I am always on the lookout for new mystery series, and especially those with unusual lead characters. The Dentist certainly came through on that count! DS George Cross is on the autism spectrum, which causes him to struggle with "normal" interactions. His differences, however, contribute to his success as a police officer...his ability to spot inconsistencies and to focus on the material or questions at hand, as well as his concern that justice be served. I thoroughly enjoyed The Dentist and look forward to further titles in this series.

I have read others in this series, this is book 1 . In some ways Cross, the detective sergeant who is on "the spectrum", though he is established in his role in the police. The relationship with his partner, Ottley has yet to become close, though she does know how his mind works.
The pacing here is up and down, as George and those around him are gradually introduced and his interests described. The investigation into the death of a homeless man seems cut and dried though George is not happy with the way the case is quickly sewn up. The different strands of his investigation start to come into their own as the book progresses and there are quite a few twists and turns. Not particularly suspenseful though. I liked the location, in Bristol but don't know the area well enough to be able to say whether or not the locality is well portrayed.
Thanks to Net Galley for the ARC, a good read, though I preferred others in this series

George Cross is a detective who is on the autism spectrum. It makes him a good detective, but unpopular with the rest of the department!
He is the only one who cares about the homeless man whose body was found. His attention to detail informed him that this was murder.. It turns out that this murder has to do with something that happened years ago. It seems he's always showing up the bosses, but they can't let him go because he is often right! His character is so perfectly drawn that you can't help but love him even though he is impossible! Supporting characters are interesting, and I hope they return in the future.

When the body of an elderly homeless man is discovered on the edge of Clifton Downs, George insists on scrutinizing the smallest details, even after his fellow officers dismiss the murder as an act of random violence. As he delves into the dead man’s past, he discovers a connection to a case that has been cold for fifteen years. The same tragedy that led to the victim’s homelessness may have also led to his death. Despite skepticism from his colleagues, including his partner Josie who as usual is both exasperated by and protective of George, he is determined to solve both cases – and finally arrest the murderer who has roamed free.

When I saw the cover of this book, I thought, "If I'm not chosen to read this book, I'm going to be so sad!" I saw the forceps, as well as the dental explorer on the cover and thought "This book is MINE!" As a retired dental and oral surgery assistant, I was ecstatic when the publisher chose me to read an ARC. Hello. My name is Valleri, and I'm an outlier.

I read just a quarter of The Dentist before I gave up. I felt as though that entire portion of the book was ALL telling, instead of showing, and filled with repetition regarding DS Cross. It had FINALLY mentioned the dental practice (after slogging through a quarter of the book) but I couldn't take anymore and I DNF.

I should mention the fact that I have a grandson who has Asperger syndrome, and he is nothing like DS Cross. (Thank heavens!) Asperger syndrome does NOT mean someone is constantly rude and insulting. I know that the author read books about Asperger's, and I applaud him for that. I wish I could include myself in all of those 5-Star reviews, but The Dentist just didn't do it for me.

Thank you, #Atlantic Crime, for providing this book for review and consideration via #NetGalley. All opinions are my own. The Dentist was previously published June 10, 2020, and has a new release date of Oct 21 2025.

Detective Sergeant George Cross is a man who is very much set in his ways. For very good reason. He is on the autism spectrum with Asperger’s syndrome. He has a very hard time picking up on social cues and interacting with people. He does not recognize emotions and has to go through a sort of mental catalog to figure out the emotion a person is displaying on their face. He comes off as cold and dispassionate as he zero sense of humor and takes nearly everything literally. He gets hyper focused on the minutia of a case. In so doing, he looks for patterns and anomalies. If you need somebody to find the needle in the haystack, he would be your man. He is an exceptional investigator though he drives everyone around him a bit mad at times.

As The Dentist: A DS George Cross Mystery by Tim Sullivan begins, he is at the outdoor location of a deceased elderly male. The man was clearly homeless in recent months and, quite possibly, years. The Uniformed Officers that responded to the scene have already deduced that this is just another random “homeless on homeless” crime and have lost all interest. DS George Cross is very sure they are wrong as the man still has his bag containing some food and alcohol. The alcohol is worth more than its weight in gold on the streets and one would think a homeless killer would have taken that.

