Caro Ramsay is fast becoming the uncrowned Queen of Scottish noir. I love all her books and she keeps getting better and better. This novel is an absolute belter.
Christine Caplan is a great character to head up a series of new police procedurals. She arrives in this first story with her career in trouble and escalating family problems. She's feisty and willing to break all the rules both at work and in her private life. I can't wait to see what she gets up to next.
I love the plot. It's complex and compelling, and Caro brings a touch of Dennis Wheatley into the proceedings, which happen to take place not far from Aleister Crowley's old stomping grounds.

Thanks to the publishers and netgalley for supplying this book in exchange for a review.
I have read other books by the author and this was the first in a new series. I found it to be a griping read.

Thanks to the publishers and Netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for a review.

Excellent start to a new series, love being in at the start so I don't need to go back for everyone's back stories.

Recommended.

An excellent start to a new Scottish police procedural series. The main character is dealing with a complicated home life and working situation and is then demoted and sent off to work on a particularly gruesome and complex case with satanic overtones. A gripping mystery with a main character I rooted for.

This first book of a new series from Caro Ramsey begins with the discovery of a gruesome killing, the murders of a wealthy family, the McGregors, in a town in the Scottish Highlands. And very shortly after that discovery, as the police are completing their initial work at the scene, the skilled, soon to retire DCI Oswald disappears. Meanwhile, in Glasgow, DCI Christine Caplan is in the midst of both professional and personal problems. The professional issues are endangering her hard won title of DCI. But there is an olive branch of sorts offered…she can go to Cronchie as DCI until Oswald returns and “help” direct this important investigation.

Caplan travels to Cronchie to enter into an investigation already underway. As she does, she begins to question everything she encounters, from the meaning of the crime scene to the intent of several of her fellow officers. There are strong indications that the murder is not at all what it appears but the local police seem close to wrapping it up. Why they are in such a rush puzzles her. This is a truly engaging story on every level.

Caplan herself is a multifaceted person with warts and all; while other characters though not so fully drawn are given breadth. Some are allowed to be enigmatic which I enjoyed. There are excellent plotting, elements of corruption, and a well done action finale

I have enjoyed Ramsey’s writing in the past and I am definitely looking forward to the next book to follow The Devil Stone.

Highly recommended for all mystery readers. 4.5

Thanks to Severn House and NetGalley for a copy of this book in return for an honest review

Thanks to Severn House & NetGalley for ARC.

DCI Christine Caplan has just been disciplined and demoted, her reputation on the rocks after her last big case. Her home life is a mess, and she is feeling trapped and paranoid.
When most of a prominent Highland family is murdered in particularly gruesome fashion, she is sent to assist on the case - Is this so she can rescue the outcome, or get it wrong again and completely wreck her career? Who can she trust, in Glasgow as well as the Highlands? The answers are surprising.
It took me a while to warm to the poised, brittle Caplan. I hated the opening sequences of the murder scene, with its ritualistic overtones. I found it a wee bit hard to credit the wider conspiracy sub plot. But on the whole this is a rich, dark slice of the Tartan Noir cake, and I look forward to another.

DCI Christine Caplan is the main character in a new series by Caro Ramsay. The series starts with a bang and never stopped keeping me hooked on the edget.
There's plenty of twist, there's violence, and an interesting MC.
It's an excellent novel that met my expectations and I came to expect a lot from this Tartan Noir writer.
Gripping and entertaining.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this arc, all opinions are mine

The Devil Stone by Caro Ramsay is the first book in the new DCI Christine Caplan series and what a great start to a new series this was. When DCI Christine Caplan, personal life is a mess and has recently been demoted to DI..........She's has now been sent from Glasgow to a Highlands village to deal with an especially ugly case.
But this is only the beginning of all her problems! Then Someone appears to be setting her up with a simple mugging on a night out turns deadly!

A family was murdered and the only thing taken in the attack was the famous Devil Stone.

Why did someone kill this family and take this famous Devil Stone?

What does this mean?

Where they Satanists who did it and killed this family?

