The Tailor by Tim Sullivan

Published by Atlantic Crime on August 11, 2026

The DS George Cross books are among the most entertaining police detective novels in current crime literature. Reading them in order would help readers understand the evolution of George’s relationships with his family and co-workers, but each book in the series has a self-contained plot, so readers can easily enjoy The Tailor without reading the earlier novels.

The story begins with the murder on a train of William Titcomb, a tailor who makes bespoke suits in Bristol. Titcomb’s body is found with a freezer bag over his head, but the killer apparently cut his throat after Titcomb managed to poke a hole in the bag with his pen.

To get to the bottom of the crime, George interviews Titcomb’s wife Min and his sister Gwen, who worked alongside Titcomb in his shop. Min is employed by a super-secret business that is developing batteries. When the corpse of an employee of the battery business is found with a freezer bag over his head, George suspects the police were wrong to chalk up the death as a suicide.

George also discovers that Titcomb was Toby Fletcher’s tailor. George met Fletcher (who George knows to be a British spy) in connection with an earlier investigation. He learns that Fletcher introduced Min to Titcomb in college. Fletcher’s role in the intrigue only becomes clear at the story’s end.

Titcomb maintained a workshop in China where his less expensive suits were assembled. He was taking the train to Heathrow to catch a flight to Dubai, where he planned to deliver two suits to customers of the firm before moving on to the workshop in China. Titcomb’s suitcase and suit carriers were stolen from the train (and the lining torn from the suit Titcomb was wearing), leading George to surmise that the killer was searching for something that Titcomb was transporting.

The murder mystery takes on elements of a spy novel when certain characters, including a Chinese apprentice in Titcomb’s shop and a couple of South Korean killers, raise George’s suspicions. George pulls at the threads of mystery until concocted stories unravel and he discovers the motivation for Titcomb’s murder.

Along the way, George manages to get himself abducted, a bit more action than he desires. George bicycles to work every day but he is far from an action hero. These books rely on old fashioned deduction rather than fistfights and shootouts to hold a reader’s interest. George is not someone who is likely to escape from armed captors unless he bores them to death as he analyzes their criminal motives and suggests improvements in the meals they bring him.

Like his father (a retired aeronautics engineer), George likes to know how things work, a trait that drove him to learn the intricacies of the drycleaning business in The Patient and bicycle racing in The Cyclist. George devotes the same obsessive interest to the process of making a bespoke suit in The Tailor. His former partner and new superior DI Ottey has learned that this is “all part of his oblique information-gathering process.”

Lectures about how things work can become tedious (for example, the whaling industry in Moby-Dick or glove manufacturing in American Pastoral), but Tim Sullivan manages to pique my interest in subjects without providing so much detail that I grow bored with them. And fortunately for the plot, Cross always learns something that helps him solve the crime.

Sullivan always adds human interest to his stories by exploring Cross’ relationship with his aging parents. In The Tailor, Cross’ father Raymond can no longer tolerate living with Cross’ mother and moves in with Cross, much to Cross’ horror. A suitable solution to Raymond’s impulsive behavior satisfies everyone except Raymond, but he’s placated by an arrangement that allows him to restore his model train set to a spare bedroom.

As is customary in DS Cross novels, the story moves quickly and the plot — while less complex than most entries in the series — has a few surprising twists. At this point, I enjoy the novels as much for George’s autism and his struggles to understand the importance of good manners as the mysteries that George solves. The other novels in the series have stronger plots and more cunning mysteries, but The Tailor delivers enough of George’s amusing peccadillos to make me glad I didn’t miss it.

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The Bookseller by Tim Sullivan

First published in Great Britain in 2025; published by Atlantic Crime on June 2, 2026

Like most writers of a genre series, Tim Sullivan follows a formula for George Cross novels. Readers have little reason to complain when the formula works, at least until it grows stale. Sullivan’s method produces intelligent plots and his original characters add to the pleasure. There’s no reason for him to change his recipe.

The formula is satisfying. Cross investigates a murder. He interviews multiple witnesses, some of whom might have a motive to commit the murder. A superior urges him to charge the most likely suspect. Cross resists because he wants charges to be followed by convictions and isn’t confident that he’s arrested the true killer until he has tracked down all the evidence and eliminated every possibility of innocence. A new suspect emerges but just when the reader thinks the mystery is solved, Cross fits the last puzzle piece into position, the suspect is exonerated, and the killer’s identity is revealed. What more can a mystery reader ask?

