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Anderson & Costello #8
Standing Still
Something very sinister is going on behind the scenes at Glasgow s West End Festival parade in the compelling new Anderson and Costello mystery.
Paige Riley has been missing for a week. Not that anyone cares much about the homeless heroin addict. The case remains open but inactive; left standing still until something comes up.
Meanwhile, Glasgow s citizens are in celebratory mood for the annual West End Festival parade. But beneath the jovial surface lurks something darker. A confused young woman is found wandering among the clowns, stilt-walkers and jostling crowds, claiming to have been abducted by aliens. She had originally disappeared the night before. What happened to her in those intervening hours?
Before DCI Anderson and DI Costello can find out, a body is discovered. Is there a connection? As the two detectives investigate, it becomes horrifyingly clear that a depraved killer has taken advantage of the busiest day of the year to carry out a gruesomely macabre plan."
Paige Riley has been missing for a week. Not that anyone cares much about the homeless heroin addict. The case remains open but inactive; left standing still until something comes up.
Meanwhile, Glasgow s citizens are in celebratory mood for the annual West End Festival parade. But beneath the jovial surface lurks something darker. A confused young woman is found wandering among the clowns, stilt-walkers and jostling crowds, claiming to have been abducted by aliens. She had originally disappeared the night before. What happened to her in those intervening hours?
Before DCI Anderson and DI Costello can find out, a body is discovered. Is there a connection? As the two detectives investigate, it becomes horrifyingly clear that a depraved killer has taken advantage of the busiest day of the year to carry out a gruesomely macabre plan."
256 pages, Hardcover
First published June 1, 2017
271 people are currently reading
184 people want to read
About the author
Caro Ramsay
34 books203 followersCaro 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.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 66 reviews
May 6, 2017
Caro Ramsay writes brilliant dark, disturbing and twisted police procedurals. I have read every single one of them and we are now on the eighth Anderson and Costello, set in the mean streets of Glasgow. It begins with a horrifying fatal housefire in 1989. In the present, the crowds are out for the annual West End Festival Parades. A young woman, Amy Niven, is looking for DCI Colin Anderson to inform him she was abducted by aliens. Anderson is worried about Paige Riley, a missing homeless girl, and his policing future of leading a cold case unit. MSP James Kirkton, is a venal media hungry politician and police czar, viewed with cynicism by a police force facing ever more budget cuts. Kirkton is gunning to bring down Anderson and using the media to get at him. DI Costello is involved with the procurator fiscal, Archie Walker, and the pair are visiting Pippa, his dementia suffering wife, at Athole House Secure Living Facility for the rich retired stars of screen and stage. The body of a young man is discovered folded into a tea chest outside Athole House.
There are concerns that the body in the chest is the missing David Kerr, last seen on CCTV being assisted by a unknown blonde woman. Victims are being injected with a drug that incapacitates quickly and then going missing, with the exception of Amy Niven, and the badly injured DCI Alastair Jeffries. An envious Sandra Ryme, petty thief and care worker, takes care of the Duchess, apparently once a opera singer, who has a doting and devoted son, Paulo, who makes daily visits to Athole House. An ambitious Sandra has plans to ensure that her future is more grandiose and more personally fulfilling than her past. The investigation connects to the death of a young man killed by a punch in 1999 and a present day fire at a former puppet theatre. This is a case with a myriad of threads that slowly begin to link together as the sins of the past trigger gruesome repercussions in the present.
This is a terrific story that weaves around the strange and odd goings on at Athole House. It's a well plotted story with a suspense driven and tense narrative. The partnership and relationship of Anderson and Costello is a sight to behold with their opposing personalities. The edgy DI Costello is a source of much amusement in her no holds barred approach to anyone, irrespective of who they are, and that includes her encounter with James Kirkton. A superb and compelling read that I recommend highly to crime fiction fans. Thanks to Severn House for an ARC.
There are concerns that the body in the chest is the missing David Kerr, last seen on CCTV being assisted by a unknown blonde woman. Victims are being injected with a drug that incapacitates quickly and then going missing, with the exception of Amy Niven, and the badly injured DCI Alastair Jeffries. An envious Sandra Ryme, petty thief and care worker, takes care of the Duchess, apparently once a opera singer, who has a doting and devoted son, Paulo, who makes daily visits to Athole House. An ambitious Sandra has plans to ensure that her future is more grandiose and more personally fulfilling than her past. The investigation connects to the death of a young man killed by a punch in 1999 and a present day fire at a former puppet theatre. This is a case with a myriad of threads that slowly begin to link together as the sins of the past trigger gruesome repercussions in the present.