WoW, This book is so good, it was full of brilliant twists and turns throughout. I am loving this new series and looking forward reading what happens next with Christine

I highly recommend this book.....

Big Thank you to NetGalley and Severn House for the eARC.

A great start to a new series, which I'm sure I'll be following as avidly as I do the Costello and Anderson one.
I loved the intiguing mix of satanism, police procedure, small village closeness, a rogue and deadly drug and the sense of desolation although the novel is set only a stone's throw from Glasgow.
I think with a new series it is always difficult to set just the right tone for your main character and the suporting ones that will accompany that character through the series. Caplan as main character - disgraced and angry and with issues at home is just complicated enough to be intriguing without her complicated persobnal life getting in the way. As I was reading there were a few characters that I reallly, really wanted to make the grade to the next novel and that is because Ramsay is so good at creating believable characters. I'm pleased to say that two of my favourites seem to have made the step inot book 2 (Fingers crossed anyway).
This is a resounding 4.5 stars from me and I'll round it up to 5 because of the characterisation being so good

The Devil Stone is the first book in the DCI Christine Caplan series by British author, Caro Ramsay. Only just demoted to DI, Glasgow detective Christine Caplan is sent north to assist with a mass murder case near the village of Cronchie. Five members, three generations, of one family have been killed in what has been set up to look like a Satanic ritual. The youngest son of this wealthy, prominent, local land-owner family, Adam McGregor, is absent.

Missing from the house, the Deilstane the family kept safe, local legend claiming death and disaster would follow if the stone was removed. Two teens break into the house, intent on stealing exactly that (and perhaps more) while the family is away on a cruise. They are members of the local Deilmen, devil worshippers, but their shock and distress at finding the three-week-old corpses is undoubtedly genuine.

After he leaves this disturbing scene, the SIO, DCI Bob Oswald fails to return home, one reason Caplan is sent there; that the DI leading the case lacks experience and confidence is another factor. DI Garry Kinsella claims to be relieved that Caplan has arrived to help, but also seems to be wedded to the idea that two inept teens committed the murders, then returned weeks later: Caplan remains sceptical.

Working with a team she doesn’t know, some of whom seem less that capable, others, quite secretive, is a challenge, as are the locals who openly display mistrust of the police. But Caplan is also distracted by lack of support from her superiors in a mugging incident where the teenaged assailant died.

She leaves behind in Glasgow a dysfunctional family: a chronically depressed, unemployed husband, a son failing to commit to his education; and a daughter conflicted between tending family and advancing her career. Disturbingly, all her personal problems are apparently common knowledge within the team. Knowing exactly whom she can trust is a dilemma.

Two more deaths occur before things become clear, and the one that looks like a tragic accident arouses Caplan’s suspicion enough that she looks into Bob Oswald’s most recent case. As she closes in on what’s really happening, multiple attempts to discourage her investigations only firm her resolve.

Ramsay’s newest series offers a strong female protagonist, plenty of twists, turns and red herrings to keep the reader guessing, and a nail-biting climax. More of this cast of characters is most definitely welcome. Excellent Scottish crime fiction.
This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by NetGalley and Severn House.

Wow! This one opens up with a dramatic scene and sets the pace for a fast moving, gripping drama with a protagonist you know you want to see so much more of.

DCI Christine Caplan has very clearly pissed someone off. She’s going through disciplinary action as a result of misplaced evidence and as she’s returning home after an evening out with her daughter she bravely foils a mugger – only to face accusations of excessive force. Under a cloud and facing demotion to D.I. she’s utterly fed up when she is sent to the small Highland village of Cronchie to help out. The long-standing DCI, Bob Oswald, has gone missing in the midst of a horribly brutal family slaying.

Oswald was in charge of a high profile macabre case in which 5 members of the wealthy and privileged McGregor family, the elderly Lady Charlotte, parents Stan and Barbara, and their children, Catriona and Gordon are discovered strangled, and posed next to each other.

