The Night Hunter

Anderson & Costello #5

by Caro Ramsay

A young woman determines to find out what happened to her missing sister in this tense and twisting psychological thriller

Elvie McCulloch's sister Sophie has been missing for 57 days. She went out for a run - and never came home. Several young woman in the area have disappeared in similar circumstances, and Elvie's family fears the worst.

As Elvie is driving to her new job late at night, the naked, emaciated body of a young woman crashes from high above onto an oncoming car. Elvie recognises her as Lorna Lennox, who has been missing for weeks. But why was she up there? Where had she been all this time? And why was she running for her life?

Teaming up with retired detective Billy Hopkirk, who has been retained by the mother of one of the missing girls to find her daughter, Elvie determines to find out the truth. But as the pair alternately collaborate with and infuriate investigating police detectives Anderson and Costello, they find themselves up against a terrifying enemy. Someone who has killed before. Someone who will kill again, for pure enjoyment. Someone they call The Night Hunter.

Genres: Crime, Mystery, Scotland, Audiobook, Procedural, Fiction, Thriller

256 pages, Hardcover

First published November 1, 2014

About the author

Caro Ramsay was born and educated in Glasgow. She has been writing stories since she was five years old, developing a keen interest in crime fiction and a passion for the genre that lead her to write Absolution, her first novel.

Reviews

[Sharon Mccall · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had been looking forward to getting back into a Caro Ramsay thriller in some ways but in others I was a bit trepidatious. Previous experience with Ramsay has shown that she is not frightened of moving locations around to suit how she wants the story to go and this had me worried about what I was going to find in this book.

In this story we meet Elvie, her sister has gone missing and the police believe that she has run off with a married lover. Elvie is convinced otherwise and after a "chance" meeting with an ex-cop turned private detective who is looking for another missing girl the two pair up and work together to find the girls.

When the body of a female falls onto a car the police work with the duo to find out the connection to the girls they are looking for.

Billed as an Anderson and Costello thriller I was a tad surprised to not have them mentioned until well into the story. The story was told through the perspective of Elvie and the police characters are barely secondary to the tale.

The premise and flow of the story was good and fast paced however Ramsay seems to have changed her writing style and I wonder if this is due to a change in publisher? There is definitely something lacking in this book that made her previous stories so much more intriguing.

There were a lot of things that annoyed me about this book and I think most of this was around the fact that I felt that Anderson and Costello are introduced as an afterthought - I can't think of any police force who would cheerfully let civilians run their investigation irrespective if they are ex coppers or not; nor does the new Police Scotland change the geography totally on where police stations cover. Eaglesham and Partick are not even in the same post code never mind so when working in this area should local police not have been involved?

There are times I feel that Ramsay thinks her readers are daft and wont realise that the geography doesn't work out and this is not the first instance of where I have felt that I a being treated as stupid and the premise of its fiction is thrown out there as an excuse for glaring errors.

Although supposedly part of a series this book could be read as a standalone as the heroine of the story is Elvie and we learn nothing new about the characters of Anderson and Costello. I do have the next in the series from the library to read as well but I am not sure I will actually attempt it. So disappointed in this book.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

This novel kept me up half the night. Very different to the others in the series, introducing new protagonists, it was quite scary and gripping.

[Douglas Meeks · Rating 4 out of 5]

WOW, I really had no idea what I getting into when I agreed to read and review this book. I really thought it was paranormal (I did not have access to the complete title you see here) and when I realized that it was a murder mystery/serial killer type novel I thought I would hate it but it wove such a strange story you really could not get away from it.

Elvie is possibly the most persistent character I have read about in many years, she just never gave up and just when I thought I had things figured out I was wrong, so I thought OK, I get it now. I know what happened .....WRONG!!

The author really drags the reader through the mud and sends all kinds of misdirection that plays out in surprise and tragedy that gives this book a feel of it being much more than it was in reality but I can safely say it is going to be hard to forget since the things you thought you knew all through the book prove to be not quite as it seems.

I would have given it 5 Stars but it dragged a bit in the middle and felt a bit like filler, the ending was worth the wait just for what I would call true WTF moments :) 4 Stars.

