DS George Cross is back! The eighth in Tim Sullivan’s entertaining series about the neurodivergent detective in the Avon and Somerset Major Crimes Unit keeps George’s reputation as a brilliant investigator and indifferent colleague wholly intact.
The story begins when a man is killed on the morning train from Bristol to London. In short order, he’s identified as William Titcomb, a third-generation tailor, whose firm is known for making very fine bespoke suits. Yes, he probably knew some secrets – waist circumferences, extent of shoulder padding and the like – but why would that make him a target for murder?
When William was killed, he was en route to Heathrow, to fly to Dubai, taking two suits for fittings with clients there, then on to China where Titcomb and Titcomb has a manufacturing facility. His luggage and the two partially completed suits have disappeared.
Billy Titcomb’s wife Min, born in China with family still there, is behaving oddly. Everything about her and their home is almost too perfect. She’s a scientist working for SJM Energy Solutions, a company developing a new type of battery that will be smaller, lighter, quicker to charge and hold its charge longer. In other words, the holy grail of the EV industry.
Min has secrets too, and rival Korean battery manufacturers would love to know them. As would interests in her native country.
For a taste of The Tailor, watch Tim Sullivan reading from his book below.
The investigation is seemingly stuck until George delves into the death of one of Min’s colleagues. Though Dr Chen’s death was ruled a suicide, George is unconvinced. But even if powerful corporate secrets are at stake, what does a tailor have to do with it, anyway? Only someone with George’s legendary doggedness can get to the bottom of this mess.
He’s not at the top of his form, however, because his long-time partner and strongest advocate in the department, DI Josie Ottey, has received a promotion, and has been replaced by DC Alice Mackenzie. George is relieved that Alice is at least someone he knows, and that, as his junior, she can safely be ignored. Even more to the point, Alice knows George – his quirks, his intelligence and his focus on the facts over social niceties. She’s fast learning how to handle him. Her stratagems actually occasionally work.
On the home front, George’s situation is unexpectedly shaky. He has been his father Raymond’s carer in his decline, a responsibility only somewhat lightened when his long-estranged mother reappeared and moved in with her divorced husband, to the surprise of all three of them. When she tires of her ex-husband’s badgering, she moves out again, possibly temporarily, possibly not. Raymond arrives at George’s flat, ready to be waited on, and now George is sleeping on the couch.
What I especially like about this series is the creation of characters you can really take an interest in. Not just George, his investigative team and unpredictable family, but also, in this case, the dead tailor’s business-partner sister, his work colleagues and wife. Sullivan provides enough of a sense of the bespoke tailoring milieu to appreciate how the story could actually move forward, even if you’re not quite ready to chalk up some worsted.
As George becomes intrigued by the possibility – and persuaded by the economics – of having Titcomb and Titcomb make a suit for himself, you keep learning painlessly a bit more about custom tailoring and how it fits into the global fashion economy. It’s delightful to see a buttoned-up person like George considering a purchase that at first glance seems rather indulgent. Even more rewarding is the realisation that familiarity with the intricacies of tailoring has set George on a path to identifying what Billy Titcomb was really up to.
All of the George Cross mysteries, each focusing on the profession of the deceased, create these believable settings, and Crime Fiction Lover has reviewed a number of them, including The Monk, The Teacher and The Bookseller. Author Sullivan’s background as a screenwriter stands him in good stead when it comes to creating compelling plots, riveting scenes, and keeping his story moving toward George’s ultimate case-cracking insight.
You also might like Liz Nugent’s Strange Sally Diamond or Jayne Chard’s More than Murder.
Head of Zeus
Print/Kindle/iBook
£9.99
CFL Rating: 5 Stars