The police investigation has focussed on the two lads who found the family, but Christine is less convinced. Her insertion into the team has, however, provoked some annoyance and she needs to get them on side if they are to be effective in investigating this horrendous crime. DI Garry Kinsella clearly resents her presence and she feels that she’s being kept at arm’s length from the information she needs.

Keen to restore her good name and equally keen to make sure she can return to her family which is giving her some cause for concern on a number of fronts, she puts herself under a lot of pressure.

Part of the joy of this book is the disparate cast of characters, especially in the local Cronchie police team. It’s difficult for her to work out whether they are being deliberately obstructive or are just struggling under a temporary leader in D.I. Kinsella.

Caro Ramsay establishes a wonderful sense of place and the contrast between the beautiful Highland scenery and the dark and dangerous going on there creates a wonderful threatening atmosphere and builds a tension that rapidly grows into a dangerous and life-threatening series of events. The plot line is tremendous; dark and sinister with a myriad of suspects. As Christine juggles with events and personalities at home in Glasgow and in the Highlands her life will be threatened and she will be driven to desperate measures to find the guilty party.

Verdict: Caro Ramsay has created a brilliant set of characters for this first in series police procedural. You want to know much more about Christine Caplan who is clearly a competent and professional officer despite the many personal and professional obstacles she faces. This is a brilliant start to a new series that is clearly going to be unmissable.

Waterstones Hive Stores

The Devil Stone by Caro Ramsay.
In the small Highland village of Cronchie, a wealthy family are found brutally murdered in a satanic ritual and their heirloom, 'the devil stone', is the only thing stolen. The key suspects are known satanists - case closed? But when the investigating officer disappears after leaving the crime scene, DCI Christine Caplan is pulled in to investigate from Glasgow in a case that could restore her reputation.
Caplan knows she is being punished for a minor misdemeanour when she is seconded to the Highlands, but ever the professional, she's confident she can quickly solve the murders, and return home to her fractious family. But experience soon tells her that this is no open and shut case. She suspects the murder scene was staged, and with the heir to the family estate missing, there is something more at play than a mythical devil stone. As she closes in on the truth, it is suddenly her life, not her reputation that is danger! Will Caplan's first Highland murder case be her last?.
A brilliant read. I enjoyed this book . Great story. 5*.

EXCERPT: 'Hey, look.' Bainsey shone the light across the floor, catching a maggot-ridden goat's head perched on a red velvet chaise longue; from it ran a trickle of dried liquid, two bright goblets on either side. Two daggers, their blades dull and stained, were arranged in between. There was a black figurine, goat-headed, winged and fork-tailed as a centrepiece and, as the beam of light dropped, he saw the inverted cross and the charred book. Even he could guess, from its feather-thin pages, that it was a bible.

He started saying something that Scotto couldn't make out, then his eyes closed, opened again, and he smiled before moving the light down, giggling a little, jerking the phone, causing the beam to drop suddenly where it caught the ghostly white face staring at the ceiling with nacreous clouded eyes. Unable to stop himself, he looked along. Another face. Then another. Five of them in a row, cheek to cheek.

ABOUT 'THE DEVIL STONE': In the small Highland village of Cronchie, a wealthy family are found brutally murdered in a satanic ritual and their heirloom, 'the devil stone', is the only thing stolen. The key suspects are known satanists - case closed? But when the investigating officer disappears after leaving the crime scene, DCI Christine Caplan is pulled in to investigate from Glasgow in a case that could restore her reputation.

Caplan knows she is being punished for a minor misdemeanour when she is seconded to the Highlands, but ever the professional, she's confident she can quickly solve the murders, and return home to her fractious family. But experience soon tells her that this is no open and shut case.

She suspects the murder scene was staged, and with the heir to the family estate missing, there is something more at play than a mythical devil stone. As she closes in on the truth, it is suddenly her life, not her reputation that is danger! Will Caplan's first Highland murder case be her last?

