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Anderson and Costello Books In Order

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Publication Order of Anderson and Costello Books

Absolution (2007)Description / Buy at Amazon
Singing to the Dead (2009)Description / Buy at Amazon
Dark Water (2010)Description / Buy at Amazon
The Blood of Crows (2012)Description / Buy at Amazon
The Night Hunter (2014)Description / Buy at Amazon
The Tears of Angels (2015)Description / Buy at Amazon
Rat Run (2016)Description / Buy at Amazon
Standing Still (2017)Description / Buy at Amazon
The Suffering of Strangers (2018)Description / Buy at Amazon
The Sideman (2018)Description / Buy at Amazon
The Red, Red Snow (2020)Description / Buy at Amazon
On an Outgoing Tide (2021)Description / Buy at Amazon
The Silent Conversation (2021)Description / Buy at Amazon

The “Anderson and Costello” series written by Caro Ramsay stars Detective Inspector Colin Anderson and Detective Sergeant Freddie Costello (who is a woman). The series is set in Glasgow, Scotland.

The series is from the crime fiction, police procedural, and Tartan Noir genres. The series began in the year 2007 when “Absolution” was released. This novel starred Alan McAlpine, before Anderson and Costello would take over in the sequels.

Her first novel “Absolution” made the shortlist for a CWA New Blood Dagger in 2008.

“Absolution” is the first novel in the “Anderson & Costello” series and was released in the year 2007. A Police Detective named Alan McAlpine has not been in Partickhill Station in twenty years and it was at this time since he fell for Anna. Anna was a mute and faceless woman that was dying while in Glasgow’s Western Infirmary. He would watch over her, as they got to know each other; they even developed a way to communicate with each other. For her to do so, she had to move her wounded fingers, but she was not able to tell Alan her name, or say who the father of her newborn daughter was, or say who threw acid in her once uniquely beautiful face. She was not even able to say how she smuggled some uncut diamonds into the country of Scotland.

He has returned to Partickhill, to lead an awful murder case. Two women have been killed and left with their arms outstretched with feet crossed at the ankles and legs together. The press have dubbed this killer the Crucifixion Killer. Even more gruesome is the fact that the third victim is going to be very disfigured when it is found in Whistler’s Lane. This is a place that another murder happened, four years before.

The face of a beautiful blond young woman has gripped McAlpine’s consciousness. Soon the consequences of a two decade old cold case are demanding his team’s attention and possibly ruining the course of the case they are currently working on.

Fans of the novel found the characters stayed true to themselves throughout the novel and there were quite a few clues to follow. This is one debut novel that knocked some readers flat and off of their feet. Some have found a new author to follow, as this is one police procedural that is well written and beautifully done. Some were hooked by the emotional yearning from the main character and the complex characters that populate this novel.

“Singing to the Dead” is the second novel in the “Anderson & Costello” series and was released in the year 2009. Christmastime and half of the police in Partickhill are down with the flu. Bad timing, for sure; especially because of the cyanide poisonings that have happened in the area; not to mention two little boys have gone missing in just a couple of days. Plus the force has to provide security for Rogan O’Neill’s (who is a rock legend) concert that is coming up.

The nightmare is about to get personal for Detective Inspector Colin Anderson. The third boy that goes missing, is Peter, who is Collin’s son. The team goes out and tries to find the kids before too much time goes by. How long until they realize that the key to the whole thing is hidden in the lyrics of “Tambourine Girl” by Rogan O’Neill?

Fans of the novel felt that the novel has a strong plot and the story unfolds nicely. The story focuses on more than just lowlife criminals and the death of a fellow officer. Some really liked Costello and felt that she was a stand out character as she is determined to do her own thing and is more believable. Readers felt that they were unable to tell who the killer was. This was such a strong book that readers must read more of the series, and hope this series is around for many more installments.

“Dark Water” is the third novel in the “Anderson & Costello” series and was released in the year 2010. It was very cold in February in the city of Glasgow, Scotland. A criminal is hanging from a rope in the attic of a deserted house; this criminal was supposed to be lying low on Costa del Sol for the past decade. His face has been disfigured. Anderson and Costello are on the case and investigating and think the victim is a suspect in a case from ten years back.

Fans of the novel found this to be a novel that would have been just an average read but in the hands of this author is a story that has an edge; and is better than it otherwise would have been written by anyone else. Some like the way that the characters are developed throughout the series so far, and hope to see how they get developed further. This novel has a great attention to detail, sense of location, and characterization that makes you come back for more.

“The Blood of Crows” is the fourth novel in the “Anderson & Costello” series and was released in the year 2012. Colin Anderson is not doing so well. His conviction of a pedophile named Skelpie Fairbairn is declared unsafe; this puts Fairbairn back out on the streets of Glasgow, not to mention Anderson being investigated.

If that was not bad enough, there is a gangster is burned alive, a kid is tortured and thrown off a bridge, a cop kills himself (a cop that worked a kidnapping in 1996). One night, a young girl is left for the tide after being tied to the river bank. Anderson is able to get to her, but she dies before he can help.

The crimes are connected, he and his team finds. They put in long hours to do, but they are able to figure out that it is all done by The Puppeteer (who is an elusive criminal mastermind). They can do nothing to stop the murders or even find the guy. All Anderson can do is go with the only lead he has, which is Skelpie Fairbairn.

The devil you know or the one you do not, which is the worse one?

Book Series In Order » Characters » Anderson and Costello

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