[Alfred Nobile · Rating 3 out of 5]

review to follow

[Tegan Carrall · Rating 4 out of 5]

This could be read as a stand alone thriller rather than seen as a novel in the Anderson & Costello series. It is told by a young girl Elvie, rather than in third person following the police duties at Patrickhill. Costello & Anderson are mentioned as minor characters in the novel, and the rest of the team including Wyngate and Muholland are skipped across as irrelevant.

I began reading this expecting another novel in the series but this book was completely different. At first I was hesitant whether to continuing reading but it did gain momentum and Caro did provide an outstanding thriller/murder novel.

It begins when Elvies sister, Sophie disappears. She has been gone 57 days. She went out for a run and never came back. Elvie teams up with retired ex-detective Billy Hopkirk to find out the truth. What they discover is a convoluted series of missing persons and death. They find themselves fighting a terrifying enemy the night hunter.

As a stand alone book I thoroughly enjoyed it (hence the four stars here) but as a part of the Costello & Anderson series I was disappointed. I hope the next book in the series closely resembles the crime and police work of the Patrickhill team that we have all become so fond of.

[Anetq · Rating 4 out of 5]

Told from the perspective of Elsie, the sister of disappeared Sophie, who goes on to track down the killer of a bunch of missing girls. Costello and Anderson are there too, but seen from the outside. The change in perspective makes for an interesting twist in the series, while still being a great story, and refreshing to have someone else on the trail of the murderer - even if she is an odd one...

[R.L. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Here was a change of pace with another character introduced who takes the story forward in first person. Elvira is very interesting. She has a missing sister whose disappearance no one will take seriously. So she sets out to discover where her sister is and her curiosity only gets her in terribly deep water fast. A recommended read.

[Ann Tonks · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first of the Anderson & Costello series that I've read and there isn't much of them in it. However, I did find Elvie, the focus of the novel, well crafted. Without giving anything away, the character driven parts of the story were effective but some of the physical aspects of the story weren't. Having said that, as soon as I finished it I decided to read the next in the series.

[Sonja · Rating 3 out of 5]

didn't work for me being sold as "Anderson and Costello". Good story though.

[wendi wigham · Rating 5 out of 5]

Underneath your feet

Her sister is missing, along with other girls her age. How many? Not sure.
She has turned from a pretty young girl to a hairy faced, acne ridden hulk.
Life is not easy, when you resemble the movie man, who frightens children.
At her parent's home her mother drinks to shut out her fear sister Sophie is dead, her mother's boyfriend Rod does his best to hold it all together, but it's not working. Her brother, Grant is not right, he continually acts out, causing more friction in an already fractured household. No one knows what is wrong, but he cries for hours in his room, he rants and rages.
Meanwhile Elvie wants her sister back. She follows what she knows, pesters Costello and her unique knowledge let's her into the investigation.
Elvis works as a nanny, her charge, Charlie is four and accepts her appearance, thinking she is a monkey person. His mother, Mary, lives her life in a gilded cage. Every movement monitored, at the back and call of her abusive and domineering husband, Alex Parnell. Elvie is her bodyguard, but feels sad for her and covers for her on occasion to save Mary from another beating.
Then there is Billy, ex copper, drinker, lacking social graces, but a good detective. He and Elvie team up to find Sophie and hopefully the other missing women.
Then there is Eric, a skilled carpenter and mechanic, working for one of Parnell's companies. Fascinated with water power and how it can be harnessed for multiple applications.
Quite a vast and they all have their public persona, whilst their private one varies to the subdued to the manic to the totally evil. Which one is which?
Read this very clever book and follow the twists and turns, which will lead you to the ultimate date of both Sophie and the other missing women.
The death count doesn't come from where you expect.

[Lee · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a decent plot, or series of plots (at least three, maybe four) though my god it gets so complicated. Too many characters too fast then dropped for quite a while. So many red herrings I thought I was at the fish market. Elvira's medical condition isn't explained until the end, and really, it's not relevant to the story, so I wonder where that is coming from? And, for once, an illustration or two would've been useful -- having to take a trip to Google so I could figure out what the hell she was talking about was a big distraction.

