The Suffering of Strangers (2017 UK/2018 North America)
By Caro Ramsay
Black Thorn, 257 pages.
★★

The problem with a series is that if you show up late, it's hard to catch up. The Suffering of Strangers is book nine of Scottish fiction writer Caro Ramsay's Costello and Colin Anderson series. If you are addicted to Ms Ramsay's "tartan noir"* detective novels, you will probably devour it with gusto. If not, you'll probably share my judgment that it's more mess than mystery. My late-to-the-table status notwithstanding, this is simply not a very well written book.

In The Suffering of Strangers we find that Freddie (a woman) Costello is now a Detective Inspector (DI) and Colin Anderson a Detective Chief Inspector (DCI) who has been promoted to the Cold Case Unit, which investigates unsolved cases. Each will be drawn into a distressing incident in which 6-week old Sholto Chisholm has gone missing in an unusual way: when his mother Roberta ducked into a store for just a moment, Sholto** was gone but a Down syndrome baby sits in his place in a nearly identical car seat.

Costello is reluctant to get involved as she's still licking her wounds from botching a previous case–presumably described in book eight of the series. She's also angrier than usual as Archie Walker–her superior and covert lover–seems to be cavorting with a younger woman. Anderson, however, sees similarities between Sholto's switcheroo and other missing child cases. Even worse, as the investigation unfolds, several women go missing in ways that suggest the pattern of a serial rapist whose unsolved crimes gback at least 20 years and ravaged Colin's university flame, Sally Logan.

This novel is overpopulated with characters. Again, I presume that much of the detective force has been introduced in earlier novels, but be wary of reviews that say this book works as a standalone novel. It does not. I had to make lists of characters and relationships to keep them straight. This is problematic on several levels. First, my list was much longer than it needed be. Ramsay drops names in ways that give a new reader few clues as to whether the character in question is relevant, or just police station wallpaper. The same is true of past and pending cases mentioned. Second, Ramsay complicates matters by introducing new characters whose relationships to the story are murky. There is, for instance, a child support services caseworker named Deliana Despande. "Dali" ticks some boxes in that she's of Southeast Asian descent, non-white, and obese, but none of these portrayals are flattering. She seems to be in the novel to bond with DI Costello, whom most of her colleagues find cold and domineering. In truth, Dali doesn't need to be in such an already overstuffed book.

Colin is tasked with reconnecting with Sally and her now-husband Andrew Braithwaite, who was also one of Colin's university friends. This is also awkward because Colin hasn't seen either of them in many years; he is married with two children, but still carries a romanticized torch for Sally. At this juncture, the novel begins to unravel. In a short spate of time we hear of several woman who have disappeared, including one who vanishes just out of sight of the now ubiquitous CCTV security cameras and a drone. Toss in a young caseworker who screwed up when one of the missing women crawled out a bathroom window, a subplot involving Walker's goddaughter, several detectives who may or may not be withholding investigative details in hope of an advancement scoop, a legend of an underground city, some stumbling around in a subterranean car park, a yoga studio, a baby-selling network, a rooftop, and some high-powered water jets.

Ramsay brings all of this to a conclusion through logic-defying subterfuge. If that's not enough–and believe me, it is–Ramsay tacks on a cloudburst of coincidences that revolve around Anderson. This book has more contrivances than a Rube Goldberg machine. If only it had Goldberg's humor, his sense of irony, and his devotion to making his contraptions do just one thing.

Rob Weir

*American crime writer James Ellroy coined this wonderful term.

** This name sounds odd to North American ears, but not those in Scotland. It was the first name of the 8th century chieftain who sired the Douglas clan. It comes from a Gaelic word that means fruitful.

I haven't read this series of books, which I think did put me at a disadvantage as I found out this is the ninth book, so an awful lot of back story that, as a new reader, I knew nothing about.

The book opens with the kidnapping of a 6 week old baby, whose exhausted mother has gone to the shop, and left the baby asleep in the car, when she comes out her baby Sholto has gone but another baby has been left in his place.

