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The Cyclist: A DS George Cross Mystery
Not yet published
Expected 13 Jan 26Win a free print copy of this book!
9 days and 12:16:35
30 copies available
U.S. only
- GenresMystery
272 pages, Hardcover
Expected publication January 13, 2026
2 people are currently reading
3637 people want to read
About the author
Tim Sullivan
17 books564 followersTim Sullivan is an acclaimed screenwriter. He originally read English and Law at university - the latter forced on him by his Dad - but instead he wriggled free of those parental ambitions and pursued his own, to make films. His writing credits include A HANDFUL OF DUST, starring Kristen Scott Thomas, WHERE ANGELS FEAR TO TREAD, starring Helen Mirren and Helena Bonham Carter, JACK AND SARAH (which he also directed) starring Richard E Grant, Judi Dench and Ian McKellen and LETTERS TO JULIET, with Amanda Seyfried. He is also a Television director whose credits include SHERLOCK HOLMES and COLD FEET and CORONATIONS STREET. He has written extensively in Hollywood in both live action and animation, working with Ron Howard, Scott Rudin and with Jeffrey Katzenberg on the fourth SHREK movie.
He has now embarked on a series of crime novels featuring the eccentric and socially-awkward, but brilliantly persistent DS George Cross.
He self-published the first two books and once they'd achieved over 200,000 downloads he came to the attention of Head of Zeus publishers. So thanks to all his readers for this success and their shared love of George.
The novels are set in Bristol in the south west of England, Cross’ methods often infuriate his colleagues and superiors “not so much a thorn in my side as a pain in my arse,” according to his boss DCI Carson. But his conviction rate, thanks to his dogged persistence and attention to detail, is the best in the force. Tim has now written the first four in the series with The Patient being published on March 3rd 2022.
Tim feels confident in his claim that he is the only crime writer around who has also co-produced and written a My Little Pony movie for Hasbro. MY LITTLE PONY - A NEW GENERATION is now available on Netflix.
Tim lives in North London with his wife Rachel, the Emmy award-winning producer of THE BAREFOOT CONTESSA and PIONEER WOMAN. Their daughters live near by.
For more stuff about Tim visit his website www.timsullivan.co.uk
He has now embarked on a series of crime novels featuring the eccentric and socially-awkward, but brilliantly persistent DS George Cross.
He self-published the first two books and once they'd achieved over 200,000 downloads he came to the attention of Head of Zeus publishers. So thanks to all his readers for this success and their shared love of George.
The novels are set in Bristol in the south west of England, Cross’ methods often infuriate his colleagues and superiors “not so much a thorn in my side as a pain in my arse,” according to his boss DCI Carson. But his conviction rate, thanks to his dogged persistence and attention to detail, is the best in the force. Tim has now written the first four in the series with The Patient being published on March 3rd 2022.
Tim feels confident in his claim that he is the only crime writer around who has also co-produced and written a My Little Pony movie for Hasbro. MY LITTLE PONY - A NEW GENERATION is now available on Netflix.
Tim lives in North London with his wife Rachel, the Emmy award-winning producer of THE BAREFOOT CONTESSA and PIONEER WOMAN. Their daughters live near by.
For more stuff about Tim visit his website www.timsullivan.co.uk
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
October 15, 2025
The corpse of a man wrapped in polythene is discovered in a garage. Our victim has massively overdeveloped quads and a signature competitive bicycler’s suntan still visible in death. No time is wasted revealing Alex Pahides, age 30, our titular cyclist.
Alex has a 16-year-old girlfriend, a hidden bag of performance enhancing drugs and no friends. Suspects include members of his own family, those of his underage girlfriend’s, his drug dealers or Greek businessmen/loan sharks. So, here’s a setup for a classic whodunit.
What sets The Cyclist apart from others in the genre is that our lead crime-solver, DS George Cross, is autistic .His condition was more clearly established in the previous entry in the series, The Dentist, but now is used mostly for entertainment’s sake:
“What are you looking at?” the woman said aggressively.
“Your wine glass,” Cross replied, not in the least bit embarrassed.
“What about it?”
“I was just thinking how early it was to be drinking. Then I thought this probably wasn’t unusual for you.”
Cross has no emotional filter but is an expert at systematically synthesizing clues. DS Josie Ottey, Cross’ Black, female partner, complements his largely robotic path through the case with compassion. She hides a modicum of respect and affection for Cross but seems mostly to exist to check boxes.