MY THOUGHTS: The Devil Stone is the first crime thriller in a new series featuring the recently demoted DI Christine Caplan. She's very good at her job - no one is arguing about that - but the result of her being distracted from the job by her fractious family has resulted in her demotion. A demotion that no one is easily going to let her forget. The mistake she has taken responsibility for is the source of much good and not-so-good natured ribbing.

The problems with her husband Aklen are treated like some sort of mystery with little bits of information dribbled out throughout the book. Personally, I found this really annoying. I was waiting for this big reveal, something shocking, traumatic. It wasn't and I would rather have had this information from the start. She also has problems with teenage son, Kenny. Daughter Emma is intelligent, kind and focused.

Christine's team on this case are a mixed bag. Kinsella, an inexperienced DCI - Christine's old rank, is pleasant and seems to have a good human touch. But while he is struggling under the weight of his new responsibilities, he seems to be wary of trusting Christine and including her in the investigation. He has teamed her with Craigo, who seems to be a truly unremarkable man. He is the butt of the jokes of the team, and they constantly play pranks on him, for which he falls every time. But in reality, he is bright and hard working, quiet and thoughtful. He has good instincts, but is disinclined to share them. Gourlay is ambitious, and not too choosy about the methods he uses to get to where he wants to be.

There are some incredible characters in this book that I hope we will be seeing more of as the series progresses.

There are multiple threads to this story including police corruption and drug trafficking. There were times during the read that I felt a little confused, but everything is tied up neatly at the end.

⭐⭐⭐.7

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THE AUTHOR: Caro Ramsay was born and brought up in Glasgow, and now lives in a village on the west coast of Scotland. She is an osteopath, acupuncturist and former marathon runner, who devotes much of her time to the complementary treatment of injured wildlife at a local rescue centre. (Amazon)

DISCLOSURE: Thank you to Severn House via Netgalley for providing a digital ARC of The Silent Conversation by Caro Ramsay for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.

For an explanation of my rating system please refer to my Goodreads.com profile page or the about page on sandysbookaday.wordpress.com

This review is also published on Twitter, Amazon, Instagram and my webpage

I am already a big fan of this author's other series featuring Anderson and Costello which I played catchup with for a while, getting into it late. So I was quite excited to be getting in on the first floor with this, her newest series featuring DCI Christine Caplan.
Caplan has been seconded from Big City Glasgow to a small village Cronchie after some shenanigans. It is her chance to redeem herself and regain her reputation which, prior to said shenanigans, was exemplary. A bit harsh all told when the blot on her copybook was relatively minor... but them's the breaks!
Anyway... small village, less crime - right? WRONG! She is called to the scene of, well, something quite odd. There's been a burglary, but the thieves kinda bit off more than they wanted to chew when what they actually stumbled on was the scene of a rather nasty crime scene. The entire family of the big house they were targeting brutally murdered in what looked like a satanic ritual. I say entire, all bar one who is currently missing. Also missing is a rather nifty and sort after heirloom - The Devil Stone - which is mired in myth and evil... And then the lead detective also vanishes...!
Christine soon has her own ideas about what she sees but, reputation and shenanigans aside, even just being the "outsider" the "interloper" appears tough enough. But is she tougher...?
As with most series openers there's a fair amount of scene setting and introducing and story-so-far to be found as well as the present day goings on. This is necessary and nature of the series beast and is done in a very balanced way. It's also a bit of a slow burn which also matches the circumstance of the main character who has a lot to get to grips with initially - not just her past but also diving head first into a rather nasty crime early doors.
In Christine I think the author has excelled herself creating a main character who I instantly clicked with and wanted to know more about both as a detective but also as a person. Her family, left behind in the city, also causing her grief from afar too. Her other half not being the most supportive.
And the case under investigation - wowsers - that kept me on my toes throughout. Secrets, lies, dysfunctional behaviour, myth and magic, and a missing heir. It's all a bit convoluted and I did have to have my wits about me all the way through but it was also easy to read as I am already familiar with the author's style. And the setting is priceless and almost a character in its own right it adds so much to the tale being told.
All in all, a cracking series opener which wholly satisfied but also left me hankering for more of the same. My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

Great new Scottish crime entry!