This is a terrific story that weaves around the strange and odd goings on at Athole House. It's a well plotted story with a suspense driven and tense narrative. The partnership and relationship of Anderson and Costello is a sight to behold with their opposing personalities. The edgy DI Costello is a source of much amusement in her no holds barred approach to anyone, irrespective of who they are, and that includes her encounter with James Kirkton. A superb and compelling read that I recommend highly to crime fiction fans. Thanks to Severn House for an ARC.
February 22, 2017
Sandra is a 30-something woman desperate to escape her life. Perpetually broke & living in a council flat, she works as a care giver at a facility for wealthy, retired artists. Her charge is the Duchess, an elegant woman slowly succumbing to old age. But Sandra has a plan. One that includes the Duchess’ jewelry & her handsome companion Paolo.
Paolo is an enigmatic young man who visits the Duchess daily. No one is really sure how they’re related or why he seems to have so much influence with the facility’s owners.
Chief Procurator Fiscal Archie Walker has finally given up trying to care for his ailing wife. To ensure her safety, he got her into an expensive facility for retired artists. Now he can sleep at night & maybe see a bit more of DI Costello.
Amy Niven is a young woman on a mission. You see, she was partying with friends last night when she was abducted by aliens. All she remembers is she must get a message to DCI Colin Anderson.
DCI Anderson is back on the job after a tumultuous few months. He’s well aware there are colleagues just waiting for him to screw up & there are rumours he’ll be “promoted” to head of cold cases. The last thing he needs is to sit down with some drug addled party girl & discuss the merits of alien abduction.
James Kirkton is a politician who’s always camera ready. He’s recently been given the police services portfolio & is determined to make some changes. First up is making sure Anderson never gets anywhere near the cold case unit.
It’s the first day of Glasgow’s annual West End Festival & the loons are out in full force. The cops of Patrickhill Sta. are ready for the usual booze fuelled shenanigans but….a body nailed inside a tea chest? That’s a first.
Don your deerstalker & grab your magnifying glass. You’re going to need them to untangle this twisty murder mystery. The book begins with a fatal house fire in 1989. In the present, we meet the cast in separate story lines linked by a character or location.
Anderson & Costello’s investigation begins with the body but soon heads off in directions neither could have foreseen. There are myriad connections waiting to be uncovered & several of the characters have their own agendas. Thanks to multiple narrators, we have a wider view of what’s going on in this little patch of Glasgow. Still, it’s not until the final pages that we know who is a hunter & who is prey.
This is book #8 of the series & driven by the yin & yang pairing of Anderson & Costello. Anderson has undergone huge change in his private life & is the duo’s diplomat. Costello is a smart, blunt cop who believes everyone is entitled to her inside voice. Her attitude provides a dark humour & edginess, particularly in conversations with Kirkton the Git (sorry, did I type that out loud?).
There are so many separate threads & you may be surprised once they’re all tied up. It’s a story that will mess with your head & that ending…..a wee beverage before hitting the last couple of chapters might be a good idea. Purely for medicinal purposes.
Paolo is an enigmatic young man who visits the Duchess daily. No one is really sure how they’re related or why he seems to have so much influence with the facility’s owners.
Chief Procurator Fiscal Archie Walker has finally given up trying to care for his ailing wife. To ensure her safety, he got her into an expensive facility for retired artists. Now he can sleep at night & maybe see a bit more of DI Costello.
Amy Niven is a young woman on a mission. You see, she was partying with friends last night when she was abducted by aliens. All she remembers is she must get a message to DCI Colin Anderson.
DCI Anderson is back on the job after a tumultuous few months. He’s well aware there are colleagues just waiting for him to screw up & there are rumours he’ll be “promoted” to head of cold cases. The last thing he needs is to sit down with some drug addled party girl & discuss the merits of alien abduction.
James Kirkton is a politician who’s always camera ready. He’s recently been given the police services portfolio & is determined to make some changes. First up is making sure Anderson never gets anywhere near the cold case unit.
It’s the first day of Glasgow’s annual West End Festival & the loons are out in full force. The cops of Patrickhill Sta. are ready for the usual booze fuelled shenanigans but….a body nailed inside a tea chest? That’s a first.
Don your deerstalker & grab your magnifying glass. You’re going to need them to untangle this twisty murder mystery. The book begins with a fatal house fire in 1989. In the present, we meet the cast in separate story lines linked by a character or location.
Anderson & Costello’s investigation begins with the body but soon heads off in directions neither could have foreseen. There are myriad connections waiting to be uncovered & several of the characters have their own agendas. Thanks to multiple narrators, we have a wider view of what’s going on in this little patch of Glasgow. Still, it’s not until the final pages that we know who is a hunter & who is prey.
This is book #8 of the series & driven by the yin & yang pairing of Anderson & Costello. Anderson has undergone huge change in his private life & is the duo’s diplomat. Costello is a smart, blunt cop who believes everyone is entitled to her inside voice. Her attitude provides a dark humour & edginess, particularly in conversations with Kirkton the Git (sorry, did I type that out loud?).