No, something else is afoot. For DS George Cross the deceased also represents a fellow outsider like himself. He knows he does not fit in and has to work to maintain any sort of human contact with the team and others. He also is acutely aware of how he is and how he has been this way back to childhood. He also is very aware that he can’t change any aspect of who he is as that is the very fiber of his being. Truth be told, he doesn’t care. He just does what he does. Because of that, he is an exceptionally good investigator in the Major Crime Unity of the Avon and Somerset police.

Because he is what he is, he is obsessed with rules and procedure. Everything is triple checked, if not more, and fully documented. He builds meticulous cases that prosecutors relish as they know that no corners were cut and everything is perfect going into trial. He may have little to no sense of humor and takes everything literally, but he also has a conviction rate of 97 percent.

DS Cross is absolutely certain that it is a murder. He is also sure that it is not a case of street violence among the homeless. A man that, as Cross spots in the mortuary, was married and a widower. Not only that, but Cross also spots that the murder victim still has his contacts in his eyes. After the pathologist that missed them uses tweezers and gets them out, Cross notes that they are a little bit larger than normal size. A specialized set of lenses that are used to treat a very specific and rare eye condition. That information could be used to track down his identity. Another example, in his mind, that if other folks would just do their jobs properly, he would not waste so much time having to go back over their work.

That attention to detail and knowledge beyond the job soon leads the police to his identity. They also soon have an obvious suspect, another homeless person, who clearly had a physical fight of some kind with the victim in the last few hours before the murder. The suspect was too drunk and has no memory of what happened. But, charging him, based on the evidence, would be easy and it would resolve the case successfully as the suspect probably did it in the mind of his boss and others.

When ordered to charge the suspect, Cross refuses, and the task falls to his partner, DS Josie Ottey. Cross also chooses to continue to investigate as he believes the suspect in their cells absolutely did not do it. He believes somebody else violently murdered the man as he was strangled so hard his trachea was broken.

With the victim identified, it doesn’t take Cross long to consider the fact that the death in the here and now might have something to do with the murder of the man’s wife fifteen years ago. A murder that was a media sensation. Dubbed the “Tea Set Murder,” it saw a man who confessed, later recanted, and was ultimately convicted, sent to prison.

It also was a case, apparently as Cross begins to review it, one that had issues. Was it just cutting corners and sloppy police work, or was there an actual police coverup? Was the actual killer then never identified and thus remained free? Is it that killer again in the here and now or what? Over the objections of his boss and others, Cross continues to work to link the two cases, and drags Ottey and Mackenzie along with him.

Originally published by Pacific Press in Great Britain in 2020, this police procedural now published in the United Sates by Grove Atlantic is very good. For those of us who have family members on the spectrum and/or worked for a number of years with students on the spectrum in the local public school system, the first few chapters of constant explanation of how DS Cross is and why can be a bit tiresome. However, if one gets through those several early chapters and stays with it, the patience is rewarded with a very good read as the case develops.

The Dentist: A DS George Cross Mystery is a very good read. Built around a main character that is pretty much brilliant and eccentric, the author has assembled an interesting cast of secondary characters. Whether that be the boss, DCI Carson, who is not an idiot though he is a political animal and looking to move up, DS Josie Ottey, who tries to get him to be better with others and is often exasperated by that and other things, the new Police Staff Investigator, Alice Mackenzie, a trainee who soon learns to do only what she is explicitly told to do, and others. Each character, regardless of their importance in the read, is quite distinctive as the read becomes more and more complex and pulls the reader deep into an intriguing fictional world.

Strongly recommended and very much worth your time.


I received a digital ARC from the publisher, Grove Atlantic, through NetGalley, with no expectation of a positive review.


Kevin R. Tipple ©2025

DS George Cross has the highest clearance rate on the Bristol police force. He is also one of the most irritating men to work with. Cross is on the spectrum and that means he is like a terrier with a bone when he is working a case. He doesn't really care about making friends at work or even doing what his bosses tell him to. Once he latches onto a case, he will work it until it is solved.
The latest case seems like it will be an easy one. A homeless man has been found dead, signs of a fight and the victim being intoxicated established. It seems like a case of two homeless men fighting and one dying. Until Cross discovers that this homeless man was a dentist before he went on the streets. And that the man's wife had also been murdered shortly before he fell apart. Cross's boss wants the easy solution but Cross is sure that the two murders are connected and the wife's case was never solved. He is determined to solve both.

