Cross is book 6 in the Jack Taylor series and Jack is in a particularly dark place dealing still with repercussions of the earlier books and the effects of trying to remain sober. The crimes are particularly brutal and somewhat senseless which make them seem even worse. The book is just steeped in hopelessness even right to the ending where it seems like things should be looking up for Jack with a new start. There is also a side plot here that involves animal cruelty, which I had to sort of skim through as I have a difficult time reading anything like that. This was not my favorite book in the series but certainly in keeping with with the darkness that surrounds Jack Taylor.