The Basket Case (The DS Cross Mysteries #7.5), by Tim Sullivan
The Basket Case by Tim Sullivan
“The Basket Case” has an absurdly good hook: a body lodged in a tree. But, like “The Ex-Wife” (Review), it feels more like a sketch of a mystery than a fully developed short story; the case and its people get too little room to breathe.
“The Lost Boys” (Review) and “The Hunter” (Review) made the same compact form feel more satisfying by giving Cross’s method and the human stakes room to register. Here, the premise is doing most of the work. A line about when Walker »was murder« jarred for the wrong reason. It is a thin outing, and I came away wanting more than a curious setup.
Three stars out of five.
