Book Summary and Reviews of The Cyclist by Tim Sullivan

The Cyclist by Tim Sullivan

The Cyclist

DS George Cross Mysteries #2

by Tim Sullivan

  • Critics' Consensus (3):
  • Readers' Rating (2):
  • Published:
  • Jan 2026, 272 pages
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About this book

Book Summary

Detective Sergeant George Cross returns to solve the case of a mangled body on a construction site and uncover a life of illicit drugs in the second book in Tim Sullivan's internationally bestselling series.

DS George Cross has unique and unmatchable talents. He uses a combination of logic, determination and exacting precision to get answers where others have failed for families who have long given up hope. So when a ravaged body is found in a local demolition site, it's up to Cross to piece together the truth from whatever fragments he can find.

From the faint tan lines and strange scars on the victim's forearms, Cross meticulously unravels the young man's life, delving into the world of amateur cycling, an illicit supply of performance enhancing drugs, jealousy, ambition and a family tearing itself apart.

Cross's relentless pursuit of the truth and eccentric methods earn him few friends. But just as the police seem to be nearing a conclusion, he doubles back. Could it be the biggest mistake of his career?

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Reviews

Media Reviews

"Clever plotting, a robust suspect list, and scrupulous fair-play detection add to the fun. This series continues to impress." —Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"A compelling character portrait folded into a meticulous mystery." —Kirkus Reviews

"Cross moves at a blistering pace to unravel the mystery... Subtle clues tip the balance and Cross uncovers deep, long-held secrets and complexities that would escape most, including his colleagues. The Cyclist flows at speed, keeping readers tensely curious until the final page." —Booklist

This information about The Cyclist was first featured in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.

Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.

Reader Reviews

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labmom55

A great team
The Cyclist is the second in the DI Cross series and I enjoyed it as much as the first. Cross is somewhere on the Aspergers spectrum, but he’s making an effort to learn the social niceties from his partner, DS Ottey. In fact, kudos to Sullivan for not making Cross a caricature. The reader sees how Cross is trying, but it’s not a straight line of told once, mission accomplished.

This time, a dead body is found in a warehouse about to be demolished. The first job is discovering who the victim was. Once that was accomplished, Sullivan throws up multiple red herrings about why and who might have been involved. That said, I thought it was pretty obvious from early on who the murderer was and how it would all play out even down to the final twist. But even with that, I still really enjoyed this.

Cross is a fabulous main character but it’s Ottey that I was most taken with. She’s determined to make the partnership work, but that doesn’t mean he doesn't test her patience. Most of the humor is based on the relationship between the team members.
I recommend this one for fans of police procedurals.

I listened to this and it worked really well. John Heffernan did a good job as the narrator.

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Author Information

Tim Sullivan

Tim Sullivan is an acclaimed screenwriter, whose credits include A Handful of Dust, Where Angels Fear to Tread, Jack and Sarah, and Letters to Juliet. He is also a television director whose credits include Sherlock Holmes and Cold Feet. He lives in North London with his wife.

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