Peggy Frampton is very much dead in her
bedroom as The Politician: A DS George Cross Mystery by Tim
Sullivan begins. The cleaning lady had found her employer dead that morning.
Now Cross, the Detective Sergeant from the Avon and Somerset Police, will lead
the hunt for the killer or killers as this most definitely is a murder case.
At one time, Peggy Frampton was the
Mayor of Bristol. In recent years, she has been a social media influencer
through an advice column, and a writer. She has a massive online presence and
impact, not only in her local Bristol, England, community, but far beyond. She
tended to ruffle feathers, at times, with her blunt advice.
She is survived by her husband, Peter,
and their adult children. Peter is a lawyer. As it happens, he is in London, on a case, and is on
the way back home as DS George Cross looks at the body and the crime scene.
While some, such as DCI Ben Carson, believe
this is aa case of a simple burglary gone wrong, DS George Cross does not.
Before much can be done by the local police, due to the high-profile nature of the
case, Chief Superintendent Heather Mathews is brought in to supervise. Fortunately
for everyone, while she has never worked with Cross before, she knows of him
and how he is, and so she allows him wide latitude to pursue the case as he
sees fit. That means he can treat it like any other case and not be micromanaged
by Carson or anyone else.
That is always a plus. Especially here
with a case that is complex and constantly evolving as lines of inquiry are
adjusted as evidence comes to light. As always, the reader knows that Cross
will identify and build a case against those involved. The real question is
what else will he and his team unearth in their pursuit of justice for the
dead.
For that, you will have to read the
book.
It would also be best if you started
with the first read, The Dentist: A DS George Cross Mystery, and
work your way forward to this fourth book of the re-released series. This is not
a static police procedural series with very little change over time. Instead,
and one of the things that makes it so good, characters constantly evolve and
deal with things in life, relationships change, and more happens while the
police work continues.
The Politician: A DS George Cross
Mystery by Tim Sullivan is another very good installment of a
really good police procedural series. What more could you want?
Amazon Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/3Nu5Hrp
I received a digital ARC from the
publisher, Atlantic Crime, imprint of Grove Atlantic, through NetGalley, with
no expectation of a positive review.
Kevin R. Tipple ©2026
SMFS member Judy Sheluk announced that
her short story, The Last Detail, was published online at Brown Hound
Press.
The free to read tale was also inspired by real life. Judy explains more about
the story and the submission process in her guest post at The Stiletto
Gang.
By the way, if you are a writer, this is a paying market. Learn more here at the publication website. 
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