Rat Run

Anderson & Costello #7

by Caro Ramsay

In August 1992, a mother and her two young sons were brutally hacked to death in the woods behind their home. The boys were just three and one.

The neighbour, Andrew Gyle, was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment.

Now, twenty-three years later, a sinkhole emerges in the garden of the murdered family. In the wreckage, a grisly discovery is made. It may even throw Gyle’s conviction into doubt.

Andrew Gyle always maintained his innocence. What if he really didn’t do it?

Meanwhile, Anderson is back from his leave of absence, but Costello worries he is struggling to cope. His increasingly erratic behaviour makes her think the unthinkable: can she trust her own partner?

Genres: Fiction, Procedural, Crime, Mystery, Thriller, British Literature, Audiobook

384 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 1, 2016

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

[Paromjit · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a bleak, dark and atmospheric story. It feels oppressive and claustrophobic, with elements of horror. The incessant heavy rain never stops and is the catalyst for the appearance of a sinkhole in the notorious Altmore Road. In the sinkhole, the foot bones of a recently deceased woman are discovered. Fiscal Archie Walker has the recently reinstated Anderson, who is still experiencing PTSD, and his team investigate. 23 years ago there was the high profile murder of a woman, her 2 young children and their dog, with an axe in the nearby wood. Andrew Gyle was convicted of their murder but has consistently, through the years, protested his innocence. The police need to prove that the bones do not represent proof of his innocence.

Anderson is struggling to lead the team or get a grip on the case, and that is a dangerous position to be in, as there is all manner of dark activities taking place around the isolated Altmore Road. It is Costello that drives the case forward whilst Anderson puts himself on the sidelines. Costello slowly comes to believe that there is evidence that might support a miscarriage of justice claim. Jennifer Lawson, a young mother with 2 young children has a husband who is never there. Is history about to repeat itself in the present day? Greed, toxic love, murder and deception swirl around in this enclosed community where there might be more than one killer. And rats are everywhere nibbling on children and any piece of human flesh they encounter.

This is a complex and intricately plotted story from the talented writer that is Caro Ramsay. It has the same high levels of darkness that you would expect from her. She certainly has not lost her touch in delivering macabre crime stories. I hesitate to say that I loved it, the rats put me off, but the quality of the writing and storytelling is superb. Brilliant Scottish Noir.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars. This was a bit too gritty for me. I had to skip parts of it which I judged too gruesome. The plot is extremely complex with way too many characters, each with their own secrets.

The dark atmosphere is made worse by the constant Glasgow rain.. and the rats. DCI Anderson is suffering from PTSD after his last case, and DI Costello is finding it hard to bear the burden of of this present case with Anderson going off at a tangent. The ending held several surprises, but I can't say I really enjoyed this novel as much as the others in the series. I hope the main protagonists will get it together again in the next novel.

[Carol · Rating 4 out of 5]

I gave this book 4 stars as it was a good detective novel. It held my attention throughout. I will look for other books by this author.

[Cleopatra Pullen · Rating 4 out of 5]

In an insular community just seven miles from Glasgow the shadow of the murder of Sue Melrose and her two young sons back in 1992, still casts darkness over a row of houses. Up on the hill above the street Jock Aird sits and surveys all that he owned, watching the current inhabitants of the street. The man convicted of the young mother’s murder and that of the two boys and the family dog sits in prison protesting his innocence.

Meanwhile DCI Colin Anderson is waiting to hear if he is to be allowed back to work after a year on sick leave since his last case which saw him lose his lover and nearly his life. DI Costello is anxious, not sure whether he is fit to come back to work or not, but also longing to get away from her desk bound job and back to action.

Fortunately a new discovery means that action is about to come DI Costello’s way, and against a brooding backdrop of relentless rain which only serves to increase the claustrophobic atmosphere we meet the characters who live in the street in August 2015. The old case is reviewed with an aim to shore up the conviction against the man sat in prison, Andrew Gyle, reviewing those horrific images from twenty-three years before, combing the files and carrying out the necessary traces on those who were connected to the case.

Caro Ramsay executes this dark tale with a deft pen. The plot is fairly complex with many characters from the past and the present all seemingly with something to hide or infected by dark minds makes this far from a cheery read, but one that digs deep into the souls of all those involved. This is an author that doesn’t depend on left-field revelations, the clues are there for the denouement and I’m proud to say that I used these to work out the whodunit although I wasn’t quite there with the why. Not an easy task when there are many suspicious events, lots of people with nefarious intent but also some shining examples of the better side of human nature to keep this story from becoming so bleak that it seemed impossible to finish.