There are so many separate threads & you may be surprised once they’re all tied up. It’s a story that will mess with your head & that ending…..a wee beverage before hitting the last couple of chapters might be a good idea. Purely for medicinal purposes.
March 9, 2017
I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley.
This is a totally absorbing and macabre crime novel. In the middle of a festival a young woman walks into the police station - apparently under the influence of something - asking for DCI Colin Anderson.
She claims to have been abducted by aliens and to have escaped. She has a severely damaged knee and strange lines drawn with felt pen on various parts of her body. Then a young man apparently disappears from the crowded streets and a body appears folded up into a tea chest in a back alley.
This is just the start of an investigation which leads Anderson and Costello into some very strange aspects of human behaviour as well as into a quite sinister nursing home. I found I just had to keep reading this book and while I worked out who was responsible for the crimes I didn't work out why were being carried out.
I have read a couple of books in this well written and, at times, quite gruesome series and I recommend it to anyone who enjoys crime stories without too much on the page graphic violence
or bad language. I like the way the main characters refuse to bow to political pressure and continue to investigate crime wherever it occurs and whoever in involves.
This is a totally absorbing and macabre crime novel. In the middle of a festival a young woman walks into the police station - apparently under the influence of something - asking for DCI Colin Anderson.
She claims to have been abducted by aliens and to have escaped. She has a severely damaged knee and strange lines drawn with felt pen on various parts of her body. Then a young man apparently disappears from the crowded streets and a body appears folded up into a tea chest in a back alley.
This is just the start of an investigation which leads Anderson and Costello into some very strange aspects of human behaviour as well as into a quite sinister nursing home. I found I just had to keep reading this book and while I worked out who was responsible for the crimes I didn't work out why were being carried out.
I have read a couple of books in this well written and, at times, quite gruesome series and I recommend it to anyone who enjoys crime stories without too much on the page graphic violence
or bad language. I like the way the main characters refuse to bow to political pressure and continue to investigate crime wherever it occurs and whoever in involves.
September 21, 2019
I wanted to try another of these Anderson & Costello books and have regrettably decided this is not a series for me. It sounded appealing with the Glasgow setting and the celebratory atmosphere surrounding the annual Festival parade.
The sentences are choppy, the humour is like run-on sentences that won't end and does not amuse me, the tempo is frenetic.
Tried to make sense of it. Somehow other reviewers have succeeded in summarizing the bizarre plot, so that's it for me. If I run out of reading material I might give it another chance before returning to library.
I did check out a collection of crime stories this author contributed to so perhaps I will like her contribution in that book.
Library Loan
The sentences are choppy, the humour is like run-on sentences that won't end and does not amuse me, the tempo is frenetic.
Tried to make sense of it. Somehow other reviewers have succeeded in summarizing the bizarre plot, so that's it for me. If I run out of reading material I might give it another chance before returning to library.
I did check out a collection of crime stories this author contributed to so perhaps I will like her contribution in that book.
Library Loan
February 24, 2017
28/2/17 Standing Still
*****
I would like to thank Netgalley and Severn House Publishers for an advance copy of Standing Still, the eighth Glasgow based police procedural to feature DCI Anderson and DI Costello.
It's all go at the Partickhill Major Crimes Unit. It's the first day of the West End festival when a young woman enters the station asking for DCI Anderson and claiming she has been abducted by aliens. She has been drugged and injured but before they can get to the bottom of her story they are called out to a dead body, found in a tea chest with similar injuries to Amy, the alien abductee and they're still trying to find a homeless girl, missing for a week. This is just the start.
I thoroughly enjoyed Standing Still which drew me in from the start and never let go. On reflection the plot may be a little improbable but I didn't notice at the time as I was too busy trying to keep up with all the twists, turns and connections. It starts off at a rattling pace and never lets up with new information in every chapter. I did guess one of the twists earlier than the police but due to Ms Ramsay's skill it took a while and I had no idea why. The police investigation is intercut with scenes from a nursing home for wealthy former performers, told from the point of view of one of the carers, Sarah, but why they are there is not revealed until the end. Normally this approach annoys me but in this novel I found it intriguing as Sarah is such a well drawn character in her petty thieving and ill conceived plotting.
Colin Anderson is the main protagonist, leading the investigation and receiving some undeserved hostility from a local politician. It is this hostility which leads the team to question his motives. More intrigue. Anderson is now a contented man, rich enough from an inheritance to lead the life he chooses which is that of a kindly, smart, empathetic detective. He leaves the bulldog tactics to Costello whom we don't see enough of in the novel. She is extremely direct and her acerbic wit is very Glaswegian and very funny.
