The Teacher by Tim Sullivan The DS Cross Mysteries #6
An eighty-year-old man is found murdered in his home.
His age and standing in the community makes finding his killer difficult – why would anyone harm an elderly man? What threat could he possibly be to anyone?
With no apparent motive, DS George Cross canvases the community for potential suspects but the man was known as generous, charitable, community-minded. Each interview about who the man is muddies the picture further. So Cross decides to look for who he was – revealing a past that is far less honourable than his present . . .
My Review
This is my third George Cross mystery and I love him. So just a quick recap again ‘He’s on the neurodivergent spectrum (he refers to it as autism spectrum disorder) and takes everything literally. He doesn’t get jokes or irony which can be very confusing for his colleagues and intimidating for the criminals. They think he is taking the p*ss.’
His colleague DS Josie Ottey gets him though and recognises that he is the best officer on the Avon and Somerset Major Crime Unit (MCU). His detection record is off the scale. But socially, he is, shall we say somewhat awkward.
When 80 year-old headteacher Alistair Moreton is murdered in his cottage in the small village of Crowkerne, there appears to be no motive and finding the killer could be harder than usual. Josie is unfortunately on leave, so DI Bobby Warner is brought in from the Kent force to help. The first thing he does is move his desk into George’s office, which upsets George as he has always been allowed to have his own personal space. Warner doesn’t understand any of this – why should Cross get special treatment?
It’s not long, however, before George discovers that Moreton was not a nice old man who just happened to keep himself to himself. He was a tyrant when he was the headmaster of All Saints School, relentlessly dishing out punishments that would see him prosecuted nowadays. He had also had a run in with his neighbours that ended up in court. Suddenly there are suspects left, right and centre, but Warner believes he has his man, and George can go to hell in a handcart.
With ‘dogged’ (you’ll understand that reference when you read the book) determination George won’t give up investigating – for him and hopefully the rest of us – a case isn’t closed until it’s gone to court and the ‘defendant is guilty beyond all reasonable doubt’. Warner, however, has closed the case and George must carry on without alerting the rest of the force.
Warner is a nasty piece of work and we are reminded of the misogyny in the Met in recent years. But how far does it go and how far will his superiors go to brush it all under the carpet in order to protect the reputation of the force.
The Teacher moves us forward because it’s not just about George, Josie, Alice and Swift in the police, or George’s parents Raymond and Christine. We now have a subject that is both dark and topical and even George’s boss DCI Ben Carson has redeemed himself by being on the right side.
It’s all very intricately plotted with a lot of potential suspects who are eliminated one by one. The threads slowly come together until we are left with just one possibility. My only criticism of the book? I wanted George to keep Ricky. He needs a good furry friend.
Many thanks to The Pigeonhole, the author and my fellow Pigeons for making this such an enjoyable read.
About the Author
Tim Sullivan is a crime writer, screenwriter and director whose film credits include A Handful of Dust, Jack and Sarah and Cold Feet. Early in his career he directed Jeremy Brett’s iconic portrayal of Sherlock Holmes in ITV’s The Casebook of Sherlock Holmes¸ cementing his lifelong passion for crime fiction.
Tim’s crime series, featuring the socially awkward but brilliantly persistent DS George Cross, has been widely acclaimed and topped the book charts. The Monk is the fifth in the series.
He lives in North London with his wife Rachel, the Emmy Award-winning producer of The Barefoot Contessa and Pioneer Woman. To find out more about the author please visit TimSullivan.co.uk
Follow him at:
Twitter: @TimJRSullivan
Facebook: Tim Sullivan novels
Instagram: @timsullivannovelist
TikTok: @timsullivanauthor
