blogtour – What Cathy Read Next…

Book cover The Teacher by Tim Sullivan Blackboard with chalk letter O

Welcome to today’s stop on the blog tour for The Teacher by Tim Sullivan, the sixth book in the DS George Cross crime series. My thanks to Andrew at Head of Zeus for inviting me to take part in the tour and for my advance reader copy.

I hope you’ve been collecting the letters published by those taking part in the tour which when put together will spell out a phrase. In case you missed it, here’s today’s. Collect the next letter tomorrow from bookstagrammer, Joe at southseareads.

About The Teacher

An eighty-year-old man is found murdered in his home. His age and standing in the community makes finding his killer difficult – why would anyone harm an elderly man? What threat could he possibly be to anyone?

With no apparent motive, DS George Cross canvases the community for potential suspects but the man was known as generous, charitable, community-minded. Each interview about who the man is muddies the picture further. So Cross decides to look for who he was – revealing a past that is far less honourable than his present . . .

He’s a victim. But is he innocent?

Format: Hardback (384 pages) Publisher: Head of Zeus
Publication date: 18th January 2024 Genre: Crime

Find The Teacher on Goodreads

Purchase links
Bookshop.org
Disclosure: If you buy a book via the above link, I may earn a commission from Bookshop.org, whose fees support independent bookshops

Hive | Amazon UK
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My Review

I joined George Cross’s legion of fans when I read the previous book in the series, The Monk. All the things I loved about him then are evident again in The Teacher: his dogged determination, his truthfulness and his amazing observational and deductive skills.

I like how the author, Tim Sullivan, presents a neurodivergent character in a positive way, emphasising his unique abilities as well as his challenges, such as dealing with his father’s unexpected decision to take a foreign holiday. George’s relationship with his father is one of the gentle joys of the book, as is George’s friendship with local priest, Stephen.

I was pleased when DS Josie Ottey’s patience with her mother was exhausted and she returned to work earlier than expected because she and George make a great team. Which is more than can be said for the detective George is initially paired with – DI Ben Warner. Misogynistic dinosaur is the phrase that comes to mind. I hated his prejudiced and dismissive attitude towards George and was glad when he was forced to confront the consequences of his actions. He’s not even a good detective, leaping to conclusions, relying on his supposedly unerring ‘gut instincts’ and ignoring inconvenient facts in his haste to close a case. It’s a good job George is there to fill in the gaps. As DCI Carson says to Warner, ‘When something occurs to George, that things aren’t right, nine out of ten times he’s right’. As it turns out, this is one of those nine times.

The Teacher is another skilfully crafted crime novel but it’s definitely not ‘cosy’. As well as being an intriguing mystery, it deals with serious issues such as ‘county lines’ drug dealing, physical and sexual abuse, organisational corruption and addiction.

In three words: Intriguing, suspenseful, gritty

Try something similar: Mother of Valor by Gary Corbin

About the Author

Tim Sullivan is a crime writer, screenwriter and director, whose film credits include Shrek, Flushed Away, Where Angels Fear to Tread and Jack and Sarah. His crime series featuring the socially awkward but brilliantly persistent DS George Cross has topped the bookcharts and been widely acclaimed. Tim lives in North London with his wife Rachel, the EmmyAward-winning producer of The Barefoot Contessa and Pioneer Woman.

Connect with Tim
Website | Twitter | Facebook

Welcome to today’s stop on the blog tour for The Unspeakable Acts of Zina Pavlou by Eleni Kyriacou. My thanks to Andrew at Head of Zeus for inviting me to take part in the tour and for my review copy. Do check out the post by my tour buddy for today, Wendy at wendyreadsbooks.

About the Book

THEY HAVE TOLD SO MANY LIES ABOUT ME…

London, 1954. Zina Pavlou, a Cypriot grandmother, waits quietly in the custody of the Metropolitan police. She can’t speak their language, but she understands what their wary looks mean: she has been accused of the brutal murder of her daughter-in-law.

Eva Georgiou, Greek interpreter for the Met, knows how it feels to be voiceless as an immigrant woman. While she works as Zina’s translator, her obsession with the case deepens, and so too does her bond with the accused murderer.

Zina can’t speak for herself. She can’t clear her own name. All she can do is wait for the world to decide…

IS SHE A VICTIM? OR IS SHE A KILLER?

Format: Hardback (384 pages) Publisher: Head of Zeus
Publication date: 9th November 2023 Genre: Historical Fiction, Crime

Find The Unspeakable Acts of Zina Pavlou on Goodreads

Purchase links
Bookshop.org
Disclosure: If you buy a book via the above link, I may earn a commission from Bookshop.org, whose fees support independent bookshops

Hive | Amazon UK
Links provided for convenience only, not as part of an affiliate programme

My Review

The savage killing of Hedy Pavlou is an unspeakable act. The woman charged with her murder, her mother-in-law Zina Pavlou, protests her innocence but since she speaks almost no English she cannot be understood and is effectively silenced. She feels powerless but that’s a situation she’s experienced before in her life.

For Eva, the translator assigned to Zina’s case, initially the job is just some useful extra income. But increasingly she finds herself moved by Zina’s plight, abandoned by her son and her family back in Cyprus. Because Eva knows what it is to feel alone. Soon, merely translating the questions Zina is asked and Zina’s responses to them doesn’t seem enough, particularly as it becomes clear that Zina doesn’t really understand the consequences of being found guilty of the crime. Zina believes she is innocent and all the evidence to the contrary isn’t going to change her mind. So much so, that when offered a possible way out, she rejects it. Her sole wish is to be reunited with her granddaughter, Anna, the only person who has shown her any affection since she came to England.

Given Eva’s role is to speak on behalf of another, it’s ironic that her relationship with her husband, Jimmy, has descended into one in which thoughts and feelings are no longer expressed. Their long walks talking over plans for the future have fallen by the wayside and given way to meals eaten in virtual silence. Because of their different working patterns, they’ve become like ships that pass in the night with no opportunity to talk – to really talk – about the significant thing that has happened in their life. This is increasingly so as Eva becomes progressively more involved in Zina’s case. I found I became just as much invested in Eva’s and Jimmy’s story as I did in Zina’s.

The way the story unfolds means I found myself constantly revisiting the question posed in the book: is Zina a victim or a killer? Could it be possible for both to be true? When we eventually discover what happened on the night of the murder, I think I found my own answer to that question. Even when events earlier in Zina’s life are revealed, I believe you would have to possess a heart of stone not to be moved by the final chapters of the book.

Such is the gripping nature of the story, The Unspeakable Acts of Zina Pavlou is a book I could have easily devoured in a day if it weren’t for annoying things like having to eat and sleep. The fact that it’s inspired by a true story made it even more compelling, and ultimately tragic. Expect to hear a lot more about The Unspeakable Acts of Zina Pavlou because it’s been selected as one of the books to feature in the new series of BBC2’s Between the Covers.

In three words: Compelling, authentic, moving

Try something similar: The Fortune Men by Nadifa Mohammed

About the Author

Eleni Kyriacou is an award-winning editor and journalist. Her writing has appeared in the Guardian, the Observer, Grazia, and Red, among others. She’s the daughter of Greek Cypriot immigrant parents, and her debut novel, She Came to Stay, was published in 2020. The Unspeakable Acts of Zina Pavlou is inspired by the true-crime story of the penultimate woman to be executed in Britain.

Connect with Eleni
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