In charge of the case is Costello, who is just recovering from a harrowing child abuse case, we learn snippets about this. We also meet Anderson who is working a cold case involving a rape.

Somehow these cases eventually collide, perhaps I think a little too neatly, and it gets even more coincidental at the end.

There are characters mentioned in the book which you don't get, there is a seemingly unconventional marriage maybe mentioned in previous books, plus injuries to police officers who are now sidelined to said injury.

On the whole an good read but would not recommend as a stand alone, think you would need to read the books in order perhaps to enjoy more.

What starts as a child abduction slowly grows into a web of many interconnected crimes that span decades. It will have you questioning who is the perpetrator and who is the victim. Does a witness have a moral or legal responsibility to act? What constitutes abuse or neglect? Can domestic crimes be prevented? The story is like a gemstone ... so many facets that come together to create a brilliant story about the value of life. If you like thrillers with many subplots, definitely add this book to your TBR list!

I was confused for most of the book. The many, many characters—most that popped in with no introduction—the jumping around of story lines, the less than plausible premise, the over abundance of murders, and the weak twists made this less than enjoyable for me.

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review The Suffering of Strangers. Unfortunately, it wasn’t the best.

A baby is abducted from outside a shop whilst the mother pops in to buy something quickly. But this is no ordinary abduction as a another baby was left in it's place. On the case is DI Costello and Anderson. This is the ninth book in a series of 10, a brilliant standalone novel set in gritty Glasgow.
This is my first book by Caro Ramsay and does not disappoint. There are other stories happening in the book, Malcolm the runaway and a rape victim, domestic abuse, it all comes together. If you are familiar with the Costello and Colin Anderson series, you will find their colleagues, Mulholland and Wyngate helping out with desk based duties. A good read.

An excellent thriller, I loved the way the plot unfolded, the main characters were strong and very relatable. This book had me hooked from the first page ... I cannot wait to read the next instalment. Five stars!!

Many thanks to Netgalley and Caro Ramsay for the copy of this book. I agreed to give my unbiased opinion voluntarily.

The first time I've come across the Anderson/Costello series and I wasn't disappointed. Believable and likeable characters - flaws and all - add to an equally believable story line, compelling in itself because it could so easily be true. Taking you into an underworld of inequality, social injustice and the bad twists and turns that life can take, this is an excellent read.

I had a hard time getting into this book. I found the story to be dry and wordy.
The characters were not very well developed , and I found the storyline lacking. Not a book for me, but I sure others might enjoy it
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the advanced copy of the book.
#netgalley
#blackthorn

I enjoyed this novel but wish I had read the previous one first. It wasn’t a stand alone book and I had to work out some of the back storywhich slightly detracted . However, I enjoyed the story and the ending was left open for the next in the series. Good read.

Clever and well written! Ramsay is a fluent storyteller. This is the first book in the series that I have read but I will start at the beginning now.
Many thanks to Black Thorn and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

Unbelievably good take of families torn apart and personal history that comes back to bite you !

Completely in love with all the characters and I hope there is a future outing (I’m guessing there is)

Great storytelling in my home town of Glasgow- loved it ! It’s s must read this summer

This is the first book I've read by this author, and therefore the first book I have read in this detective series. After reading this book, I will definitely be reading the remainder of the series.
The book follows several detectives involved in multiple cases that intertwine to end up involving the same people. There is a baby abduction, and there is a 5 week old child missing. There were also multiple sexual assaults that have gone unsolved. To top it off they have some "missing" girls. Whose to know if they are connected in some way based on the circle of people they involve, or whether that is all just a coincidence.
Easy reading with a twisty story; definitely right up my alley.

I don’t know if it’s because this is so many books into the series, but I really disliked this book.

The writing seemed messy, the story just jumped around, I didn’t feel any emotion to any of the characters, and I really struggled to concentrate. I found myself reading the same passages again and again as things just didn’t make sense.

Sorry, but not a thumbs up from me...

