Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Screenwriter Sullivan debuts with an excellent procedural centered on a neurodivergent investigator. Det. Sgt. George Cross's eccentric behavior and strict adherence to department rules grate on his colleagues, but his superior sleuthing comes in handy when an old man is found strangled in the street. The responding officers are quick to dismiss the death as a case of homeless-on-homeless crime, but Cross isn't convinced. The victim's bag, for instance, contains valuable items that Cross suggests a financially insecure killer would have stolen. He becomes fixated on the case, in part because he identifies with a victim who "was easier not to engage with, to walk past, avoid." Eventually, the dead man is identified as Lenny Carpenter, who'd been living out of a seedy hostel in recent weeks. More digging reveals that Lenny's wife, Hilary, an author, was murdered long ago, and that Lenny was declared dead years before his actual death. Realizing something larger is at play, Cross reopens Hilary's cold case and uncovers a conspiracy stretching back decades. Sullivan strikes gold his first time out, injecting investigative scenes with a cinematic flair and firmly establishing Cross as a quirky, lovable lead. Readers will be eager for the sequel. Agent: Peter Straus, RCW Literary. (Oct.)
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Review by Library Journal Review
Making his U.S. debut, screenwriter Sullivan kicks off a strong police procedural series featuring DS George Cross, a Bristol-based policeman on the autism spectrum who uses his neurodiversity to produce an amazing record of successful arrests. Cross's unrelenting attention to detail catches a clue the coroner missed, helping identify a murdered homeless man as dentist Leonard Carpenter. But the dentist was pronounced dead five years ago; why has his freshly murdered body turned up now? Cross begins to investigate with a structured logic that throws doubt on the arrest of the dead man's homeless compatriot, Badger, when even Badger himself thinks he might be guilty. As Cross continues to dig, he discovers that Leonard was obsessed with his wife's unsolved murder. Soon the two cases are intersecting, and Cross believes the solution of the earlier case will lead him to the latest murderer. Procedural devotees will love Sullivan's pristine plotting, including multiple set pieces where Cross interrogates witnesses using an idiosyncratically determined method that never fails. Sullivan has created a wholly three-dimensional protagonist, equal parts charming and maddening. VERDICT A winning series that will delight fans of Ed McBain and BBC's Sherlock. Eight DS Cross novels have already been published in the UK.--Jon Jeffryes
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
Shocking secrets and past crimes surround the murder of a homeless man. Called to investigate the murder of a homeless man in a park in Somerset, England, DS George Cross and DS Josie Ottey verbally spar as they examine the crime scene. The meticulous Cross--who's on the autism spectrum--has a very high success rate but difficulty partnering with other detectives, and his pairing with Ottey is no different. For her part, Ottey, a Black single mother, feels more like the white Cross' apologist and intermediary than his partner. Sullivan's series kickoff is deeply character-driven and moves both deliberately and briskly through the steps of the case. The victim is identified as Lenny, and his homeless pal Badger emerges for a time as the prime suspect. The probe gains traction when Lenny's full identity and family are located. Before the murder of his wife, Hilary, sent him into a downward spiral, he was Leonard Carpenter, the dentist of the title. Valuable information from Leonard's daughter, Jessica, and DCI Stuart MacDonald, the incompetent detective assigned to Hilary Carpenter's case--who had been Cross' boss as a rookie officer--helps move Cross and Ottey along the long road to the killer. The first of Sullivan's eight DS Cross novels to be published in the U.S. invites readers into a fully realized world of investigation and resolution. This includes both Ottey's perspective on the exacting Cross and Cross' complex relationship with his father, Raymond. A multifaceted murder puzzle anchored by a compelling pair of sleuths. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