I am biased towards liking novels set in my old home town of Glasgow as I can recognise the landmarks (I drank in The Rock a few times in the 80s and it's hard to imagine a pub keeping the same name for so long!) but I think Ms Ramsay has done a good job with the setting and I can picture most of it.
Standing Still is a great read and I have no hesitation in recommending it.
*****
I would like to thank Netgalley and Severn House Publishers for an advance copy of Standing Still, the eighth Glasgow based police procedural to feature DCI Anderson and DI Costello.
It's all go at the Partickhill Major Crimes Unit. It's the first day of the West End festival when a young woman enters the station asking for DCI Anderson and claiming she has been abducted by aliens. She has been drugged and injured but before they can get to the bottom of her story they are called out to a dead body, found in a tea chest with similar injuries to Amy, the alien abductee and they're still trying to find a homeless girl, missing for a week. This is just the start.
I thoroughly enjoyed Standing Still which drew me in from the start and never let go. On reflection the plot may be a little improbable but I didn't notice at the time as I was too busy trying to keep up with all the twists, turns and connections. It starts off at a rattling pace and never lets up with new information in every chapter. I did guess one of the twists earlier than the police but due to Ms Ramsay's skill it took a while and I had no idea why. The police investigation is intercut with scenes from a nursing home for wealthy former performers, told from the point of view of one of the carers, Sarah, but why they are there is not revealed until the end. Normally this approach annoys me but in this novel I found it intriguing as Sarah is such a well drawn character in her petty thieving and ill conceived plotting.
Colin Anderson is the main protagonist, leading the investigation and receiving some undeserved hostility from a local politician. It is this hostility which leads the team to question his motives. More intrigue. Anderson is now a contented man, rich enough from an inheritance to lead the life he chooses which is that of a kindly, smart, empathetic detective. He leaves the bulldog tactics to Costello whom we don't see enough of in the novel. She is extremely direct and her acerbic wit is very Glaswegian and very funny.
I am biased towards liking novels set in my old home town of Glasgow as I can recognise the landmarks (I drank in The Rock a few times in the 80s and it's hard to imagine a pub keeping the same name for so long!) but I think Ms Ramsay has done a good job with the setting and I can picture most of it.
Standing Still is a great read and I have no hesitation in recommending it.
September 10, 2018
3.5 stars.
I thought the book took a long time to get into its groove and I thought the main characters, Anderson and Costello, had changed markedly to how they were when the series started. I've read all the books and this one just seemed different. I must admit though, its been a long time since the last book so maybe I'm reading something into nothing.
The police are investigating some apparently unrelated cases - a young man found dead, folded into a tea chest; a young man missing (are they the same young man?) and a teenage street girl missing for some months. A blonde woman keeps cropping up in the investigation but no one can identify her. Everything seems to be centred in a very small area where a family burned to death in 1989. I did guess what was going on pretty early but of course you can never be sure because authors are good at leading you up the garden path.
It got pretty macabre towards the end and I feared for our intrepid crime fighting duo. Was the book satisfying? I'm not sure, there were some things not adequately explained like the fallout from the 1989 fire. An the elaborate staging of the finale seemed, I don't know, a bit much. Overall, an enjoyable story that could have been a touch better.
I thought the book took a long time to get into its groove and I thought the main characters, Anderson and Costello, had changed markedly to how they were when the series started. I've read all the books and this one just seemed different. I must admit though, its been a long time since the last book so maybe I'm reading something into nothing.
The police are investigating some apparently unrelated cases - a young man found dead, folded into a tea chest; a young man missing (are they the same young man?) and a teenage street girl missing for some months. A blonde woman keeps cropping up in the investigation but no one can identify her. Everything seems to be centred in a very small area where a family burned to death in 1989. I did guess what was going on pretty early but of course you can never be sure because authors are good at leading you up the garden path.
It got pretty macabre towards the end and I feared for our intrepid crime fighting duo. Was the book satisfying? I'm not sure, there were some things not adequately explained like the fallout from the 1989 fire. An the elaborate staging of the finale seemed, I don't know, a bit much. Overall, an enjoyable story that could have been a touch better.
August 12, 2017
Very entertaining if slightly macabre. Written well that I kept vacillating from character to character as to who was the guilty party.
April 20, 2022
This was a solid mystery and characters.
I started with book 8 because the library had only this from the whole series.
Now will have to seek the rest.
I started with book 8 because the library had only this from the whole series.
Now will have to seek the rest.