The more I read of Ramsey's books the more I feel like I'm reading more than one author.

I have no idea why Anderson and Costello were even mentioned in the book, maybe so it would be considered part of the series, so a lazy way to market it? Didn't really need them at all.

[Sally Parker · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although this novel is described as the fifth book in the Anderson and Costello series, I feel it should more properly be called the first in the Elvie McCulloch series, since our two detectives feature somewhat on the edge of the action. Elvie is a medical student who is taking time out to resolve the mysterious disappearance of her sister Sophie. Although the general consensus of opinion that Sophie chose to disappear, Elvie is convinced that she is just one of a series of girls who have vanished without trace in the area. Elvie teams up with a retired detective who is investigating the cases of the missing girls, and the pair alternately collaborate with or interfere with Anderson and Costello's own investigation. I liked the character of Elvie, who has many troubles of her own, not least her chaotic family which includes an alcoholic mother and psychotic brother !

[Nancy]

4.07 · Rating details · 1,021 ratings · 47 reviews
Elvie McCulloch’s sister Sophie has been missing for 57 days. She went out for a run — and never came home.

Then Elvie is driving home one night. The naked, emaciated body of a young woman crashes from high above onto an oncoming car.

Elvie recognizes her as Lorna Lennox, who’s also been missing for weeks. But how did she fall from so high? Where had she been all this time? And why was she running for her life?

Elvie teams up with retired — and disgraced — detective Billy Hopkins. The duo work with Anderson and Costello to find out what happened to Sophie and the other missing girls.

But they’re up against a terrifying enemy: The Night Hunter. And time is running out for Sophie.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a tough one to put down. The thing I like about this series is that while the detectives are the common thread, I often don't feel like they're the focus of the story. That's the case here, as the action is pretty much seen entirely through Elvie's eyes. The plot is that Elvie's sister has gone missing; she has become obsessed with finding her. There are other women around the same age missing, and one of them is being looked for by a retired cop who is now a PI. Elvie teams up with him, and things heat up fast.

The book has a lot of unseen twists. The ending is satisfying, and while part of a series, this book really could stand alone. I love the dark Scottish humor that runs through this series - if you like thrillers and crime novels, this is worth checking out.

[Rog Harrison · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although this is badged as an Anderson and Costello book it isn't really. Anderson only makes a fleeting appearance and although Costello plays a bigger part this is not a police procedural.

The story is told from the first person perspective of Elvie McCulloch, an odd character with secrets, who is trying to find her missing sister Sophie. The police are not interested as they believe that Sophie has left of her own free will. Elvie teams up with Billy Hopkirk, a retired police detective now operating as a private investigator, who is looking into the disappearance of another young woman. The plot is a bit far-fetched but this is a tense thriller which I read in one sitting.

[Helen Ostovich · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best of the lot!

The mystery is totally engaging, with a first person narrator who has severe mental and medical ailments. She nevertheless is an inspiring heroine of cool intelligence and few social graces, an ugly character who cannot interpret the world around her, is indifferent to her lack of womanly charm, but can sort out logical and engineering problems. I adored her, and recognized the illness before she did. The outcome is open, perhaps frustrating for some readers, but leaving me hoping she returns later in this series of 10 novels.

[Lora King · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very interesting 5th in the series....told actually from the view point of Elvie and peculiar girl, who has stepped back from Uni Med School because her sister has disappeared...and she fears it's the result of a serial killer on the loose. A woman drops out of the sky as Elvie sits at a light and lands on a man's car bonnet. She has seen this poor woman's face one of the missing girls and so the race to find Sophie by figuring out who the serial killer is begins. Anderson and Costello really take back seat in this entry of the series...an interesting take. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

[Stacia · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you think you know who the killer was, you're probably right--that part of the book is fairly easy to solve. This is my first Anderson & Costello book, and that's good because they're basically cameos, so I don't feel like I've really missed anything by not having read the first 4 books. That being said, this book doesn't really make me want to read them because it was a competent standalone, but not enough to pique my interest as far as the series.

