A homeless man. Violently strangled. No leads. Except his past.#5 Amazon bestseller Contemporary British Fiction #26 bestseller crime fiction #26 bestseller mystery action fiction (6/26/20)An outsider himself, DS George Cross is drawn to this case. The discovery of the dead man’s connection to an old cold case then pulls Cross in further. Convinced this is where the answer to the murder lies, he … where the answer to the murder lies, he sets about solving another that someone has spent the past fifteen years thinking they’ve got away with.
Cross’ relentless obsession with logic, detail and patterns is what makes him so irritatingly brilliant. It doesn’t exactly make him popular with colleagues or his superiors, though. He has numerous enemies in the force wanting to see him fail.
Red flags are soon raised as suspicious inconsistencies and errors in the original detective’s investigation come to light. Now retired, this ex-cop has powerful friends in the force and a long-standing dislike of Cross.
Set in picturesque Bristol in the Southwest of England, it’s not long before the city reveals its dark underbelly, in a case of intriguing twists and turns whose result astonishes even those involved.
Difficult and awkward, maybe. But Cross has the best conviction rate in Avon & Somerset Police. By far. Will this case put an end to that?
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Although the Englishman lives in North London, Tim Sullivan has Hollywood résumé as long as my arm, having worked with A-list actors and directors in both film and television. Despite his background—or perhaps because of it—The Dentist never feels like it’s trying too hard to be made into a movie.
There are plenty of juicy parts in The Dentist for actors to sink their teeth into should the need arise, however. DS Cross is an autistic detective sergeant, and there’s a cast of well-drawn characters around him who are in turn flummoxed and deeply impressed by the phenomenal results he achieves. The reluctant partner, the ambitious boss, and the wide-eyed rookie (not to mention the father who should be on an episode of Hoarders) are all clearly defined and great to spend time with. The suspects aren’t all as fun, and it’s clear where the investigation is focusing much too early.
The narrative is a bit bumpy in the first two or three chapters as the reader is told of DS Cross’s thought processes. I felt like we could have seen more interactions to reveal this, as several long prose paragraphs read more like a backgrounder and less like a novel. I hate to sound like a high school creative writing teacher, but “show don’t tell” could go a long way toward improving these sections.
Once the plot picks up—which it does quite early—we’re off. The book is impossible to put down. Even when we’re not rocketing through the investigation, the sense of curiosity (and sometimes dread) of what will happen next propelled me forward.
And just when I thought Cross had caught the perpetrator, there were more twists. I almost felt like I was watching a good episode of The Closer, the way DS Cross interviews the suspects.
Alas, the reader isn’t shown a crucial piece of evidence before the ending reveal, which spoiled the ending of an otherwise extremely satisfying book. The book could also do with another round of proofreading—quite a few tense changes and punctuation problems (missing commas, commas instead of periods) marred the enjoyment of the read too.
One also wonders exactly how the co-workers of DS Cross are allowed to be so insensitive and intolerant to his basic needs. Surely HR has trainings on these sorts of things. The way that he’s treated in the work environment feels a touch anachronistic.
Still, there’s a lot to like about The Dentist, and I’ve already bought the next book in the series. Strong characters and a crackling plot made this a great way to spend an afternoon.
THE DENTIST (DS Cross Mystery Series Book #1) by Tim Sullivan is the first book in a new British police procedural series with an intricately plotted mystery and a rather unique protagonist. A DS with Asperger syndrome would seem unlikely, but the syndrome is on a spectrum and his absence of social skills and empathy is more than compensated for by his meticulous pursuit of facts and justice.
DS George Cross has the best conviction rate in the Avon & Somerset Police. The prosecuting lawyers all love to get his cases because every fact is checked and in a logical order for an easy conviction. This attention to detail does not always make Cross an easy person to work with though. He is brilliant at his job, but he is not good with his colleagues. He does not understand many social cues that everyone else takes for granted.
A homeless man is found murdered. Cross and his partner Ottey begin to investigate and soon find a suspect, but Cross does not believe he is responsible for the man’s death. They discover that the wife’s murdered man was a much loved dentist until the murder of his wife fifteen years previously. Cross believes the solution to their present case will be solved with the resolution of the wife’s murder.
Suspicious inconsistencies begin to be raised in the original investigation. Now retired, the officer in charge of the wife’s murder is hiding something behind powerful friends on the force. Cross and Ottey are following a trail that will shock all involved.
I enjoyed this new DS protagonist and all of his quirks. The rapport between Cross and Ottey is revealed throughout the story and as much as Ottey complains, she also finds Cross interesting and someone she can learn from. The third person working with Cross is Alice Mackenzie who is a police trainee. She is innocent and eager, but she has to learn how to interact with Cross which leads to some humorous exchanges and no recognition of her hard work except in Cross’ mind because he does not feel it is necessary to verbalize. The plot is very detail oriented with plenty of twists and surprises. I liked every revelation of character and plot in this mystery which made for an excellently paced read.
I recommend this mystery and DS Cross. I am looking forward to many more books in this series.
DC Cross is very different but gets results. Book kept me guessing up to near the end.
I read both Sullivan books one after the other – The Cyclist – and found them both great reads. Good investigative methods and plot lines. More from this author please!!!
This was a great story line. You absolutely feel empathy for the homeless man and his family. In the end, the truth will out but it is sad that some things can not be made right.
I’m always on the lookout for new detective/crime thrillers to latch onto, and I love finding unique characters and settings. I have to say, DS Cross is truly one of the most unique characters I have ever come across. As you have (probably) seen elsewhere, Cross is on the spectrum. According to the book, he has a form of Asperger’s (which I believe has been absorbed into the full autistic spectrum). This results in him obsessing about the smallest details and minutiae. The case itself is interesting, as it weaves a cold case with a current case. Due to his attention to detail, Cross notices similarities and picks up on things that were missed by the initial investigators. I will say that Cross reminded me of the tv character Monk; they exhibited a lot of the same characteristics, and I got the same vibe. Thank you to Damp Pebbles for a digital copy of the book.
great who done it !
Entertaining
Very good read. I really like the main character …not your “usual detective”. Realistic and interesting plot. I look forward to reading more in this series
This book has no ending! You need to read the next book in the series to find out what happens and I find this frustrating.
Brilliant,best book I’ve read in years.Very original & funny.Enjoy
As usual with this author, a great read. Well devoloped characters with very interesting relationships. Hard to put down, I wanted to just keep reading. You are kept guessing till the end
The Dentist is what I classify as a solid, fun read. The flow and introduction of characters gives you just enough background you can start guessing how to put the pieces of the story together. The insight and pragmatism of the detective, the primary character, added a layer of complexity to this “who done it” that made the story that much more fun to read.
I really like George Cross! E is an interesting and complex detective. Great character development and very informative
Great beginning for a series.
Great story and characters. It was wonderful having a detective with Aspergers and using that attention to detail to solve crimes.
It was an easy read and twists and turns in the plot
One of the best books I’ve read this year of lockdowns. Great characters, well researched. Read it, you’ll enjoy it from start to finish.
The plot was inventive and I really like liked the look at an Asperbergers character, with strengths and difficulties. Great book!
A detective with autism, unusual, but excellently drawn.