This mystery novel approaches a “cozy” but is not quite because the victim remains a character and his death is tragic, at least to some in his own family. The plot is a mostly standard police procedural with much of the evidence told to the reader rather than discovered and shown. Real-life police investigation are dry and are usually sexy'd up more to tell a story. It's Sherlock, but the main character possesses none of Benedict Cumberbritches charisma. The last quarter of the novel includes scenes with Cross as an interviewer and are the strongest. It ends with a couple flourishes and is enjoyable but nothing groundbreaking.
The Cyclist was published in the UK in 2020, but will be released in the U.S. on January 13, 2026.
Thank you NetGalley and Atlantic Crime for a review copy.
Alex has a 16-year-old girlfriend, a hidden bag of performance enhancing drugs and no friends. Suspects include members of his own family, those of his underage girlfriend’s, his drug dealers or Greek businessmen/loan sharks. So, here’s a setup for a classic whodunit.
What sets The Cyclist apart from others in the genre is that our lead crime-solver, DS George Cross, is autistic .His condition was more clearly established in the previous entry in the series, The Dentist, but now is used mostly for entertainment’s sake:
“What are you looking at?” the woman said aggressively.
“Your wine glass,” Cross replied, not in the least bit embarrassed.
“What about it?”
“I was just thinking how early it was to be drinking. Then I thought this probably wasn’t unusual for you.”
Cross has no emotional filter but is an expert at systematically synthesizing clues. DS Josie Ottey, Cross’ Black, female partner, complements his largely robotic path through the case with compassion. She hides a modicum of respect and affection for Cross but seems mostly to exist to check boxes.
This mystery novel approaches a “cozy” but is not quite because the victim remains a character and his death is tragic, at least to some in his own family. The plot is a mostly standard police procedural with much of the evidence told to the reader rather than discovered and shown. Real-life police investigation are dry and are usually sexy'd up more to tell a story. It's Sherlock, but the main character possesses none of Benedict Cumberbritches charisma. The last quarter of the novel includes scenes with Cross as an interviewer and are the strongest. It ends with a couple flourishes and is enjoyable but nothing groundbreaking.
The Cyclist was published in the UK in 2020, but will be released in the U.S. on January 13, 2026.
Thank you NetGalley and Atlantic Crime for a review copy.
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
The Cyclist is the 2nd book in the DS George Cross series by Tim Sullivan. Originally released in the UK in 2020, it is being rereleased by Atlantic Crime.
"DS George Cross uses logic and precision to get answers where others have failed. When a body is found at a demolition site, it's up to Cross and his team to piece together the truth from the fragments they find."
This is a straight-up police procedural. The detectives follow clues and leads until they find a solution. One difference is that Cross is a neurodivergent detective and able to see details that others miss - and to think of non-linear solutions. There are colleagues that help him navigate awkward pauses and personal interactions. Sullivan leads the reader in several directions until showing you the killer.
One dislike (it's a pet peeve) - the use of first names sometimes and last names sometimes for characters. Even the main character - sometimes he's George, others he's Cross. It really disrupts the flow of the narrative when you have to think about who a character is. There are several like this
Still some good crime fiction from Sullivan.
"DS George Cross uses logic and precision to get answers where others have failed. When a body is found at a demolition site, it's up to Cross and his team to piece together the truth from the fragments they find."
This is a straight-up police procedural. The detectives follow clues and leads until they find a solution. One difference is that Cross is a neurodivergent detective and able to see details that others miss - and to think of non-linear solutions. There are colleagues that help him navigate awkward pauses and personal interactions. Sullivan leads the reader in several directions until showing you the killer.
One dislike (it's a pet peeve) - the use of first names sometimes and last names sometimes for characters. Even the main character - sometimes he's George, others he's Cross. It really disrupts the flow of the narrative when you have to think about who a character is. There are several like this
Still some good crime fiction from Sullivan.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
The Cyclist A DS George Cross Mystery by Tim Sullivan. Another well written police procedural with DS Cross, a detective with Aspergers and his partner, DS Ottey. Good mystery with lots of twists and turns. An interesting and entertaining read.
Thank you to Tim Sullivan, Grove Atlantic- Atlantic Crime and NetGalley for the opportunity to preview the book.
Thank you to Tim Sullivan, Grove Atlantic- Atlantic Crime and NetGalley for the opportunity to preview the book.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
The first DS Cross crime novel I've read. Terrific characters and police procedural. Will be reading/listening to more of them, and waiting for somebody to film them for TV.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews