The Monk – Tim Sullivan
To find a murderer, you need a motive . . .
THE DETECTIVE DS George Cross has always wondered why his mother left him when he was a child. Now she is back in his life, he suddenly has answers. But this unexpected reunion is not anything he’s used to dealing with. When a disturbing case lands on his desk, he is almost thankful for the return to normality.
THE QUESTION The body of a monk is found savagely beaten to death in a woodland near Bristol. Nothing is known about Brother Dominic’s past, which makes investigating difficult. How can Cross unpick a crime when they don’t know anything about the victim? And why would someone want to harm a monk?
THE PAST Discovering who Brother Dominic once was only makes the picture more puzzling. He was a much-loved and respected friend, brother, son – he had no enemies. Or, at least, none that are obvious. But looking into his past reveals that he was a very wealthy man, that he sacrificed it all for his faith. For a man who has nothing, it seems strange that greed could be the motive for his murder. But greed is a sin after all…
I recieved a review copy from the publisher. My thanks to Anne Cater of Random Things Blog Tours for the opportunity to host this leg of the blog tour.
Tim Sullivan’s DC George Cross novels have been on my radar for some time. One of the best things about being a bookblogger is knowing every single day you will more than likely become aware of a new book which someone has loved. You mentally take note and vow to read said book. Then you realise there are simply not enough hours in the day to read all the books you want to read. But the regular and recurring praise for the George Cross thrillers were such that I was determined to find time to read them. And I am so glad I did!
First the housekeeping; The Monk is book five in the series and I haven’t read the previous four. There’s always going to be a different reading experience for returning readers than a new reader will encounter – characters are more familiar and those returning readers know various elements of their background. That said, I had no problems following events in The Monk and was comfortable with the characters and their dynamics within the story. If, like me, you are new to DS Cross you can dip into the series here and not feel lost.
And I do feel you should consider dipping in as The Monk was terrific, a murder mystery where the reader follows the investigation alongside the police. You will hear facts and learn of events at the same time as the police and that linear narrative was a real treat, I felt I was involved all the way through the process which is something of a rarity in my recent reads.
The police had been alerted to a missing Monk, he had not seen seen by his cloistered brethren for a few days. So when a dog walker finds a battered, bloody and very dead man wearing a monks robes it’s not too much of a stretch for them to identify the victim of this brutal crime.
The real challenges begin here for DS Cross and his colleagues. Who would want to kill a Monk? Why was this such a brutal crime? They head to his monestary to begin their investigation and learn more about how Brother Dominic lived his life before his shocking death. What they find is a quiet, popular man who kept his previous life, before the church, a secret from his brothers.
Secrets never stay secret for long in a murder investigation and Cross learns Brother Dominic was once a successful city banker, before the Financial Crisis of 2008. Did something happen all those years ago which had someone holding a grudge? More recently Brother Dominic had upset a high profile businessman when his expert valuation of a religious artefact priced the piece significantly below what had been paid for it. Could a wealthy and ruthless entrepreneur have arranged for the death of a Monk?
Discovering the truth was reading joy. I got wholly engrossed in the story and immediately vowed to catch up on the earlier George Cross books. Great fun – read it!
The Monk is available today and can be bought in hardback, digital and audiobook format. You can order a copy here: https://www.waterstones.com/book/the-monk/tim-sullivan/9781804545607