This is the first book in a new series about neurodiverse forensic psychologist Teigan Craft. I enjoyed this slightly different take on a police procedural--especially the interactions between the main characters. Looking forward to seeing more books in this series!

When a mummified body is found during a house renovation, Professor Teigan Craft, a neurodiverse forensic psychologist, is called in to assist with the investigation. DCI Stephen Thompson is not exactly thrilled. He likes nice simple cases, following the evidence like a detective should & he is unprepared for the totally different approach of Professor Craft. She suspects they are dealing with a very proficient killer, who has been responsible for a number of what are now cold cases. In spite of the different approaches the pair manage to work to uncover the killer.

This was a story that took a bit to get going but once it did I was totally involved. I really hope to meet this unlikely pair soon. Thanks to Netgalley & the publisher for letting me read & review this book.

Enter Professor Teigen Craft, a neuro diverse forensic psychologist who is asked to use her expertise to support DCI Steve Thompson and his team with a murder investigation. DCI Thompson is a reluctant SIO for this inquiry and Teigen is far more comfortable providing her expertise remotely. Thompson is a 'by the book' detective, needing unquestionable evidence whereas Craft prefers to look at offender profiles and what kind of person would commit a such a crime. Add to this Craft's neurodiversity, which Thompson is unaware of, and an interesting dynamic occurs, leading to many disagreements and an almost breakdown in their working relationship.

I enjoyed the dynamics of Thompson and Craft's relationship, however did find myself a little frustrated by Thompson's dogged determination to follow the detective rule book rather than acknowledge the bigger picture. For me, the impact of neurodiversity on the working life of Teigen, was well researched. I enjoyed how her experiences during the investigation gave her the courage to be more forthright about her neurodiversity.

I had my suspicions about who the perpetrator was, based more on the premise that it is unlikely a random, never met before character was responsible, There were a few plot twists and one or two suspenseful moments, however this novel is more procedural than sit on the edge of your seat.

I hope this is the first in a series about Teigen Craft as I am looking forward to seeing how she continues to navigate relationships with neurotypical colleagues.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Severn House for this advanced reader copy in return for my honest and unbiased review.

The Loose End is book #1 in the Teigan Craft series by A.J. Cross. Overall for me this was a hard book to get caught up in, which I hate because the genre is one of my favorites. I didn't really find anything likeable about Teigan which is sad when the book is revolving around her character. Having said that I would still recommend because I realize not everyone enjoys the same things.

I received and ARC from NetGalley and the publisher, and I am leaving my review voluntarily.

An Incompatible Duo Solves A Complex Case

A woman tells a man leaving that while she agreed to do it, it was a terrible mistake. She can’t do it. She should never have agreed. She must tell the police. The man consoles her and tells her she will do the right thing. He tells her that his taxi has arrived and he will phone her. From this, a very complex murder investigation starts.

The investigation of Emma Matheson’s death is this novel’s only main storyline thread. For about four years, she had been hidden in a wall of her residence. The superintendent assigns DCI Steve Thompson as the senior investigative officer. As he has a small team, he requests more officers be assigned to him. The superintendent tells him that he does not have the staffing to support that request. He arranges for researcher-forensic psychologist Teigan Croft. Upon meeting with DCI Thompson, she tells him to e-mail all the information and that she will visit the crime scene the next afternoon for a walk-through. The relationship between these key players is the biggest obstacle to this investigation’s progress. DCI Thompson is evidence-orientated. Croft prepares profiles and looks for connections. She finds a murder and an assault that she believes are connected. DCI Thompson appears to be more accommodating than Croft. Most of the progress comes from her efforts, which expands the number of cases. This investigation seems to be going downhill. My interest was kept as I wanted to see how the investigation would start to make progress. Also, there were some major twists as the novel closes to an end. My sustained reading was rewarded when everything started to fall into place.

Since this is the first novel in the series, the background of the two main characters is extensive. DCI Thompson is a competent investigator but prefers cases that can be solved. Croft is autistic and has problems relating to others. There is a little more background on Croft. I could understand how each of them sees as important. There is even a C-storyline as the novel progresses. Each needs to learn how to work together more effectively. The ending requires that they had to depend upon each other. This aspect of the novel enhanced my reading enjoyment.