This is the seventh in the Anderson and Costello series and none of the books I have read, and no I didn’t start from the beginning (just for a change) read like the more traditional police procedural. Aside from Anderson’s return to work interviews and the brief that as much information about the new discovery was to be kept from the media, this story doesn’t concern itself with police politics. The members of the team are all individuals borrowing little from the stereotypical police cardboard cut-outs that are commonly used in such tales. We do hear a little about the protagonists private lives, mainly about Anderson’s struggle to overcome the psychological damage inflicted on him, and his family, but refreshingly the core of the story is kept to the forefront at all times.

If you like your crime thrillers to be full of thrills, you can’t go far wrong with this one but be warned, there are fairly graphic descriptions and if rats freak you out, this is not a bedtime story for you!!

[Sandy · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

The 7th book in this series is a dark, atmospheric read about a present day investigation that stirs up memories of a horrific crime from the past.
 
At the centre of it all is Altmore Road, a crumbling little area of Glasgow infamous for the murders of a young mother & her children in 1992. 
 
DCI Anderson is newly back on the job after 14 months of PTSD, psych evaluations & an uneasy home life brought on by his last case ("The  Tears of Angels"). He desperately needs the distraction of work but is a ghost of his former self. When a giant sinkhole on Altmore coughs up some old bones, he & Costello are assigned the case.
 
This is a complex story with many (many!) characters as chapters alternate between the past & present. Altmore Road seems to exist in a bubble, populated by eccentrics who guard their secrets behind closed doors. Initially the pace is slow. Much time & space is devoted to in depth descriptions of each family on the street, then & now. As the historical plot line catches up to present day, it becomes evident their lives have long been linked by unpleasant events. 
 
The investigation is a tough slog of endless interviews & waiting for forensics to yield results. It's really Costello's case as she quickly realizes Anderson is MIA. She's lost a bit of her spark in this outing, restraining herself from the caustic comments that added snarky humour to the last book. It's clear she's feeling the stress of carrying Anderson & the political nightmare of possibly reopening the old murder case. 
 
Maybe she's just tired of being soaking wet & the fact there's never an ark builder around when you need one. The deluge of endless rain is another character in the story as it affects the lives of everyone & Altmore Road, itself. Some of its hidden residents are being driven out by the rising water & the author uses this to eeewww-inducing effect in the finale (hint: see title).
 
The pace picks up for the last quarter & it becomes a full on page turner. It's a transitional book & by the end there are signs Anderson may resolve his issues & return to the living for the next instalment. Hopefully Costello can then relax & unleash her inside voice.
 

[Bookish_predator · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first time I've read anything by this author and I thoroughly enjoyed it! A police procedural set in Scotland and its right up my street!

The story starts with the murder of a young wife, her 2 little boys and their dog, the killer quickly apprehended and sent to prison for life. But did he really do it?

We then flash forward and are introduced to the people now living on the same street in the middle of non-stop rain. When a sink hole appears outside one of the houses it leads to the discovery of foot bones that are soon confirmed as coming from a severed foot.

It builds from there and is filled with secrets, lies, sex and money (usually the case though really). Re-interviewing people from the previous case and talking to people surrounding this one to work out exactly what's going on.

It's filled with twists and turns, little bits of information and clues soon build up as you try to figure out what happened all those years ago and whether it has any connection to what's happening now.

This is the 7th? Book in this series and I really need to read the rest!

*Huge thanks to Caro Ramsey, Severn House Publishers and NetGalley for this copy in exchange for an honest review*

[louise page-bulloch · Rating 3 out of 5]

Disappointed, the plot was ok but too complex with red herrings and not a great conclusion. Yes have really enjoyed the others in this series but this one seems ill planned. I like series but believe every story should stand alone and if you have not read the others you could be confused as to who what and why. Not the best in my opinion

[Damaskcat · Rating 5 out of 5]

A new discovery in the area in which a young mother and her two children were brutally hacked to death twenty three years ago throws new light on this old case. DCI Colin Anderson has just returned to work after a long absence and he must make a success of this case but it could involve re-investigating the old case which he and DI Costello have been told to avoid doing. But it soon becomes clear that the old case could involve a miscarriage of justice and a man could be serving a prison sentence for a crime he did not commit.

This is a well written police procedural set in the Glasgow area. The tension mounts from the very first page and I was completely hooked on it, finding myself reading it long into the night because I had to know what happened. The conclusion is enough to give anyone nightmares but it isn't violent for the sake of being violent and it isn't too graphic. It lets the reader's own imagination supply a lot of the detail.