When Cross first started on the force, he was bullied unmercifully by his superior officer. Now he finds that the same officer was in charge of the wife's murder and the case had a terrible investigation. While Cross has no fond memories of the man, he was a competent police officer. Why didn't he solve the wife's murder?

This is the first book in the DS George Cross series. George lives with his father whom he gets along with. He loves organ music but refuses to play for others. He drives his partner, a single mom nuts and intimidates the new female hire but he does include them in the investigation and works with them. His partner helps him recognize social clues that would normally go past him. Readers will be fascinated with the way George's mind works and how he never gives up on a case. This book is recommended for mystery readers.

The Dentist is the first novel/mystery I've read by Tim Sullivan, and I'm very pleased to have come across it. It takes place in England and features an unusual protagonist, Detective Sergeant George Cross, who is on the autism spectrum with a diagnosis of what used to be called Asperger's Syndrome. (Now, Cross's behavior and presentation would be referred to as 'on the spectrum'). His social skills and interactions with others are very unusual, rather quirky, but his 97% solve rate is indeed impressive.

Cross is teamed up with DS Josie Ottey who has been charged by Carson, their supervisor, to keep Cross in line. Cross's methodology gets stunning results but he manages to upset people on his way to solving a case. Cross likes order in the extreme - statistics, facts, accounts, things lined up 'just so' on his desk. He lacks empathy and doesn't understand the subtleties of mood and emotions. He's a fact man, a rationalist at heart.

Entering Cross's line of vision is the murder of a homeless man, a case that his higher ups would like solved with minimal resources. In fact, they believe they have already identified the murderer. Cross doesn't agree with this assessment and believes the murderer is still at large. Interestingly, when the identity of the victim is attained, it appears that his wife was murdered 15 years previouly. Is this a coincidence or are the two murders somehow connected?

Cross's methods of inquiry in the interrogation room are unique. He has his own set of skills that differ from the usual type of police questioning. He is at his best when he is able to strip any sense of ease from the alleged felon.. He does this by careful design - longer silences between words and sentences, a special look, leaving the room abruptly and asking the same question repeatedly. He is sure that his approach will trip up the suspect.

Cross has no friends and his only social activity is a regular Chinese dinner at his father's house. His father is a hoarder which I found very interesting, especially with the juxtaposition of Cross's orderliness and minimalist lifestyle. He does not socialize with his colleagues and does his best to maintain social distance.

As the case of the homeless man unwinds, I found myself engrossed in the narrative. Cross seemed very real to me as did the supporting characters. Yes, this is a page turner but it is definitely a cut above the usual fare.

I enjoyed this book immensely and thank Grove Atlantic and NetGalley for the opportunity to access and review The Dentist.

The Dentist draws you in slowly but surely to the new series featuring DS Cross from the Somerset and Avon Police.

Cross has been diagnosed with Asperger Syndrome and his fellow officers really dont know what to think of him or how to relate .

Cross is anything but a fool. He is super focused on detail and can pick out things as well as reason way more than others would even think to do.

Yet Cross is somehow so likeable and he is someone I would want on my side.

The murder case they are on is a difficult one and presents with twists and turns that kept me saying just one more chapter.

This is book one of 20 in the series and is about to published in the United States by Grove Atlantic and I cant wait to delve into the future books with Cross .

There is just something so captivating about Cross that I am in for the ride and cant wait for Book 2, The Cyclist.

Thanks to NetGalley and Grove Atlantic for introducing me to this new series that I am so excited about.

Seeing the world through the eyes of a detective with Asperger's syndrome is a clever take on the police procedural genre. The Dentist is a satisfyingly twisty crime story and DS George Cross has a unique set of skills which lead him to solve this case in an entertaining way.
What I didn't enjoy quite so much were the supporting characters who we only viewed through their responses to DS Cross's peculiar behaviours. I felt that these aspects of the plot were over-egged to the detriment of the story. Never-the-less I would happily read more titles in this series.

My thanks to Grove Atlantic and Netgalley for an advance review copy.

