entangled in case after case—through Burr Lafayette, the fictional protagonist in McLravy’s series of mystery novels.
McLravy says that Michigan Law prepared him not only for his successful legal and business career but also gave him the intellectual breadth to invent a world where a seasoned litigator-turned-defense attorney can entertain and shock readers in equal measure. In his award-winning, five-book mystery series, with the sixth installment underway, McLravy takes readers throughout Northern Michigan and into the courtroom for vivid and sometimes grisly legal thrillers.
With the combination of his lawyering experience, entrepreneurial success in the media business, and passion for storytelling, McLravy demonstrates a literary way to utilize a legal education.
R. Charles McLravy II, ’77The fact that my law degree is from the University of Michigan opened so many doors for me, which is a debt I could never repay. I also wouldn’t be writing these books if it weren’t for my law degree.
Trading law for media
McLravy, an avid reader since childhood, comes from a literary family. His mother taught at Michigan State University (MSU) after earning her bachelor’s, master’s, and doctorate in English there. Following in her footsteps, McLravy earned his undergraduate degree in English and finance from MSU before matriculating at Michigan Law.
“The most important thing I learned in law school, and it didn’t take long for me to learn it, was that I wasn’t the smartest guy in the room,” he says. “That was a humbling but valuable experience. It took an awful lot of work for me to do well.”
McLravy’s next challenge was applying his legal degree to the real world. In the four years following his graduation from the Law School, he experienced what it was like to work in Big Law, a small private law firm, and even an ad agency.
But in 1981, he became what he calls a “serial entrepreneur.” Specifically, McLravy found himself in the business of buying and selling radio and television stations, tower companies, and, later, billboard companies.
“This was well before the internet and social media,” he says. “When I bought my first radio station, they were where most people got their popular culture, and I was very interested in that.”
McLravy is still working in the media business and, through Showtime Outdoor, owns digital billboards.
A lifelong literary calling
Though he found success in his entrepreneurial pursuits, McLravy’s creative itch led him back to school. In the early 1990s, he returned to MSU to take writing courses and began writing screenplays and short stories before embarking on his first novel.
“I became interested in the mystery and thriller genres through the different stories I grew up with,” says McLravy. “There’s an Agatha Christie play that’s been adapted a couple of times called Witness for the Prosecution, and I really liked Alfred Hitchcock movies. That’s how it all started.”
McLravy writes under a pen name, Charles Cutter, which was inspired by the cutter sailboat his parents owned and the difficulty people had with his last name. Sailing is only one of the themes from McLravy’s life that he includes in his literary world. He is also an avid conservationist—an interest he has imparted on a handful of his characters—and his characters’ canine companions often are inspired by McLravy’s real-life dogs.
The latest book in the series, The Lady Slipper, is almost complete. A key element of the mystery centers on an endangered Northern Michigan orchid by the same name.
When he’s not writing or closing billboard deals, McLravy focuses on philanthropy. Recently, he established a $250,000 planned gift at the Law School, which will create the R. Charles McLravy Law Scholarship Fund.
“Even though I didn’t practice law for long, I learned so much at the Law School,” he says. “The fact that my law degree is from the University of Michigan opened so many doors for me, which is a debt I could never repay. I also wouldn’t be writing these books if it weren’t for my law degree.”