I have not yet read all of this excellent series but I can confirm they can be read as standalone novels. If you like well written police procedurals with interesting police characters and complex plots which will keep you guessing then you may enjoy this book and this series. I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley for review.

[Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very dark and complex mystery. Horrific at times. Difficult to distinguish the many characters in the story.

[Susan W · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a favorite. All that rain and rot.

[Sharon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Caro Ramsay has the killer hook opening down to a fine art and she certainly laid it out on a plate for me with this one! I could almost hear the horror movie soundtrack playing in the background as my heart rate increased and my mouth went dry in terror. A perfect scene was painted and I was hooked!

The blurb above tells you all you need to know about the plot and the storyline so I won’t rehash any of that. What I will tell you about is the incredible storytelling talent that Caro Ramsay has.
Caro isn’t a writer who hands you the storyline on a plate, you have to put some effort and work into reading her books. Light and fluffy they are not. With casts of characters and plenty of little subplots bubbling away, they are an intense but intelligent read which will get your old grey matter working. But please don’t let this put you off, they are well worth the effort.


Brilliant scene setting meant that I could watch the words play out in pictures inside my head as I read. This meant that the location and the characters were authentic and believable. A very real oppressive and somehow claustrophobic atmosphere was created as I was taken on a journey through the lives of the residents of Altmore Road. Watching their past and present lives collide in the pages filled with incessant rainfall. The rain never halted throughout the book and it added something terrifyingly dark to the storyline, something dense, threatening and extremely suspenseful. Dank, dirty and breeding ground to some extremely nasty vermin…let’s just say that the title of this book is very apt!

I love how Caro uses a mix of real places with her own dash of uniqueness. For those of us familiar with Glasgow there is enough for us to recognise the area she is referring to and for those who don’t know the area then you would never know the difference. So be warned if you are one of those readers who will get antsy about a bus route being inaccurate in a book then this might be a source of irritation to you!

Anderson and Costello are an excellent pairing and without giving away any spoilers from previous books, Anderson is struggling with the impact of a previous case on his private and professional life. The issue of PTSD is expertly and sensitively explored through Anderson’s own experiences, providing a candid and realistic overview of the condition and its ripple effect. He is a complex character but one who makes for an intriguing read. Now, Costello, she is my kind of character, on the surface, she is a bit of a wee nippy sweetie; straight talking grumpy on the outside but a whole different person underneath – I love her! The relationship between the two is intense, although fraught with tension at times, it is impossible not to see the connection between them.

Rat Run, I have to say, is perhaps my favourite of the series so far. Full of perfectly executed twists and turns, outstanding characters and sense of place and the added bonus of keeping me guessing right up to the very last minute this one is perfect for those who like their reads to give them something to get their teeth into! (Just watch for other things getting their teeth into you as you read though! #JustSaying)

[wendi wigham · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh rats!

So Anderson is declared for for work. But is he? The nightmares, flashbacks and panic attacks continue to take their toll. His thought processes are muddled, his mind wanders and his team no longer have the confidence in him that they once had.
His first case back is a non case. Archie Walker, the fiscal and Costello's lover, wants the team to look into the brutal murder of a young mother and her two young sons. Killed by an axe, hacked to death and the family dog decapitated. A young policeman states he has seen the murder and retired from the force due to PTSD and shock.
So they are expected to go back over twenty years and no one could really see the point.
A local resident Gyle was found at the scene covered in blood, and his axe was the murder weapon. He had always stated his innocence saying that he had found his neighbour, Sue Melrose - who he loathed, already dead, but had got the blood on him trying to render any aid he could.
This was still his story, twenty years later. No one believes him.
After his conviction, his daughter Lorna had written a best seller about her father , and after accepting his guilt, ceased all contact with him.
Original witnesses are interviewed again, no change to their earlier statements.
Anderson hits it off with David Griffin, the PC at the Melrose crime scene, Costello is not happy with Anderson's new bromance, thinking it is unprofessional and inappropriate to be getting drunk with one of the witnesses . Wondering what information he maybe sharing.
After interviewing Gyle in prison, Costello begins to wonder about his guilt.
The original landowner for the street is Jock Aird, living in a large mansion nearest the woods, seventy seven and fitter than some men half his age, he has always supported Gyle's innocence. He is regarded by other residents as creepy, a perv, keeping Tom and other unflattering titles. He frequently watched his neighbours from an upstairs window. Is he a wicked old man or is he watching for any ill doing in his domain?
There is so much going on, to say more would spoil it for other readers.
If you enjoy a really good thriller with more twists and turns than Brighton Lanes, this is for you. The ending comes with a sense of disbelief, you don't see it coming, but ties all the threads together.