Reading this novel should not present problems to most readers. There are no intimate scenes. A strong misogyny theme is present in several characters. Language, including some British colorful language, is very minimal. There are only some quick violent scenes. Some of the descriptions of the crimes are more graphic.

This issue, I believe, will cause some readers to have problems with the long and detailed profiles that Croft generates. I found them fascinating as they were the best in-depth than I have seen in other novels. This also made the reading more challenging and took effort to continue. I enjoyed seeing an autistic character adapt to a very difficult situation. There were no loose ends when the novel ended, and I was happy with the ending.

I have read five previous novels by this author and purchased five others on my to-be-read list. This author is one of my Must-Read authors. I enjoyed reading this novel and recommend it to others. I look forward to reading further novels in this series and others by this author. I rate this novel with four stars.

I received this novel's free prepublication e-book version through NetGalley from Severn House. My review is based solely on my own reading experience. Thank you, Severn House, for the opportunity to read and review this novel early.

Credible Cast..
The first in a new series introducing Teigan Craft, a neurodiverse forensic psychologist who concentrates her work on twisted and complex killers. When mummified remains are discovered in a cellar in Birmingham, Craft is called into action. As she assists the investigation, a profile is soon generated that leaves the whole team cold. A promising start to a new series with a carefully crafted plot populated with an engaging and credible cast of characters, an atmospheric backdrop and a solid mystery at its heart.

As a dedicated fan of crime novels, I had high hopes for this new release, eagerly anticipating the suspense and intrigue that usually accompany the genre. However, my excitement quickly turned into disappointment as I delved into the story.

The plot's pacing felt agonizingly slow, hindering my engagement with the narrative. Instead of the gripping tension I had been expecting, I plodded through chapters that seemed to stretch endlessly.

To make matters worse, I struggled to connect with any characters. They felt one-dimensional, lacking the depth and complexity that draws me into a story. My inability to empathize with them made it difficult to care about their fates or decisions.

Feeling disheartened, I found it increasingly difficult to muster the enthusiasm to keep reading. At one point, I skimmed through a significant portion of the middle section, hoping to stumble upon a moment of thrill that would reignite my interest. Regrettably, that moment never arrived, leaving me feeling let down and unsatisfied with the overall experience

I was really excited to read this and I enjoyed the characters at first but this waned as the book went on unfortunately.

DNF.
I tried to get into this book so much but I couldn’t no matter how hard I tried. The writing style didn’t work for me and I just couldn’t get into it. This was disappointing for me cause I really wanted to like it but sadly I didn’t. Other people might though.

DCI Thompson likes his cases uncomplicated and easy to sort out. One day he has to investigate a murder case with the help of Professor Craft, much to his chagrin. He thinks she's the most unsociable academic he has come across with. This is a very entertaining read? I found it hard to put the book down. Good story, complicate characters, suspenseful. So I'm really looking forward to more stories in this series.
I received an advance review copy via Netgalley/Severn House and I'm leaving a voluntary and honest review.

Know that Professor Tig Craft and DCI Steve Thompson don't work well together- and that much of this procedural which introduces them focuses on that more than on the more intriguing mystery of a mummified body. Well, to be fair, this is a set up for the future so think of this as the baseline. There's a lot going on here, with Tig discovering that the villain has been more active than previously known. You, like me, might guess who that is but this does have some good twists. Thanks to the publisher for the ARC. Looking forward to seeing where Cross takes this.

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.

The review will be published on Edelweiss, Barnes & Noble and Amazon.

'The Loose End' introduces Professor Teigan Craft, a neurodiverse forensic psychologist. As it is the first book featuring Teigan there's a lot to learn about her and her colleagues, especially DCI Steve Thompson. When mummified remains of a woman are found they need to work together to solve the murder. A well written plot with lots of clues along the way- although I didn't guess who the murderer was. Entertaining and if a series is planned it will be interesting to see how the characters develop. Thank you to netGalley, the author and publisher for an early read.

