Caro Ramsay

Okay, so I'm a more than a bit of a fan of Caro Ramsay for a lot of reasons. DARK WATER is her third book, featuring a number of ongoing characters, but somehow there's not quite a feeling of a series about these. If you've not read ABSOLUTION, the first book, that will probably sound a bit odd - but let's just say at the end of that book something I've always thought of as quite brave from an author happens. The second book SINGING TO THE DEAD has to move on as a result, and again here, show more we've got a slight switch in the pairings, the characters and the goings on in this book.

We are talking Tartan Noir here - so there is the obligatory setting of dense fog, cold and a series of violent deaths that seem to have all the markings of a serial killer. There's also a former beauty queen, her mentally ill sister, a rather attractive photographer and his well dodgy assistant and a healthy sprinkling of odd types hanging around the edges. Adding to the obligatory list is the team being stuffed around by their bosses and all, some romantic tension in the ranks, a rookie who is prepared ot push the boundaries and the required tension within any well functioning police team.

Sounds all very predictable doesn't it. Luckily in Ramsay's hands there's an edge, a certain something that makes the basic elements of a Tartan Noir police procedural just that little bit better than you'd think. When I say I'm a bit of a fan - I'm talking a very very big bit. show less

This is a series I’ve been dipping in & out of since I picked up book #1 in 2015. “Absolution” was an impressive debut & remains one of my faves along with “Tears of Angels”. Now I have another to add to that list. This is a cracking read that weaves together a horrific murder in the present with one from more than 40 years ago.

We’re back at Glasgow’s Partickhill station with DCI Anderson & DI Costello. They rose through the ranks together & the result is a synergistic show more partnership based on trust. Their latest investigation is one that will likely fuel a media frenzy. But before they get too comfortable, something strange happens. They’re taken off the case & ordered to check into the background of a local man. Huh? Who is this guy…a drug lord? gangster? politician? Nope, turns out he was an eccentric OAP named James Pearcey, recently found dead at home. What the hell….

Whey they approach boss “Toasty” Warburton for an explanation, he’s weirdly tight-lipped. All they are given is an empty out-of-the-way office filled with case files going back more than 40 years. And just so they don’t have to inhale all that dust alone, the long suffering DC Gordon Wingate & perpetually cranky DS Vik Mulholland join the party.

At this point I would normally add some tantalizing tidbits about the plot & hint at the twists that got me good. But I’m going to quit while I’m ahead for a couple of reasons. First, I live in fear of accidentally blurting out something spoilerish. Second, you really should go in with as little idea about the story line as possible to maximize the number of times you’ll mutter “ Ho-lee ______ “ (insert personal choice) .

For those unfamiliar with this series, significant parts of previous books dealt with Anderson’s complicated personal life. It’s been quite a ride & clearly, still unresolved. But this book is more of a straight-up procedural which was the perfect choice. One of the current cases is connected to the murder of a housewife in 1978 & once these story lines get going, you would resent being pulled off them to deal with current day domestic drama. I was riveted by the story & characters that emerged from those dusty files. If Anderson & his crew want to find a killer in the present, they’ll have to understand exactly what happened decades ago to a woman named Birdie Summer.

Because the investigations are unique to this instalment, don’t worry if you haven’t read previous books. References to past events are brief & don’t impact the majority of the plot. These characters have been through a lot together & their relationships reflect that. There’s an ease & familiarity that shines through in the dialogue. They can be supportive & bicker like siblings in the same breath. They are all well defined & I particularly enjoy Costello’s ability to bluntly shoot from the lip.

This is a compelling read that truly keeps you guessing til the final pages. And as an added bonus, it gave me one of the strongest contenders ever for my annual COTY Award *. Congratulations to Sandy Muir, a character so icky that just typing his name right now makes me want to wash my hands. Again.

(*Creep of the Year Award, fictional) show less

ABSOLUTION is the first book from this Scottish author, with the second - Tambourine to be released 2008. There's obviously something in the water in Scotland - or maybe it's all that time stuck indoors in the long cold winters, but the number of assured, confident books coming out of that place is getting to the startling stage. ABSOLUTION is definitely assured, with a story-telling style that is absolutely enthralling.

The main component of the book is the hunt for the serial killer - the show more 'Crucifixion Killer'. To be honest it's a pretty standard serial killer plot, with a perpetrator that's not difficult to spot, but the point of the book seems less to do with the crime and a whole lot more to do with the impact of crime on the investigators. McAlpine is a truly tortured soul. In the 1984 incident, he was already a fragile man, emotionally drained by events in his own family, and with hindsight, what seemed like an easy job - guarding a dreadfully injured, unknown young woman backfired badly. He becomes so involved in who she is and what happened to her that he is never able to forget, never really recovers.

In the 2006 investigation, his personal fragility is starting to get on top of him - badly. As his team continue the investigation, and try, out of friendship for him and genuine feeling for his wife; to continue the investigation, to compensate for McAlpine; to understand - he falls apart in front of them. His behaviour becomes more and more erratic, his distress less and less controlled.

And it's impact of crime that becomes the main point of ABSOLUTION. The serial killer has victims - those victims have friends and families and associates. And victims aren't necessarily good, or nice, or as ideal as people perhaps think. And investigators can sometimes become victims as well. Whether that's psychological or physical, well we've all seen what happens when investigators put themselves into jeopardy. Only in ABSOLUTION the jeopardy is not what you think, and whilst it might not be hard to work out where the past has leaked into the present, it sometimes ends in ways that you may not expect. show less

A young girl goes missing in a park on a Saturday afternoon and Caplan's team is drawn in. Meanwhile Caplan is asked to visit a former colleague who is dying of cancer. This woman is convinced that a series of unexplained deaths are related, and interestingly, Caplan has recently been involved in the recovery of a body under similar circumstances. Now there is a race against time to find young Bethany and maybe the answers are a little too close to home.
This is an evolving series set in the show more more remote parts of Scotland and the landscape definitely plays a big part in this tale. The plot is a little far-fetched but the procedural element is strong. I particularly liked the inter-twined plotlines that juxtaposed the search for the vulnerable with the domestic violence aspect. show less