[Nancy]

A complex plot with plenty of red herrings, taut suspense, and graphic details make this a gruesome but gripping read" Booklist

A macabre discovery throws disturbing new light on a 20-year-old murder case in the latest tense and twisting Anderson and Costello mystery.

In August 1992, a young mother and her two small sons were brutally murdered in the woods behind their home. Her neighbour Andrew Gyle was convicted of the crime and sentenced to life imprisonment. Now, twenty-three years later, a macabre discovery throws new light on the case. Could there have been a shocking miscarriage of justice?

Having only just returned to work following an enforced leave of absence, DCI Colin Anderson knows he must make a success of his comeback case. But, as he and his partner, DI Costello, uncover serious discrepancies in the original investigation, it becomes clear that not everyone is telling them the truth. Meanwhile, Costello worries that Anderson is struggling to cope - and his increasingly odd behaviour causes her to begin to think the unthinkable: can she trust her own partner? (less)

Haven't finished, but probably will. #7 in series

[Nona · Rating 2 out of 5]

Well, I had some difficulty with this book which I listened to on MP3, probably a mistake as the narrated Cathleen MCCARRON was very 'Scottish' in her interpretation and some words were hard to distinguish.
However, my main issue is the fanciful basic story, and amount of people Caro RAMSAY introduces, and the relationship between the 'supposed' heroes - Anderson and Costello. Whilst I have not read any of RAMSAY'S previous novels involving these two detectives, her writing presumes the reader has. Big mistake!!
RAMSAY did not clearly identify the course of her Rats and often went off on a tangent trying to write where they were, and never really identified why they were actually there. Rather an odd title in view of this fact.
The relationships, theories and explanations given throughout were very poor and left me very confused at times. But I left the CD on, even when I was not fully listening just to get it finished. In actual fact I was listening to the last 'explanatory' chapter and fell asleep, and had to replay the entire chapter again to try and remember who did what. Very poor.
Not recommended.

[Anetq · Rating 4 out of 5]

The team is coming back together after the last volume, (which had it been a tv-series would have been the dramatic series finale - bodies strewn across the faraway beach, "wait until the next season to see who made it"-type of thing. Well we did learn who survived, but the emotional and psychological damage only shows up in this volume) - So: Anderson and Costello are back to solve an easy starter case: check up on an old case - but of course nothing is as simple as that... Soon the not-yet-stable team (and leader) is battling the mysteries of the old case, bodies turning up in basements, the old 'open-and-shut case' maybe not being all that watertight, and speaking of water; a mysterious river flowing underground on and off, and one of our heroes doing a doing a swim with rats that rivals Indiana Jones - but maybe the cure for fiery nightmares is a whole lot of water?
It's freaky, quite disgusting, complicated, evil and so a very well spun tale of death, greed, deceit and rotting corpses from Ramsay. Good stuff in other words.

[Rog Harrison · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am a fan of the author and I like the characters in this police procedural series mainly set around Glasgow but this book does not really work. The solution to the mystery is convoluted and I am not sure that everything quite made sense.

The story takes place a year after the previous book "Tears of angels" as Detective Chief Inspector Anderson has been on sick leave with PTSD since then but has just been judged as fit to return to work.

When human bones are discovered in a sink hole the police worry that this may cast doubt on the guilt of a man who had been convicted twenty three years earlier as this victim had died when the man who had been convicted was in prison. The story about the residents in the street with the sink hole is interesting and readers of the earlier books will want to see how Anderson copes with his return from sick leave. I enjoyed reading this book but was so disappointed with the ending that two stars is a fair rating.

[Gordon Johnston · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderfully dark thriller as Anderson & Costello ride again. Or rather, Anderson fights with his demons while Costello tackles a baffling case.

Twenty years after a triple murder on the outskirts of Glasgow, bones are found. Less than twenty years old too. Coincidence? With the convicted killer safely in Barlinnie, the only safe assumption is that he wasn't responsible. So who was?

Everyone in the small community has secrets and hidden motives. Getting to the truth isn't easy. And the ending is both dramatic and horrific. A fine novel that takes the characters on another difficult journey.

