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Book Summary and Reviews of The Politician by Tim Sullivan

The Politician by Tim Sullivan

The Politician

A DS George Cross Mystery

by Tim Sullivan

  • Critics' Consensus (2):
  • Readers' Rating (2):
  • Published:
  • Mar 2026, 416 pages
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About this book

Book Summary

A ransacked room. A dead politician. A burglary gone wrong – or a staged murder?

DS George Cross loves puzzles – he's good at them – and he immediately spots one when he begins investigating the death of former mayor Peggy Frampton. To most, the crime scene looks like a burglary that went horribly wrong. But George can see what others can't: This was murder.

After her political career ended, Peggy became a controversial blogger whose forthright opinions attracted a battalion of online trolls. And then there's her family: an unfaithful husband and a gambling-addicted son. With yet more enemies in her past, the potential suspects are unending.

Cross must unpick the never-ending list of seedy connections to find her killer – but the sheer number of suspects is clouding his usually impeccable logic. He's a relentlessly methodical detective, but no case can last forever. And politics can be a dangerous game – especially for people who don't know the rules.

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Reviews

Media Reviews

"A top-notch whodunit with a Holmesian sleuth and a knowing tang." —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

"Triumphant ... This series only gets better as it goes." —Publishers Weekly (starred review)

This information about The Politician 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

Great police procedural
Is there anything more joyous to a mystery reader than finding a new (to you) series that you just fall in love with? And because there are multiple books, you can just go for one right after another? Well, that’s me with the DS George Cross series. This is now the fifth book for me and the first I’ve read rather than listened to. I’ll just be really sorry when I’m all caught up.

This time, the ex-mayor of Bristol has been found dead in her home. Cause of death is a question. And was this a burglary gone wrong or premeditated murder? George is just such a fascinating MC. He’s on the spectrum but he is trying to learn the social niceties. Well sometimes . And his interactions with Ottey are just perfect. “Ottey had become something of an expert in spotting when Cross used his condition conveniently to get out of something he didn’t want to do. He, of course, knew he did this from time to time, but was equally aware that it was working less and less frequently with his partner. Which was annoying.”

Sullivan loves to provide a multitude of suspects and red herrings. This time, I did suss out the murderer but that isn’t usually the case. I appreciate the blend of personal to professional life. And there is a major development in Cross’s personal life in this story.
I recommend this series for fans of Peter Grainger’s DC Smith series.

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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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