Wow, The Dentist is such a good book. Author Tim Sullivan has written 8 novels featuring an autistic detective, DS George Cross. They have become quite popular in England and are now being issued more widely starting with a US edition of The Dentist, the first in the series. DS Cross's approach to investigating a case is different than the approach we are so familiar with. He craves directness, order and a strict adherence to following protocol. We also get a glimpse into the way his mind works as he navigates daily life, co workers and social situations through the lens of a man on the autism spectrum.
This is such a well written book. I look forward to reading the whole series.

DS George Cross is a most unusual police officer. He is on the autism spectrum, and can't be bothered with niceties like politeness and socializing with colleagues. However, it appears that what others see as his oddities are really superpowers since his rate of solving crimes is excellent. A homeless man has just been found dead, and colleagues want to dismiss the case as another homeless on homeless crime. George looks deeper, and learns that the man had been a respected dentist who was obsessed with finding out who murdered his wife years ago. Could the family be involved? And what about the respected police officer who originally conducted the murder investigation? George's behavior is reminiscent of another careful and observant detective--Sherlock Holmes--I look forward to reading more about him and his cases. Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the ARC.

This was a good book and I found myself looking forward to returning to it each evening. I liked the setting and I felt like I knew the main character within just a few chapters. I enjoyed how in depth and detailed characters were. Would definitely want to read more of the series!

DS George Cross in on the autism spectrum with Asperger’s syndrome. He’s a complex character, but he’s persistent when he investigates cases. He drives his fellow police, especially his partners and supervisors, nuts, but 97% of his cases result in successful convictions. Cross doesn’t recognize emotions. He has no empathy. He lives by rules and routine, but that leads to success.

When a homeless man is found dead, the higher-ups consider it a homeless on homeless case, and they’re not really interested. But, Cross considers it murder, and he wants to identify the victim and find the killer. Cross’ partner, DS Josie Ottey, reluctantly agrees with him. When they bring in a man who fought with the victim the night he died, the higher-ups are pleased, and force Ottey to charge him because Cross refuses to do it. Instead, he continues to investigate, against the wishes of his boss, and he drags Ottey and a new young staff member along with him.

Once the dead man is identified, Cross won’t let go. He talks with the family, and learns about a case from fifteen years ago. The more he investigates, the more he’s convinced the solution lies in the past, and that someone got away with murder long before the current victim died.

The Dentist is a fascinating police procedural because of Sullivan’s development of George Cross’ character. He spends a great deal of time showing how Cross’ personality and Asperger’s affects his work and his life, as well as his relationships with his co-workers. But, he doesn’t neglect Ottey, a black single mother, or Cross’ father. Step-by-step, George Cross uses all his skills to find a killer, someone who has killed before, and who may have been assisted by a cover-up within the police department.

There is nothing like a Tim Cross book with one of my favourite detectives, George Cross, such an endearing character who suffers from Asperger’s syndrome. This is actually the first book in the series, a series I have been following ever since this book came out.

George has a vastly unique way of investigating crimes, and his personality comes across as he deals with other police, and those he works with. He is often viewed as rude, off standish and abrupt but even though he approaches detective work his way he is remarkably successful and good at what he does.

For those who have not read Tim Sullivan’s books you are now being given the opportunity to commence this wonderful series, and I believe by the end of this book you will be hooked.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of the book, all opinions expressed are my own.

This is the first novel in a now very lengthy series about Bristol Detective Sergeant George Cross. I had previously read the second story (The Cyclist) but couldn’t remember if I’d enjoyed it or not.

Cross is on the autism spectrum and the author presents his neurodivergence as the source of skills which are a distinct advantage in his world of murder investigation. It’s a useful fulcrum for the novel as Cross can be presented as analytically brilliant, whilst socially awkward and unpopular in the police force.

I quite liked this as a concept and thought it worked well. Cross is awkward, rude and very hard to get along with. However, these points were overly laboured. The author felt obliged to explain his behaviour too often rather than leaving it to the reader to see the behaviour and the impact it had, and figure things out for themselves.

This is a nice police procedural which is well thought out and presented. There were times when I wondered whether a man with Asperger’s that was as pronounced as Cross’s could actually become a Detective Sergeant. Detectives are in almost all cases individuals who have served as a uniformed police officer and I don’t buy into the idea that Cross could have done this. Certainly it’s not impossible, but the lack of any social skills would not have allowed Cross to function in a public facing role, and as DS is an, albeit lowly, leadership role, promotion would be very difficult to achieve. Minus a star for this lack of realism.

