Who would kill a bespoke tailor?
That is the initial central question for DS George
Cross of the Avon and Somerset police in The Tailor: A DS George Cross
Mystery by Tim Sullivan. This eighth book in the series opens with a
murder on a train. There is absolutely no question it was a murder.
The deceased man was found in the first-class
bathroom of a passenger train headed from Bristol to Paddington Cross in London.
Apparently, the plastic bag over his head did not fully do the job, so the
killer deeply slashed the victim’s throat. He cut so deeply that the killer
almost severed the head from the body.
That got the job done.
He also got away with it with nobody noticing
anything at all.
Because the victim was wearing a bespoke suit with
the label of “Titcomb & Titcomb’s of Park Street,” Detective Sergeant George
Cross believes there is a good chance that the deceased is one of their
clients. Within a short period of time, they learn that the deceased is one
William Titcomb.
Not a client, but one of the owners of a long
running family business. A third-generation tailor, William Titcomb was married
to Min, and had two small children. His twin sister, Gwen, is also heavily involved
in the business.
According to Gwen, he was headed to Heathrow Airport
to board a flight to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates for fittings with two
clients. Then he was to travel on to Xiamen, China, where they have a tailoring
operation and check in there. Min comes from China, has contacts, and the facility
in China has been a huge boost to the family business. Mr. Titcomb was
traveling with two suitcases, presumably full with the suits for the clients in
Dubai. Those suitcases and their
contents are missing.
Where are the suitcases? Who killed the bespoke
tailor? Was he killed for the suits?
Just some of the questions that DS George Cross and
the assembled team must answer in The Tailor: A DS George Cross Mystery by Tim
Sullivan. If the case was not enough, Cross and several others have to deal
with professional and personal upheaval in their lives. For one thing, as long-time
readers know, Josie Ottey, has been promoted. That means she is now superior in
rank to Cross.
An issue that Cross is slowly adjusting to as it has
been very hard for him as social situations are very difficult. Ottey’s
promotion means that she will no longer be with him in the field conducting
interviews and gathering information. That fact also means that she won’t be
around to manage him or smooth over awkward situations with those he talks to
as he goes about investigations. That has the potential to be a real problem
for Cross and a huge problem for the next person in that role.
Then there is a family situation for Cross that is
best left to the reader to discover. I don’t want to reveal more as it could be
construed as a spoiler as it is a major piece of the plot. However, for those readers,
like me, who have gone through the death of a loved one due to cancer and absolutely
hate cancer storylines, it is not that. In fact, the issue here is not remotely
medically related in any way, shape, or form. You can rest easy on that aspect
of the read.
The Tailor: A DS George Cross Mystery
by Tim Sullivan is a complicated, fast moving, and highly entertaining read.
Much is going on in many different ways in the latest book in this long running
series. This review just skims the surface of this very good book.
Strongly Recommended.
Author Website: https://timsullivanusa.com/
Amazon Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/4fjUNAD
My digital ARC came from the publisher, Grove Atlantic, of Atlantic Crime,
through NetGalley, with no expectation of a positive review.
Kevin R. Tipple ©2026
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