Monday, October 21, 2024

The Loose End

The Loose End by A.J. Cross
11/5/24; 317 pages
Severn House
Teigan Craft #1 

The Loose End by A.J. Cross is a recommended procedural and the start of a new series featuring Professor Teigan Craft, a neurodiverse forensic psychologist.

DCI Steve Thompson likes to take the straightforward cases that have him home at 6, so when his boss, Supt. Graham Holdsworth, assigns him to a case that is sure to be complicated, he is not happy. Builders have found the mummified remains of a woman in a house being remodeled at 3 Forrest Road, Birmingham. It is determined to be a murder and the woman is identified to be Emma Matheson. Forensic psychologist Professor Teigan 'Tig' Craft from Central University is called in to assist the team with the investigation.

The unusual detective duo of Thompson and Teigan don't work well together. He is not thrilled or convinced when she uncovers a number of cold murder cases involving young women linked by geography and time to Emma's murder. Under pressure from Holdsworth to make an arrest, the two need to learn to work together.

This procedural starts out at a slow and steady pace that finally picks up toward the end. It takes awhile to grab your attention, to care about the case or investigation, and to connect with the characters. This was surprising, considering the narrative starts with a mummified body, a natural attention grabber. There are clues provided along the way but the perpetrator was easy to predict.

Introducing Teigan Craft, the plot starts depicting her character quirks, her need for quiet and her working style without revealing the reason for this until later. This should have been front and center for a new series introducing a new main character rather than saved for later.

I'll read the next in the series, assuming some of the pacing and personality problems can be smoothed out and the intrigued ramped up. Thanks to Severn House for providing me with an advance reader's copy via NetGalley. My review is voluntary and expresses my honest opinion.

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