THE SUFFERING OF STRANGERS

by

CARO RAMSAY


An apt title as this intense thriller opens with a series of cameos of seemingly unconnected people who are in distress. Only as the book progresses do tenuous links begin these individuals appear. The dramatic opening chapter is a grabber. Who is the mysterious woman? And what is the significance of the noise she heard before she plummeted to her death?
Harrowing tales of child abuse, and baby selling make emotional reading. I sense the author’s anger at the increase in such crime with which we are becoming increasingly aware. Similarly she depicts the stress borne by social workers and the like who have to deal with the overwhelming number of cases, many of which are seeming brushed aside due to lack of staff. The effect on police attempting to solve crimes involving youngsters is well illustrated as Costello and Anderson labour all hours seeking links and clues in an attempt to find missing children and solve crimes. They are familiar and much liked characters who have appeared in previous books. This book can be read as a stand a lone but several earlier cases are mentioned and this can be irritating when the reader does not know the outcome.
Caro Ramsay’s reputation as a writer of thrillers, dark and intense, and relevant to today is growing. Skilful with words she can lighten the gloomiest scenario with witty metaphors. One guy is summarised as ‘not the first time this zip has taken him into trouble’ and poor exhausted Costello has a face ‘like a hallowe’en ghost’.
A disturbing read highlighting situations when children become items of nefarious trades that I fear is close to the truth. A thought provoking read that will hold the reader from start to finish.

Having not read any of the previous books from Carp Ramsay I sometime felt a little lost with the background of the characters. The plot was of different layers which I felt was very well written and intriguing. I really enjoyed the chaarater of Costello, she is witty and well rounded. I did feel it was ok to read as a stand alone however it would of been better to start at the beginning.

The New York Times review of this book a few weeks ago highlighted something I had noticed myself. Too many people have nearly the same name and it makes it hard to keep them straight. (This reminds me of my first attempt at "War and Peace" which used full names with patronymics, family names alone, given name and patronymic, and all of the different nicknames for each of the given names, which in Russia is alot. I had not studied Russian at the time and was thoroughly confused.)

While the overall story is OK, I found it to be implausible, given the strict recordkeeping standards we expect today. It occurred to me that swapped babies will be blocked from entering the school system and accessing National Health as the births were not properly registered.

As a result I've downgraded the book.

The Suffering of Strangers is a police procedural about a baby selling ring. DI Costello must quickly try to find the most recent missing baby and save other mothers from this tragedy. Her former boss Anderson gets involved, and when we realize he has a former personal relationship with one of the main suspects, it makes solving the case a little more tricky for DI Costello.

I was a bit confused at points because there were so many characters and it took me a while to keep track of them and remember who was who. I think that when I realized it was the 9th in a series, it shed some understanding. I do wish I'd read one or two more of the earlier novels before jumping into this one because it seemed like there was a good amount of backstory I was missing.

Overall, it was an enjoyable read for me. I loved the descriptions of the setting and the bit of suspense added to the mix.

Thank you to NetGalley and BlackThorn Publishing for the advance copy.

This was a very entertaining, pacy and gripping story concerning baby farming, murder and surrogacy. A baby is stolen and DI Costello is drawn into this current case which overlaps with Colin Anderson's cold case and become a tangled web, with heartbreaking conclusions.

The characters are well-drawn and the back stories of their lives are drawn into the pattern very convincingly.

I really enjoyed the book and could not put it down. It drew on my sympathies and I found some of the social workers' stories to be difficult to read. Overall a cracking read.

Thank you to NetGalley and Black Thorn, Canongate Books, for allowing me access to the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was my first book by Caro. I didn't realize this was actually a series. I don't know why, but I just cannot get enough of books about kidnappings. The only downfall is at times I was confused as I felt there were so many characters to keep track of. Never have I read a kidnapping book where someone leaves another baby! that was a great twist! The suspense was good and I have to say there were many surprises at the end. Will def read more by this author!

Enjoyed this both - initially confusing as everyone was called by surname rather than first name but an interesting subject with three dimensional characters, would like to read more!