June 1, 2017
Despite Standing Still being number 8 in the series, it was still as fresh as the initial one. It is a crime procedural novel consisting of missing people and alleged alien invasion. A good read. 3 stars
May 13, 2017
DCI Anderson and DI Costello are investigating the disappearance of a young lady called Paige Riley, and trying to make sense of girl who believes she has been abducted by aliens. As this is happening the body of a man is discovered in a refuse bin. There is also the ongoing search for Paul Kerr whose mother Irene fears that he may be the body in the bin. This was not a story I particularly enjoyed and at times I found the writing somewhat confusing. Having said that I did love the events and residents of Athole House.."home for the retired stars of stage and screen" and in particular the Duchess who was looked after and cared for by her son and care assistant Sandra..."He always dressed the Duchess in the style of the women she admired; Jackie Onassis, the Queen, Walls Simpson..." The intentions of Sandra and the hilarity and sadness of the paying elderly guests were to me the high points in a plot that I found at times very difficult to engage with..."Enjoy the scenery as you fill up your incontinence pads and ring bells that nobody ever answers so you are left to rot and decay in some old stinking armchair, the TV left on, sound blaring and the same episode of Deal or No Deal playing over and over again..." Thanks to the good people of netgalley for a gratis copy in exchange for an honest review and that is what I have written.
August 5, 2021
What a strange book. I felt bits were glossed over, the story didn’t seem to flow. Ive read most of Caro’s books , this one got me was not quite right.
May 31, 2017
I started reading in the middle of this series and keep meaning to go back and read the beginning books but to date have not managed that yet. That said, I don't feel I am missing out on any enjoyment not having completed this task.
This book, like the previous two gripped me from the start, drew me in and kept hold of my attention nicely throughout. It's quite dark in tone, definitely not your bulk standard police procedural and it was lovely to get my teeth into it. It's a bit convoluted at times and I had to have my wits about me throughout but it all came together brilliantly at the end.
So, it's festival time in Glasgow and so the city is gearing up for that with the people getting into the mood for fun and frivolity. What they really don't need is what happens next. A young woman is found in a bit of a state claiming she has been abducted by aliens, she is asking for DI Anderson but he has no idea why. Then Anderson and Costello (yes, I still find myself reading Abbott and Costello - Who's on first base?) get embroiled with the body of a young man stuffed into a tea chest. There's a missing boy, but is it he who they have found. The action then switches to a care home, the same one housing Costello's Fiscal friend's wife, where we meet an ageing opera singer and her son and the people who care for them. And then, it gets even more convoluted and to say any more would be all kinds of spoilery and wrong. I will just mention that all is not right within the Police Force and it soon becomes evident that things are more political than they should be and that the powers that be are doing more to hinder rather than help the investigations.
Well, this was a read and a half for me. It had just about everything I want from a book. An interesting case, many threads that meander along merging, crossing and splitting several times before they all come together at the end. It was definitely a story that I am glad I could read practically straight through with not many life interruptions as when I did have to put it down, I pined for the time when I could pick it up again. I did guess a few things along the way but I was never quite there with guessing the outcome but, when it came, although shocking, was extremely well worked out.
I do love it when we have opposites teamed together and you can't really get more opposite than our two heroes here. Anderson and Costello are so chalk and cheese but their professional relationship just works. There is enough middle ground to get them through their cases and the fact that they are both a bit anti-establishment means that together they have more common enemies than just the villains they are hunting!
The pacing is frenetic, it really does go along at a fair lick but there are the quieter moments which gave me much needed respite to reflect and regroup. There is enough description to enhance the story but not to much that it intrudes.
Characterisation is brilliant. We have quite a large cast here in this book but all are very well drawn and easy to connect with on some level. With so many secrets and lies flying about here, I had a big pool of suspects to narrow down and connect together but i never got overwhelmed and every cast member served their own individual purpose.
All in all, a thoroughly satisfying read that left me completely satisfied. I always worry when series get this long as sometimes they tend to get tired but I see no evidence of this happening with this series any time soon.
My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.
This book, like the previous two gripped me from the start, drew me in and kept hold of my attention nicely throughout. It's quite dark in tone, definitely not your bulk standard police procedural and it was lovely to get my teeth into it. It's a bit convoluted at times and I had to have my wits about me throughout but it all came together brilliantly at the end.
So, it's festival time in Glasgow and so the city is gearing up for that with the people getting into the mood for fun and frivolity. What they really don't need is what happens next. A young woman is found in a bit of a state claiming she has been abducted by aliens, she is asking for DI Anderson but he has no idea why. Then Anderson and Costello (yes, I still find myself reading Abbott and Costello - Who's on first base?) get embroiled with the body of a young man stuffed into a tea chest. There's a missing boy, but is it he who they have found. The action then switches to a care home, the same one housing Costello's Fiscal friend's wife, where we meet an ageing opera singer and her son and the people who care for them. And then, it gets even more convoluted and to say any more would be all kinds of spoilery and wrong. I will just mention that all is not right within the Police Force and it soon becomes evident that things are more political than they should be and that the powers that be are doing more to hinder rather than help the investigations.