It will come as no surprise that the murder victim in The Bookseller is a bookseller. Torquil Squire is ninety years old and has spent most of his life buying and selling rare books. His son Ed worked in his Bristol shop. On the night of his death, Ed stayed in the shop after closing because he expected his father to return from an auction in London. Torquil was delayed a bit and when he returned, he found that his son had been stabbed to death.

Victoria Squire is the victim’s wife. Her niece, Persephone, is the daughter of her brother, Ian Hartwell, and his ex-wife Sarah. Sarah had a physical altercation with Ed about a decade earlier. Persephone works at the bookstore, together with Sam Taylor. Persephone was in the building when the murder occurred and is hiding in a bathroom when the police arrive. Sam resents Persephone’s attempt to shift the store’s focus from rare used books to new bestsellers. Naturally, all these characters are all suspects.

Like many readers, I love books about books. Sullivan opens an insightful window into England’s rare book market. Cross learns that rare book dealers have attempted to corner the market on books by a particular author. If one dealer acquires all first editions of an author’s books, the absence of competition allows him to drive up the price. Ed made an enemy of a London bookseller named Patrick Gibb after accusing him of cornering the market on Evelyn Waugh. That makes Gibb a suspect.

Torquil made an enemy of his former partner, Denholm Simpson, when he took half their stock and opened a store of his own in a building that he acquired from a customer. Denholm had a son named Nigel who used to be Ed’s best friend. Nigel recently brokered the sale to Ed of a letter authored by Christopher Columbus. Ed purchased it from an Italian and sold it to a wealthy Russian collector at a healthy profit. The letter turned out to be stolen, costing the Russian oligarch a couple million dollars when the library that owned it leaned of the sale and demanded its return. The Russian is on the suspect list because his goons threatened Ed’s life.

Subplots involving secondary characters have been developing throughout the series. Cross’ mother has been back in his life, an event to which — thanks to his autism — Cross has not easily adjusted. His father’s health has taken a bad turn, which has Cross contemplating retirement to take on the role of caregiver. Cross’ partner, DS Josie Ottey, has been promoted to DI, technically making her Cross’ superior — another event that doesn’t thrill Cross, although he sticks to protocol and calls her ma’am, much to Josie’s annoyance. Alice Mackenzie, a former staffer, is now pursuing police training. Series fans are likely to view these subplots as enjoyable encounters with old friends.

Cross is increasingly endearing. He has developed effective coping mechanisms for his autism, but his relentless honesty and failure to recognize when honesty will be perceived as rude is a dependable source of comic relief. At the same time, he makes serious efforts to understand the important people in his life by using logic and close observation as a substitute for his inability to express his emotions. Sullivan makes me believe characters when they say that Cross is both maddening and loveable.

As always, I changed my mind about the killer’s identity two or three times — maybe four, possibly five. Admittedly, I usually change my mind after Cross explains why my favored suspect couldn’t be the murderer. Cross is a cleverer detective than I am, but the series would be boring if that weren’t true. The large collection of suspects makes it challenging to identify the killer, but the answer is always plausible and Sullivan always gives the reader a sporting chance to guess the mystery’s solution. I have yet to be disappointed by this series and now rate the Cross novels as a “must read” for fans of classic mysteries.

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The Teacher by Tim Sullivan

First published in Great Britain in 2024; published by Atlantic Crime on May 5, 2026

George Cross is among the most entertaining protagonists in the modern world of crime novels. He suffers from Autism Spectrum Condition (he used to call it Asperger’s Syndrome but he’s changed his preference). Perhaps his co-workers suffer more than George, because he fails to recognize social cues and is thus unintentionally rude to everyone. When people get to know him (as readers quickly do), they realize that he makes the best of what he’s got, and what he’s got is focus and tenacity. When George locks onto an unsolved murder, his mind doesn’t rest until he’s found the solution. But what George doesn’t have is ill will. He simply wants the truth to come out and can’t understand why anyone else would have a different agenda.

The Teacher develops George and surrounding characters a bit less than earlier Cross novels. To the extent that Tim Sullivan adds to his well-developed characters, family plays a strong role in the novel. Mothers are particularly important. A subplot involves as the mother of George’s work partner, DS Josie Ottey, who now lives with Josie in one of those uncomfortable adult mother-daughter relationships.

George’s mother is back in his life. Her husband has recently died and she’s hanging out with George’s father, the most stable element of George’s universe. His father accepts him for who he is and keeps him anchored. George is starting to fret about how he will survive when his father passes, a worry that humanizes George and helps the reader appreciate that, whatever his condition might be called, he is still a human who deserves empathy and understanding.