[R.L. · Rating 5 out of 5]

The road is characterized as a "rat run" because it is a dead-end into an estate house with a mysterious watcher living in it. The homes along both sides of the road have seen better days. There was a horrific murder in the woods at the bottom of the road thirty years earlier. The man put in jail for the crime keeps repeating he did not do the crime. So will Anderson find his mind and equilibrium in time to save himself and possibly others? Is the murderer still out there? Or are there more than one murderer? The possibilities keep multiplying and Anderson is slowing going nuts, and Costello isn't happy with him. At all.
Good read.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a dark, compelling book. There are multiple crimes, suspects and guilty parties. On top of that, Anderson is working his way back to the force and sorting out a complicated home life. Some parts of the story move too fast; others too slow. The victims are interesting and there is a lot of ground covered in the story. I didn't see how things would come together at the end, but they did. Costello is a constant in the story, a rock of stability here.

The dark atmosphere lends itself well to the story. There are some pretty morbid details; I think it would be helpful to have read the earlier books, but not necessary.

[Lora King · Rating 5 out of 5]

Colin what's up man....experiencing ptsd, Anderson is a royal mess...Costello is holding things together with the help of the team. A sink hole opens on a street where a gruesome murder happened years ago and threatens to open up the old case. Let's just say Rat Run is a perfect title to this book! I was right there with Costello feeling the frustration of Anderson's malaise but she really shines in this book!! Good rollercoaster of a ride! I figured out who killed the mother and children in the past but not for the right reason! So twisty fun!

[Lee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well at least she didn't kill him off in this book. Jeez. Such a convoluted tale and really hard to keep track of if you have to stop reading for a few hours to, you know, work. The PTSD was really over the top -- if it was still so bad, he wouldn't have been allowed to return to work yet. And I have yet to figure out why she (Ramsey) makes Costello nastier and nastier with each book. BTW, you'll figure this one out pretty early on. Didn't need Batten at all for this one even though he's in it. I like him as a character even though sometimes his pronouncements are just whacko.

[Sally Parker · Rating 3 out of 5]

DCI Colin Anderson has only just returned to work following a period of sick leave resulting from his last very traumatic case. With his mental health still very fragile, Anderson finds himself ,together with DI Costello and the rest of his team, reinvestigating the murder 23 years earlier of a young mother and her two small sons. Although the woman’s neighbour is serving a life sentence for the killings, sufficient new evidence begins to emerge to throw doubt on his conviction.
I enjoyed this story - the characters are believable and the action moves quickly.

[Bill Berger · Rating 1 out of 5]

I’ve been reading all the Caro Ramsay novels in a row and I found them fabulous in scope and plot lines. They intersected each other in such a way that kept them interesting and intense. And then we come come to Rat Run. Like Colon Anderson, the book needed deep intervention. Besides raining on every page, just how many bloody murders can happen on one row of five houses
And let’s throw in a murderous gay couple at the end just for fun.

[Debra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another murder mystery that draws on all the strengths of the Anderson/Costello team. This story took us back in time to a murder a couple decades ago and was an innocent man locked up for that?

There were some grisly aspects to quite a few things that took place as this unraveled, but it was creative.

I did guess who the bad guy was pretty early on and all was just a hunch. A good read

[Cath Hughes · Rating 2 out of 5]

Did someone mention RATS??!!!
Do not read if you think all this talk of rats will give you nightmares!
You really need to have read the book before this in the series as it would have given me more knowledge and empathy for the main police characters.
Lots of good characters to investigate. A good mystery.

[Ann Tonks · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've been late to discover Cara Ramsay's team of policy people but I've become somewhat addicted. Not necessarily because of the murders themselves because they tend to be rather too gruesome for my taste but because of the character writer. Both the consistent figures and the those in each new environment are well crafted as is the plotting.

[Beverly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Creepy, gory, and clammy. If a previous entry was about snow, this was about rain. An isolated community is water soaked from both rain and hidden rivers running below. This is the setting for horrible murders and a miscarriage of justice. The events almost kill Anderson this time, and somewhat turned my stomach.

[Eirlys · Rating 5 out of 5]

Chameleons

A truly shocking story which kept piling on the suspense. Characters were complicated and, in some cases, were acting out of character. The reader was bombarded with historical events, which were skilfully entwined in the here and now. There were so many red herrings that my head was spinning as I tried to sort out who was the killer.

[Janet C. Simpson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I do like this author and I’m happy to have recently discovered her. My only criticism of this book, and somewhat of her previous novels, is that I think she has too many characters. Thank goodness for having a Kindle as I was able to highlight the names to remind me of who they were. I would have had a problem if I was reading a book.

[Sandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

A story saturated with rain, floodwater and sinkholes, which badly affect the mixed bunch of characters living in Altmore Road, as well at the police who have several entangled crimes to investigate. further hampered by the worrying inability of DCI Colin Anderson to get his act together. Tense and convoluted.