Well, this was a read and a half for me. It had just about everything I want from a book. An interesting case, many threads that meander along merging, crossing and splitting several times before they all come together at the end. It was definitely a story that I am glad I could read practically straight through with not many life interruptions as when I did have to put it down, I pined for the time when I could pick it up again. I did guess a few things along the way but I was never quite there with guessing the outcome but, when it came, although shocking, was extremely well worked out.
I do love it when we have opposites teamed together and you can't really get more opposite than our two heroes here. Anderson and Costello are so chalk and cheese but their professional relationship just works. There is enough middle ground to get them through their cases and the fact that they are both a bit anti-establishment means that together they have more common enemies than just the villains they are hunting!
The pacing is frenetic, it really does go along at a fair lick but there are the quieter moments which gave me much needed respite to reflect and regroup. There is enough description to enhance the story but not to much that it intrudes.
Characterisation is brilliant. We have quite a large cast here in this book but all are very well drawn and easy to connect with on some level. With so many secrets and lies flying about here, I had a big pool of suspects to narrow down and connect together but i never got overwhelmed and every cast member served their own individual purpose.
All in all, a thoroughly satisfying read that left me completely satisfied. I always worry when series get this long as sometimes they tend to get tired but I see no evidence of this happening with this series any time soon.
My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.
September 21, 2024
I like these characters. I am a bit disappointed that Costello is not becoming a bit more…genteel. I guess the character is a bit Barbara-Havers-ish, but Costello doesn't seem to be softening her edges like Havers did. I do like the way Ramsay builds up to the climax, but there are two things I am finding that I do not like which may end up changing my entire opinion of this series.
First, Ramsay leaves too much unexplained until the epilogue. I noticed a few books in that I couldn’t wait until the epilogue where the missing pieces would be explained. By book 6, I realized this is part of her style, and the missing information was getting bigger in each subsequent novel. Now, at book 8, I was truly so confused by the unexplained background of the characters, I did not know who was being victimized, who was ancillary, or who was important to the ending. I believe good mysteries should give plenty of subtle hints throughout, but they should not leave gaps. The reader should not have to rely on the dénouement to explain what the reader just spent time reading.
Second, the climatic movements are so fast that the steps to the climax become confusing. This is the second book by Ramsay where I just kept reading even though I could make no sense of what was going on. The The Rat book, Anderson’s movement through the sewer or underground river or whatever it was supposed to be completely confused me. This one, once the lights went out, I couldn’t tell what was coming from where or who was descending from what! I know it was supposed to be matching the distorted vision unfathomable horror of the characters’ experience, but the novel still needed to keep the reader grounded about what was happening!
It’s becoming wretchedly annoying. I am not one to quit a series once I’ve started, but 9-13 are in serious jeopardy of my giving up out of frustration with what is supposed to be time well spent.
First, Ramsay leaves too much unexplained until the epilogue. I noticed a few books in that I couldn’t wait until the epilogue where the missing pieces would be explained. By book 6, I realized this is part of her style, and the missing information was getting bigger in each subsequent novel. Now, at book 8, I was truly so confused by the unexplained background of the characters, I did not know who was being victimized, who was ancillary, or who was important to the ending. I believe good mysteries should give plenty of subtle hints throughout, but they should not leave gaps. The reader should not have to rely on the dénouement to explain what the reader just spent time reading.
Second, the climatic movements are so fast that the steps to the climax become confusing. This is the second book by Ramsay where I just kept reading even though I could make no sense of what was going on. The The Rat book, Anderson’s movement through the sewer or underground river or whatever it was supposed to be completely confused me. This one, once the lights went out, I couldn’t tell what was coming from where or who was descending from what! I know it was supposed to be matching the distorted vision unfathomable horror of the characters’ experience, but the novel still needed to keep the reader grounded about what was happening!
It’s becoming wretchedly annoying. I am not one to quit a series once I’ve started, but 9-13 are in serious jeopardy of my giving up out of frustration with what is supposed to be time well spent.
Want to read
August 27, 2021Something very sinister is going on behind the scenes at Glasgow s West End Festival parade in the compelling new Anderson and Costello mystery.
Paige Riley has been missing for a week. Not that anyone cares much about the homeless heroin addict. The case remains open but inactive; left standing still until something comes up.
Meanwhile, Glasgow s citizens are in celebratory mood for the annual West End Festival parade. But beneath the jovial surface lurks something darker. A confused young woman is found wandering among the clowns, stilt-walkers and jostling crowds, claiming to have been abducted by aliens. She had originally disappeared the night before. What happened to her in those intervening hours?
Before DCI Anderson and DI Costello can find out, a body is discovered. Is there a connection? As the two detectives investigate, it becomes horrifyingly clear that a depraved killer has taken advantage of the busiest day of the year to carry out a gruesomely macabre plan."