I am so excited for this series! As a person who has worked with both adults and children with disabilities, it was such a nice change to see someone written as having such unique and valuable abilities. It was so realistic how she was afraid of being "outed," and how the suspect tried to use her differences against her. And it was great that she was in a relationship and fully accepted and desired.

Once Teagan is working fully with the team, she starts to realize things about herself, and they start to realize how important she is. When she is able to tie recent murders to murders in the past, it is just a matter of narrowing down the suspects before someone gets hurt. It then becomes a dangerous game of who to trust, as it begins to appear that the "enemy" might just be a member of their own ranks, or is clever enough to divert suspicion.

I look forward to the next installment....

Teigan is a foresensic psychologist, asked to help with a murder enquiry after a body is found concealed in a house which is being renovated. She is working with DCI Thompson. They seem to rub each other up the wrong way from the start. The investigation is extended by Teigan to include other women killed in the area during the last years, without too much explanation in the book . Her investigation goes off at a tangent at different times which was difficult to follow at times. I felt the wriiting missed something, which made reading the book a slog. Later when information about Teigan was revealed, you understand her viewpoint more and it starts to make sense.
Descriptions are OK, the plot not confusing as such but definately mixed up, the characters not described in any depth . There are a couple of twists, the main one of which I had already guessed. Not a bad read, but have read better .I would read another, the book got better as it went on
Thanks to Net Galley for the ARC

“The Loose End” introduces Professor Teigan Craft, a neurodiverse forensic psychologist who is drawn into the investigation of a chilling murder case in Birmingham. The story begins with the discovery of the mummified remains of Emma Matheson, a reclusive woman who has been missing for years. Her body is found concealed in the cellar of a property undergoing renovation, raising numerous questions about her fate and the circumstances surrounding her death.

Teigan Craft is called to assist Detective Chief Inspector (DCI) Steve Thompson and his team as they delve into this complex case. As Teigan applies her expertise in forensic psychology, she quickly begins to profile what appears to be a ruthlessly efficient killer. Throughout her investigation, she uncovers connections to several cold cases involving young women that are linked by geography and time to Emma’s tragic demise.

Ultimately, “The Loose End” sets up an engaging premise for a new series centered around Professor Teigan Craft as she navigates the dark world of crime while confronting her personal challenges.

This was my first book by this author. I had high hopes after reading the description but had a hard time getting into it. It was just ok for me. This was an ARC read through NetGalley.

The author has two successful series in publication. This is a new series featuring Teigan Craft. A house in a Birmingham suburb is being refurbished. In a hidden recessed area a woman's mummified body is found.
The senior investigating officer is Detective Chief Inspector Steve Thompson. Thompson is given very little assistance. Two male detective constables and police constable Naz Sandhu. He is however promised assistance from a Teigan Craft a forensic psychologist. When Thompson meets Craft she is uncommunicative, not a team player. She is used to the theory. She prefers to receive emailed details and replies with her thoughts in the same way.
Teigan gets on well with Sandhu but finds the two detective constables sexist. She finds Steve Thompson difficult to relate to. However she enjoys the insight from a visiting systems analyst. Teigan lives alone but has a good relationship with her partner Tom ( who works away a great deal ).
The house where the woman's remains were found backs onto a wooded area. Other women have been attacked there. When the remains of a young woman are found, Steve's bosses and the media are looking for a quick resolution.
However Teigan is feeling out of her depth and wants to quit the investigation. Is her police career over before it really started?
A good start to a new series. I look for more from Teigan. Recommended.

Thank you to Net Galley and Severn House for the chance to read and review this book. All opinions expressed are my own.
I kept waiting for this book to get better, but it didn't. I felt very little connection to the story or the characters. The blurb sounded good, but this book just wasn't for me. Even the end was a letdown.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to leave feedback on this new series. Although I read all of it some areas felt familiar - as if the story and the characters had been used before by another author somewhere in my recollection. It was on the whole entertaining - I am sure the series, if AJ Cross does continue with these characters, will improve over time.