The plot follows a formula that serves mystery writers well. It starts with a murder. Alistair Moreton has been stabbed in the heart with a chisel. His German Shepard mourns his master’s death, although that may be the only creature who will miss Alistair.

The story then introduces a number of plausible suspects, starting with a next-door neighbor, Barnaby Cotterell, who shared a driveway with Alistair and was hot-headed about Alistair’s maintenance of the hedges. But Alistair used to be a sadistic headmaster and there is no shortage of former students who have vowed to see him in his grave. Some resent him for making his son the head boy. The son, Sandy Moreton, is now a member of parliament, although another of Alistair’s students, Richard Brook, got Sandy recalled for bullying his staff. Like father, like son, it seems.

It turns out that Alistair developed a drug addiction after he had hip surgery. When his doctor wouldn’t prescribe more narcotics, he found a supplier. Two men then moved into his house, keeping him high with their supply while they used his residence as a base for their drug distribution. And then there’s Malcolm Fisk, who once accused Alistair of kidnapping his daughter. They are among the many suspects Cross interrogates as he tries to identify the killer.

A new detective, DI Bobby Warner, is filling in from another jurisdiction. He quickly settles on Cotterell as the killer and devotes his time to proving his theory is correct, a common method of police work that leads to the conviction of innocent people. The method is anathema to Cross, who soon finds himself at odds with Warner.

Warner is also at odds with police staffer Alice Mackenzie, an attractive young woman who doesn’t appreciate Warner’s aggressive sexual interest. Men who don’t know how to behave with women and the institutional protection they enjoy is a recurring theme in the story.

It’s no surprise but immensely satisfying when Cross proves that Warner’s theory is unsound. Alice is a bit more physical in teaching Warner a lesson. Cross finds the killer by turning his obsessive attention to the clues until he pieces them together in a new way. He’s assisted by the efforts of forensic investigator Michael Swift, who fancies himself a Watson to Cross’ Holmes. Several dogs enter the story and Swift’s ability to identify the dogs helps Cross identify the killer.

In book after book, Tim Sullivan delivers all the elements of a classic whodunit. I love the series, however, for Sullivan’s ability to create likeable characters while reminding readers that compassion and understanding are essential components of a meaningful life.

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The Politician by Tim Sullivan

First published in Great Britain in 2022; published by Grove Atlantic on March 3, 2026

The Politician is the fourth novel to chronicle the work of Detective Sargeant George Cross. They are being newly released to the American market, having originally been published in Great Britain. I send my gratitude to Atlantic Crime for introducing Cross to American readers.

Peggy Frampton was an “agony aunt.” I was unfamiliar with the phrase before reading The Politician, but it seems to be the social media version of an advice columnist. Peggy had an online following of five million. Before Peggy started dispensing advice on the internet, she was the mayor of Bristol.

Peggy’s body is found in her home. While it initially appears that she died from a blow to the head, an autopsy suggests a different cause. A search of her locked safe reveals that jewelry is missing. DCI Ben Carson, the lazy detective Cross disdains, immediately concludes that Peggy interrupted a robbery, but Cross is never content with the easy answer.

Peggy’s husband, Luke Frampton, is a relatively successful criminal barrister. He has never been elevated to the status of Queen’s Counsel, supposedly because he views the title as elitist. Cross suspects he has some other reason not to improve his professional status.

Peggy was a friend of the Chief, so he assembles a large team to find her killer. Fortunately for Cross, he assigns Chief Superintendent Heather Matthews as the senior investigator. He assures the other officers that his choice is in no way a reflection on Carson. “Which of course made everyone in the room immediately think it was exactly that.”

Internet trolls made nasty comments on Peggy’s site, so staffer and series regular Alice Mackenzie is assigned to review them. The police would like to get some help from Peggy’s long-time assistant, Janette Coombes, but she is “travelling through the Golden Triangle in South-East Asia” and only talks to her husband Mark about once a month (her choice, Mark reports with some sadness).

One suspect is Michael Ribble, who asked Peggy for advice about proposing to his girlfriend and blamed her when she rejected him. Luke is a suspect because he regularly cheated on Peggy and husbands are always suspects. He has been dating Agnesha Dragusha, a much younger woman whose father, Luke’s former client, is the head of an Albanian crime family who manages the family business from prison.

A different branch of the investigation involves Peggy’s social activism. She had opposed a housing plan because the developer would not satisfy her demand for affordable housing. The developer, Adam Chapel, seems like a decent man, but his pursuit of money over morality cost him his friendship with his founding partner. His new second-in-command, Clive Bland, strikes Cross as a sketchier businessman.

