I have somewhat mixed feelings about this book. Firstly, I have to say that while I like the cover – I love black and white covers with a dash of colour, and the premise of the book, the title is somewhat off-putting and I think if I hadn’t seen it online, but in a bookshop, it’s one I might have avoided as a result. That would have been to my detriment, because it turned out to be an entertaining read, and I thoroughly enjoyed the main character DS Cross once I had got into the swing of his characterisation.

I would say that the characters are absolutely the strongest part of The Dentist. As I said above, DS George Cross stood head and shoulders above the rest and was my favourite character – and the main reason that I will be continuing with this series. I felt that he was very well written, especially the aspect of his Asperger’s Syndrome, and how that influenced both his work and general life. There were certain points where it did feel a little too detailed, though. While I appreciated the depth, I feel that it might have been more impactful if that had been explored at a later point, even into the next books, particularly if there is to be a standalone aspect to any of the later books, as this is an aspect that will need to be revisited. That said, he has to be one of my favourite detectives that I’ve read about this year, due to the excellent characterisation. I also very much enjoyed his work partner Ottery, who is both foil and bridge to Cross’ social challenges, but who stands up brilliantly as an individual in her own right and I look forward to seeing more of their partnership in future books.

The writing style threw me off for a little while, and there are places where you can see the author’s experience as a screenwriter shining through. This is certainly a book that would work well for that kind of adaption, but it took a little while to get used to the writing. That, and somewhat uneven pacing in places, where the details, particularly about Cross become a bit too detailed and counterweigh the action and progress happening elsewhere.

However, once I got used to it, I found that the narrative, for the most part, flowed well, and I was drawn into the story, and more often than not caught by the twists and turns of the plot. There is an excellent level of complexity throughout the book, and I enjoyed the police procedural element, especially where it was combined with Cross’ attention to detail and routine. It felt very immersive, as though we were discovering the clues and making the connections alongside him.

Overall, this was an excellent read with a good blend of tension, action and mystery, and with a standout detective and I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend this to fans of crime fiction. I will definitely be reading The Cyclist, the next book in this series which is out now, and keeping my eye out for future books in the series.

3.5 rounded to 4 stars because I enjoyed the characters so much.