[Kay · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best Book So Far!

Wow! This book had more twists, turns, and revelations that any book that I can remember reading. The change in having Anderson and Costello play a backdoor role was excellent! This author is so much more than just a storyteller. She is a mastermind of the intrigue and the surprise. I do hope that we hear more about Elvie in a future story. Anderson should hire her immediately. The saddest part was the always entertaining Billy. I cried.

[Jane · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was very different from the other books in the Anderson and Costello series so far in that it’s narrated by another character, who’s not in the police. I loved Elvie though and it didn’t detract from the story at all. Another fantastic book which I really enjoyed. I really like the way that Caro Ramsay touches so lightly on really horrific situations, there’s enough there so you know it’s horrific but it’s never really gory or graphic.

[Deb · Rating 1 out of 5]

No. I hated this book. I skipped the first 1/3 and missed nothing! I like the play between Anderson & Costello. I did not want to hear about a mystery of a missing sister through the mind of an Aspergers savant who was having hormonal issues caused by her absorbing her male twin in-utero. Gadzooks! I just wasted time that i could have been involved in a good mystery! —-I also skipped whole parts of her in the dungeon— that was too repetitious!!! I didn't miss anything by skipping!

[Sebastian Barrow · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not as impressed as I had been with the other books in this series. Anderson and Costello really took a back seat in this novel. I think the reason being, having started the next book, Elvie who was the main character in this story, is appearing in the background in the next.
A good book even if a bit convoluted at times. But it was helped along with the interaction between Elvie and Billy, a retired cop.

[PIETER · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very good mystery. This is very different from the previous in the series. It is written from the point of view of a strange woman named Elvie McCullough. DCI Anderson is almost absent. DS Costello has an important role but it is a supporting one. There is a personal search for Elvie's missing sister which leads to an encounter with a serial killer. Unusual characters full the story. Unusual twists throughout.

[Tasula · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love the Elvie character (even though she was a bit chilling on the last page). Anderson and Costello don't do anything for me. I guessed who was the serial killer about half way through (unusual for me). Elvie took chance after chance helping police look for the killer and was hurt several times, but persevered because she suspected he abducted her missing sister.

[Beverly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ramsey introduces two new characters here, Elvie, the missing girl’s sister, and Billy Hopkirk, a retired police PI. This works well and speaks to Ramsay’s creativity. The new characters are fascinating in themselves: Elvie has a mysterious medical condition, and Billy is old and dissolute, but only appears so. Anderson and Costello are here too, but in the background.

[Dawn · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is not an Anderson and Costello story, they are merely incidental to a long winded, rambling tale which is predictable in places and way too far fetched in others. It was a far cry from the usual fare in this series and would have been better if the author had made it a standalone book with cameo appearances from Anderson & Costello. I did not enjoy it at all.

[Sandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh the pleasure of reading Caro Ramsay again! - I had to wait an age for this presumably) print-on-demand paperback edition, but within the first couple of pages knew it had been worth it, such wonderful characterisation and real hook of an opening. The mystery eventually solved but plenty moments of twisty tension on the way. Better still, I have three more on my shelf, still to read.

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good crime story, told by the sister of a missing girl. It loosely brings in Costello, who eventually gets involved in the case after a retired cop tries to help. It appears that more women have disappeared, but it remains to be seen if Sophie is one of them or just left on her own accord. Gets quite silence of the lambs towards the end!

[Els Willems · Rating 3 out of 5]

Drieeneenhalve ster, dit is tot nu toe de beste in de serie. Anderson en Costello nemen een figurantenrol in. De hoofdpersoon is Elvie, de lelijke, vreemde zus van een verdwenen vrouw, die geen steen onomgekeerd laat bij het zoeken naar deze Sophie. Dat leidt naar een serieontvoerder van vrouwen en een griezelige grote hond, een soort Hound of the Baskervilles. Het einde is megaspannend.

[Melinda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Disappointed.

This is a well written book but I got it because I have enjoyed the other books with Anderson and Costello. They play a very minor role, hence the disappointment. Elvie’s involvement in the investigation did not seem realistic in the normal course of a police case.