As always, Tim Sullivan tells a story that is rich with detail. I appreciate the way Sullivan shares clues with the reader as Cross discovers them, giving a clever reader an opportunity to solve the mystery before the truth is revealed. I managed to guess (rather than deduce) part of the reveal, but some clues slipped past me. It is fun to watch Cross weave them all together as he interrogates the suspect and provokes an inevitable confession. As always, Cross chases down every clue and refuses to make assumptions. Unless every puzzle piece fits perfectly, he isn’t satisfied.

As Cross and Ottey travel around the English countryside interviewing suspects, atmospheric descriptions of buildings and gardens give this (and the other Cross novels) a strong sense of place. Character development continues, with a focus on Cross’ relationship with his father. Cross finally learns the truth behind his mother’s decision to abandon him in his childhood (or so it seemed to him), a decision he always attributed to her inability to cope with his autistic behavior. I’m a little slow, but the explanation finally dawned on me after Sullivan offered a clue about three-quarters of the way into the novel. Savvier readers might clock the truth more quickly. The explanation for his mother’s mysterious disappearance makes perfect sense.

Mystery fans will do themselves a favor by treating the George Cross novels as essential reading. The Politician is my favorite of the series so far, not because the mystery is clever — they’re always clever — but because of the touching way Cross’ character evolves as he processes new information about his parents’ relationship.

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The Patient by Tim Sullivan

First published in Great Britain in 2022; published by Atlantic Crime on February 3, 2026

The Patient is the third DS Cross novel to be published in the American market. I urge crime novel fans to read the series in order, the better to appreciate how character interaction changes as the novels progress. Readers who prefer to test the waters with The Patient will nevertheless find a novel that can easily be read as a standalone.

Detective Sargeant George Cross is on the spectrum. His obsessive need for order and his refusal to base decisions on assumptions rather than evidence makes him an ideal police detective. His inability to engage in small talk and his indifference to conventions of politeness makes him less than an ideal coworker, but most members of the department have adjusted to his brusque style. His job is to solve crimes, after all, not to hang out at the water cooler and gossip.

The Patient begins with Sandra Wilson trying to convince the local police that her daughter was murdered. The detective who investigated quickly decided that Felicity Wilson was a drug addict who died accidentally from a self-inflicted overdose. Cross happens upon Sandra, listens to her state her case, reviews the police file, and is inclined to agree with the accidental death theory until he learns that Felicity was a recovering addict whose daughter was sleeping in the next room when she died.

Cross asks the medical examiner to conduct further testing, cheesing off DI Campbell, the detective who investigated the case. The testing shows that Felicity died from medical morphine rather than heroin, a drug that isn’t readily available on the street. A test of her hair confirms that she hadn’t used drugs for at least eighteen months. Why would she suddenly decide to inject a drug while her young daughter was sleeping?

The main story follows Cross as he investigates the death. Several viable suspects emerge, including the father of Felicity’s child, the manager of a laundry that employed Felicity (he hired recovering addicts so he could sexually exploit them), the manager’s father, and a doctor/therapist who advocates for assisted dying on behalf of people with mental health issues.

Tim Sullivan makes each suspect a plausible criminal, making it difficult for the reader to guess the outcome of Cross’ investigation. Sullivan’s skillful planting and concealment of clues makes The Patient (like the first two entries in the series) the kind of carefully constructed mystery that crime novel fans should enjoy.

An amusing subplot concerns a complaint that Campbell files against Cross for disrespectful behavior after Cross accuses him of negligence — a complaint that Cross refuses to address because he regards it as a silly distraction from his work. Series fans should also enjoy the continued development of Cross’ working relationship with his partner, DS Josie Ottey, and a non-uniformed police staffer, Alice Mackenzie. By being patient and a bit devious, both women find ways to help Cross learn coping behaviors that encourage meaningful interaction with other officers and civilians he interviews.

Cross’ passion for playing the organ adds a bit of comic relief when the pastor whose church organ he tunes in exchange for practice time finally persuades Cross to play a recital. Sullivan also finds humor in Cross’ relationship with his father, a hoarder who needs nursing care after fracturing his hip. A final plot element involves Cross’ estranged relationship with the mother who abandoned him. Sullivan uses these characters to help the reader understand that people on the spectrum still have a heart, even if they lack the social skills to reveal their hearts to others, and to illustrate how a sensitive approach to people on the spectrum can pay enormous dividends.

As always, the story moves quickly, but not at the frenetic pace of a thriller. Sullivan gives the reader a chance to relax and appreciate the mystery he’s crafted, while populating the novel with characters who are welcome additions to the reader’s literary life.

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