The Patient: A DS Cross Thriller

Sullivan’s third police procedural featuring neurodivergent detective sergeant George Cross (after The Cyclist) is another winner. After noticing the same woman sitting in the reception area of Bristol’s Major Crime Unit for three consecutive days, Cross introduces himself. The woman says that she’s been written off by the authorities for claiming that her daughter, a recovering heroin addict named Flick Wilson, was murdered via an intentional overdose, despite a lack of concrete evidence. Cross is sympathetic, but he initially chalks up her claims to grief over losing her child to addiction. When he learns that Flick died with her two-year-old child in the next room and made no arrangements for her care, though, it arouses his suspicions, and he’s further intrigued when an autopsy reveals that Flick overdosed on medical morphine, which is difficult to obtain on the street. Aiding Cross’s inquiry is retired DCI Esther Moffat, whom he meets while visiting his elderly father in a care home. Sullivan continues to find fresh angles on the ways Cross’s autism makes him socially awkward but professionally successful, and he delivers a crafty solution to the novel’s core mystery. This series deserves a long run. Agent: Peter Straus, RCW Literary. (Feb.)