Paige Riley has been missing for a week. Not that anyone cares much about the homeless heroin addict. The case remains open but inactive; left standing still until something comes up.
Meanwhile, Glasgow s citizens are in celebratory mood for the annual West End Festival parade. But beneath the jovial surface lurks something darker. A confused young woman is found wandering among the clowns, stilt-walkers and jostling crowds, claiming to have been abducted by aliens. She had originally disappeared the night before. What happened to her in those intervening hours?
Before DCI Anderson and DI Costello can find out, a body is discovered. Is there a connection? As the two detectives investigate, it becomes horrifyingly clear that a depraved killer has taken advantage of the busiest day of the year to carry out a gruesomely macabre plan."
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 27, 2021
Who is pulling who's strings.
Am elite nursing home for former stars of stage and screen. Talent or tosh?
All waiting for God in a stupor, drugged to keep them quiet - some more than others?
A politician spouting the usual BS, ever ready for a photo op.
The fiscal's wife suffering from dementia, newly admitted to the nursing home, putting fear in those working at the home for different reasons.
A cold case murder, which needs solving.
Anderson has moved into Helena's home, having inherited the bulk of the famous artist's estate, not so secret lovers. He is at peace in the house and daughter, Claire has !over in with him.
So many threads to this tale, surprisingly they don't confuse the reader, only enhance the experience.
Well written and a must for any reader who enjoys their thriller fiction unsanitised.
Am elite nursing home for former stars of stage and screen. Talent or tosh?
All waiting for God in a stupor, drugged to keep them quiet - some more than others?
A politician spouting the usual BS, ever ready for a photo op.
The fiscal's wife suffering from dementia, newly admitted to the nursing home, putting fear in those working at the home for different reasons.
A cold case murder, which needs solving.
Anderson has moved into Helena's home, having inherited the bulk of the famous artist's estate, not so secret lovers. He is at peace in the house and daughter, Claire has !over in with him.
So many threads to this tale, surprisingly they don't confuse the reader, only enhance the experience.
Well written and a must for any reader who enjoys their thriller fiction unsanitised.
June 3, 2017
An interesting and at times a little confusing tale. Standing Still takes us on a somewhat macabre journey involving a mixture of characters, some we never really get to truly know or understand....and indeed do we really need to? I got a real sense of disjointedness (excuse the pun-those who have read this will get it) it seems to me that Ramsay may have grown more than little tired of her duo and is choosing to avoid adding any further depth to their story lines....to be honest I'm bored of reading how they are ticking along, one almost having an affair with the boss and the other accepting his life without any real passion...not even the odd dram!
July 6, 2021
A typically dark and twisted thriller from the Anderson & Costello series. Written in a taught and engaging manner with humorous elements throughout, this novel is short and very readable.
Set in the west end of Glasgow in the summer, the team are faced with a missing girl, a body in a box, and a possible link to an old tenement fire. Then there's the posh old folk's home with some very interesting residents and staff. But what links them all together?
As the well known characters develop, the case becomes less clear. And the involvement of a local Member of the Scottish Parliament brings senior officer scrutiny too. Just what they need!
Set in the west end of Glasgow in the summer, the team are faced with a missing girl, a body in a box, and a possible link to an old tenement fire. Then there's the posh old folk's home with some very interesting residents and staff. But what links them all together?
As the well known characters develop, the case becomes less clear. And the involvement of a local Member of the Scottish Parliament brings senior officer scrutiny too. Just what they need!
October 30, 2022
I have read the first three novels along with this one. I have found Ramsay very unique in this genre and the method of her storytelling. Her life experience shows her legitimate background within her stories, and this is utilized by her in the original methods of creating and detailing her story plot. This lends foundation to make the story very believable and most seductive to the reader, and involving the reader, me, to make it personal---and that is THE thing. As the reader, I am there and become a part of the story in a special and also most unique way. This goes for my review of her first three novels and this one as well.
November 10, 2025
I have loved all of the books in this series so far but this one is the best. So complicated. After a book 7 more or less absent DCI Colin Anderson is back. He is leading an investigation into abducted missing persons with Costello by his side in her best sarcastic form. Especially fun to read is Claire Anderson's debut as a full-fledged character of her own, not just Colin's daughter. And although her role is minor, Elvie McCullough plays an important part as the resident medical student expert and also Vic Mulholland's unlikely girlfriend. Caro Ramsay creates a very dark atmosphere although this one isn't a dismal as book 7. A great read.
July 15, 2022
This case is macabre not doubt about it. Linking cases of people severely injured but with no memory of what happened...a drug that leaves the system quickly, and a young university student goes missing so Costello & Anderson are on the case. Costello's squeeze Archie has placed his wife with alzheimer's in a special high end care home and of course this will all connect at some point. I love Wyngate's character but I'm tired of Anderson's and I'm totally team Costello at this point. Sorry, Anderson is a wanker at this point. Another home run book.
