The Silent Conversation (An Anderson and Costello Mystery)

by Caro Ramsay

When DNA evidence links a present-day murder to the disappearance of a young boy four years earlier, detectives Anderson & Costello are plunged into a baffling mystery.

It's been four years since four-year-old Johnny Clearwater disappeared without trace one hot summer afternoon. Now, a new TV documentary series is revisiting the case, dredging up memories perhaps best left forgotten.

On the night the TV show is broadcast, detectives Anderson and Costello are called out to investigate the murder of a female police officer. On arriving at the scene, they discover that nothing about this death is as straightforward as it would appear. What was the victim doing in the garden of the exclusive gated residence where she was found? How did she die? Why is the key witness so reluctant to speak to them? Even the off-duty police officer who was first on the scene isn't telling them everything.

The pressure intensifies when a link is discovered between the dead woman and the disappearance of Johnny Clearwater four years earlier. What secrets are lurking behind the closed doors of this small, exclusive community . . . and what really happened to Johnny Clearwater?

• ISBN10: 072789076X
• ISBN13: 9780727890764
• Publish Date: 30 September 2021
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: GB
• Publisher: Canongate Books Ltd
• Imprint: Severn House
• Edition: Main
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 256
• Language: English

Reviews

[annieb123]

Originally posted on my blog Nonstop Reader.

The Silent Conversation is the 13th Anderson & Costello modern police procedural thriller by Caro Ramsay. Released 7th Dec 2021 by Canongate on their Severn House imprint, it's 256 pages and is available in hardcover, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately.

This is a modern procedural with a returning ensemble cast set in Glasgow. It's gritty and realistic with a complex dynamic which is very well written. Although the mystery is self contained in this book, readers who are already familiar with the returning characters and their interrelationships will have an advantage. Like many police procedurals, there are lots of disparate plot threads which wind together more tightly as the book goes on. The author is quite gifted with immersive atmospheric ambience and the Glasgow setting was believable and encompassing. There are some graphic descriptions of violence and death. It's not egregious, and it's central to the plot, but some of it was quite realistically written.

The denouement (especially the epilogue) was top notch, well written, fraught, and effective. It was a satisfying end to a well written book. I'll go back and pick up the earlier books in the series, though there are major spoilers in this book which will color earlier installments. If readers are planning to read this one, I would recommend picking up the backlist first.

Four stars. This is a really well written modern murder mystery with interesting, intelligent, and believable characters..

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.