The Monk (The DS Cross Mysteries #5), by Tim Sullivan
The Monk by Tim Sullivan
Five stars out of five, and a clear favourite.
“The Monk” brings together two unanswered questions: who was Brother Dominic, a murdered monk whose past is unknown to the police, and what will George Cross make of his mother’s unexpected return? With no leads, the detectives must establish who Dominic was before they can make sense of the killing. Cross, meanwhile, has to revisit the question he has carried since childhood: why did his mother leave? I liked the quiet parallel between the two threads: the investigation reconstructs a stranger’s history, while Cross tries to understand a gap in his own.
Cross remains the series’ centre, precise in his reasoning but less at ease with the social assumptions other people take for granted. When Ottey says a man was trying to ease the tension, Cross replies, »Then he might have been better suited to a career as a masseur«. Ottey laughs, and Cross looks surprised. The joke lands without making him its target; Sullivan lets us see the dry wit in Cross’s remark and his genuine uncertainty about its effect. That affectionate balance is one of the book’s pleasures.
The same insight carries into a scene where Cross’s friends help him repair an organ. He sees the unexpected plan as »tantamount to an ambush« and adapts »with his usual lack of grace«. The humour comes from the mismatch between their helpful intentions and his surprise at being drawn into a group effort. Sullivan keeps Cross’s discomfort genuine while letting the scene stay affectionate, never making him the joke. It also reveals the warmth of these long-standing friendships and gives the series a life beyond the police work.
The mystery is strongest in its starting problem. The police know almost nothing about Brother Dominic, so Cross must build a picture of the victim while looking for a motive. It is not only a question of who could have committed the crime, but what kind of life might lead to it. That uncertainty also echoes Cross’s own story: in both threads, understanding someone means working carefully from what has been left unsaid. His mother’s return adds personal stakes, but the investigation remains central.
Compared with the public, politically charged case in “The Politician” (Review), “The Monk” feels more intimate. It recalls “The Patient” (Review) in its empathy for family bonds, but here some of that emotional attention turns towards Cross himself. As the fifth series novel, it benefits from an established team and a detective whose habits no longer need explaining from scratch. Sullivan pairs a satisfying traditional mystery with humour rooted in character and a personal thread that deepens Cross without eclipsing the case. I finished with even more affection for him. This is an easy favourite.
Five stars out of five, and a clear favourite.
Ceterum censeo Putin esse delendam