September 3, 2025
Fairly short but fascinating story . The body of a young man is found crammed into a tea chest in a Glasgow street. Before the police have even had time to process the scene, a distraught woman appears insisting it must be her son David who failed to turn up to a meeting with his friends earlier in the day. Is it a coincidence that this body has turned up very near the scene of a fatal fire many years earlier ?
Difficult to say too much about the rest of the story without spoilers, but the book kept me hooked from beginning to end, so much so that I finished it in a day.
Difficult to say too much about the rest of the story without spoilers, but the book kept me hooked from beginning to end, so much so that I finished it in a day.
June 22, 2019
3.5. This is number 8 in a series that I have not read so everything is new to me. It read fine on its own. I did like the characters though and will read more for this series. I enjoyed the mystery of this who done it and build up to the “reveal”. However, that’s where I felt the story went a bit unrealistic and far fetched. It just didn’t mesh with the rest of the book. The ending was also a tad abrupt.
December 21, 2021
Here is another unspeakably creepy crime thriller from Glasgow’s Caro Ramsay. We have missing youths including one with a destroyed knee who claims to have been abducted by aliens, a boy folded into a tea chest, and who is the mysterious blonde who keeps appearing and disappearing among the local festival crowd? The overriding element here is heat, as was wet and snow in previous stories. Ramsay is good.
April 29, 2022
Good at the end
Not as much a thriller as the publisher says. Couple of typos. Liked the glossary at the end, but the definition of fiscal is missing. It's used a great deal to describe one of the police team, I assume it refers to a lawyer or at least person whose job it is to make legal determinations. The last chapter is a hoot ax there is where the who!d thing comes together. Nice twist of plot.
Not as much a thriller as the publisher says. Couple of typos. Liked the glossary at the end, but the definition of fiscal is missing. It's used a great deal to describe one of the police team, I assume it refers to a lawyer or at least person whose job it is to make legal determinations. The last chapter is a hoot ax there is where the who!d thing comes together. Nice twist of plot.
March 3, 2024
Ebook and audio Libby
Enjoyed this Tartan Noir especially the settings along Byres Road Glasgow which were well incorporated as both the setting and vibe. I'm convinced the author must've dined in the long lamented restaurant The Puppet Theatre 🎭 which closed decades ago.
Less good was that the pace was a little clunky at times and one typo.
Overall a good read and great that it's part of a series.
Enjoyed this Tartan Noir especially the settings along Byres Road Glasgow which were well incorporated as both the setting and vibe. I'm convinced the author must've dined in the long lamented restaurant The Puppet Theatre 🎭 which closed decades ago.
Less good was that the pace was a little clunky at times and one typo.
Overall a good read and great that it's part of a series.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 6, 2020
Part of me wants to give this 1 star because the some elements of the story are just so grotesque that I found it hard to deal with but Ramsay's character creation is so wonderful that I just had to keep reading. This story, set in Glasgow's West End, is all about masks, the masks we were to create the person we really want to be.
September 17, 2020
Set in Glasgow's West End, the police investigate the discovery of a body and the circumstances surrounding a missing girl. Are the two connected and who is the well dressed blonde woman who seems to have something to do with the strange events ?
Although I enjoyed this novel, I did find it to be quite confusing at times and would have liked a quicker pace.
Although I enjoyed this novel, I did find it to be quite confusing at times and would have liked a quicker pace.
August 6, 2021
Standing Still
I think Carl Ramsey is one of the best writers I have read she certainly knows how to weave a crime story I have read most of her books and they are all good this story is very clever and it's not until the last chapter that you have a guess who is the murder of you want a good read them this is it.
I think Carl Ramsey is one of the best writers I have read she certainly knows how to weave a crime story I have read most of her books and they are all good this story is very clever and it's not until the last chapter that you have a guess who is the murder of you want a good read them this is it.
August 19, 2021
Enthralling book
Anderson and Costello work together trying to solve the disappearance of a young man, David. This becomes extremely complicated and very gruesome. Once again the characters are wonderfully crafted to provide the suspense and intrigue that runs throughout the pages.
It was definitely thrilling and well worth reading.
Anderson and Costello work together trying to solve the disappearance of a young man, David. This becomes extremely complicated and very gruesome. Once again the characters are wonderfully crafted to provide the suspense and intrigue that runs throughout the pages.
It was definitely thrilling and well worth reading.
November 23, 2021
I really didn't see it coming. It's hard to write a good enough review without spoilers. The missing girl is hardly on the radar, but Costello has a hard time getting her out of her head. Where could she be? And the body in the box, why can they not find any way to identify him. It comes down to families and those who care for them, and how they care.
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