Cross often watches suspects body language, facial expressions, or inconsistencies in what they say, and uses these cues to work out if they’re lying, or what they really feel. And yet he can’t read the reactions of his colleagues or engage in small talk. The concept of his ASD is not carried through consistently.

But don’t get me wrong. These niggles notwithstanding, I did enjoy this book. The plot is clever and the list of suspects in the murder are well drawn and interesting. I really liked the realistic portrayal of how an investigation goes on for months, with a lot of it spent knee deep in paperwork, rather than the wham-bam, instant forensic results (thought that did happen near the beginning) and all over in a day or two approach of a lot of crime fiction. Cross is the dominant character from the police side and I didn’t feel Ottey (his sidekick) got a big enough look-in. Cross’s father Raymond is a fun person to bring in to break up the police procedural side of things. A nice opening to a series of novels.

There is a huge error in the text as the confession of the killer is revealed at the end of chapter 49 BEFORE they are interviewed in chapter 50. This will need correcting before publication.

Thank you to NetGalley for making an advance copy of this book available for review. The opinions expressed above are entirely my own, following a full read of the novel.

This is a good start to a new police procedural series that I know a lot of people will enjoy. People who enjoy police procedurals that features a highly analytical detectives like Sherlock Holmes and Monk, or who like detectives stories with a slight coziness that comes from the developing interpersonal connections between the characters, will like this book.

What a wonderful book! George Cross is Britain’s Adrian Monk, only without the experience of having loved and lost his Trudy, His Asperger’s, while keeping him from understanding personal relationships, makes him an amazing detective. The story line was very well written and the supporting characters were perfect. I can’t wait to read the rest of the series. Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this great book. The he opinion is my own.

How fortunate that I came across this series by Tim Sullivan, featuring DS George Cross of the Avon & Somerset Police. Sullivan has been writing his police procedurals since 2020, with his 8th novel coming out in 2026, and yet he has received little acclaim in the US. The Dentist is rich in descriptive writing about the Bristol setting and the plot is well planned out and compelling. However, it is the characterization that leads in this novel.
DS Cross has the best conviction rate in his area of England because he is logical and systematic – Cross has Asperger’s Syndrome. Of course, this also means that while finding patterns and missteps in logic, he also is extremely irritating to those around him. His partner DS Josie Ottey, a single black mother of two, complains about Cross repeatedly to their superior but also surprises herself by learning from Cross. Ottey has been given the dubious responsibility of keeping Cross from offending too many people in the investigation. Another young female police trainee, Alice, is assigned to be Cross’ errand-girl. Alice and Cross’ difficult and awkward exchanges are often humorous as neither understands the other.
The story centers around the murder of a homeless man. The quick solution is that another homeless man killed him in drunken anger, but Cross is not happy with that easy but not-detailed-enough story. Thus, Cross sets off to find out the history of the homeless man and those around him.
The plot moves slowly, with much information as to how the mind of a person with Asperger’s works. This is not a novel for action junkies! But if you like wonderful procedurals with a bit of humor and rich writing, Tim Sullivan is for you. I am going to read the other six books in order – each is named for a different role; The Cyclist, The Patient, The Politician, The Monk, The Teacher, The Bookseller. How exciting to find such a fantastic series with so many unread books in it!

My rating: 5 of 5
This ARC title was provided by Netgalley.com at no cost, and I am providing an unbiased review. The Dentist was published in 2020.

As a dentist, I approve this book! Engaging and interesting with a lot of thrills and adventure.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this eARC. All opinions are my own.

a compelling introduction to DS George Cross, a detective whose brilliance is matched only by his social awkwardness, stemming from his place on the autism spectrum. Set in Bristol, the narrative unfolds with the discovery of a homeless man's body, leading Cross to uncover connections to a 15-year-old cold case involving a murdered dentist. Sullivan masterfully portrays Cross's meticulous nature and unwavering commitment to justice, even when it pits him against colleagues and superiors. The novel's strength lies in its intricate plotting and the depth of its protagonist, offering readers a fresh perspective on the detective genre. For fans of character-driven mysteries, The Dentist is a must-read that promises both intrigue and insight.