Detective Chief Inspector Christine Caplan has just been slotted back to Detective Inspector.
A review of lost material had her demoted temporarily. She carried the card for someone else, a member of her team she’d trusted.
Part of her punishment is to go up north to Otterburn near Cronchie to take a secondary lead on a bizarre murder—five members of the one family with satanic ritual overtones.
Only when she arrives one of the lead detectives is missing. Things are not as they seem.
Back home she’s also being looked at for police brutality when she stopped a young thief who’d knocked a pensioner out of her wheelchair in an effort to steal her bag. And now the three eyewitnesses have all mysteriously turned against her.
The thing is the thief was high. A new drug’s in town that’s diabolical! Snapdragon! People are dying!
Who to trust, at home and up north? Those above her seem to be intent on making her the scapegoat. And I certainly wouldn’t trust her superior ACC Sarah Linden.
Tension, intrigue, targeted deaths, a target family, a time to cry! What more do I want?
Thrilling new entry into the modern Scottish crime scene!

A Severn House ARC via NetGalley.
Many thanks to the author and publisher.

DCI Christine Caplan is pulled in from Glasgow to investigate a brutal murder in a small village in the Scottish Highlands. Her work on this case involving the murder of all but one member of a prominent family in the area could either get her career back on the right track or end it once and for all.

The book got off to a slow start for me as I figured out who all the characters were and who would be important to the ongoing story and who could be trusted. However, things picked up after a few chapters and I really started enjoying the book. I like Christine and the investigation was an interesting one. I like other books by this author and think this book is a great start to a new series and I would be interested in reading any future books with DCI Christine Caplan.

I received this book at no cost from NetGalley through the courtesy of Severn House. My review is voluntary and unbiased.

Thanks to NetGalley for the advance copy.

I’m relatively new to Caro Ramsay but reading and enjoying her Anderson and Costello series, so I was keen to try the first in a new series with DI, or is it DCI, Caplan. Caplan has been demoted for something that we have yet to learn the full story behind and we suspect it’s not as it seems. It’s very clear someone is put to get her and despite her resilience, it’s clear it’s wearing on her and it’s coupled with a very difficult home life.

She’s either given another chance or she’s sent to be the fall guy on a set of ritualistic murders, north of Glasgow, her usual home base. A wealthy family has been murdered, except for the youngest son who is missing. He has turned his back in the family fortune and is a regular in a commune on an island close by, confusingly half owned by his family - the island, not the commune. The lead officer promptly dies in a suspicious accident and this case becomes one where Caplan is sort of in charge but not.

I enjoyed the plot but confusing it certainly is. Every copper Caplan comes into contact with is immediately suspect and to be honest I’ve no idea why DC Graig is one of those, he seemed straightforward and on the level to me! They are either part of setting her up at home, part of a conspiracy involving drugs and murder or, worse, both.

The plot surrounds the boys who find the bodies but who are suspected of the murders despite it being ridiculously unlikely. The missing son is clearly a suspect too, the commune is suspect because, well, it’s a commune. The police are suspect because they are acting suspiciously. Either they are incompetent or deadly. A background of satanic gatherings adds to the mix.

I finished this a day or so ago and realised that in the extremely complicated and confusing ending, I didn’t recall who had actually been responsible for the murders or exactly why., so I went back to refresh my memory.

I think the lead character here has a lot of promise and I hope we see and hear from a couple of the others if it develops. I’m not sure I really enjoyed this as much as I should have though, I’m not slow at keeping up and I got totally lost in the confusion at the end. The epilogue does help though.

This is an amazing start to a new series by Caro Ramsay! I loved the characterisation, especially Caplan, who is under extreme pressure to solve a multiple murder of a wealthy local family, living in a small village in west Scotland. The setting is beautiful and I felt transported right to the heart of the action. Caplan soon finds herself working with a team of strange detectives, uncovering a web of police corruption and drug smuggling. The whole story, with it's clever plotting just pulled me in from the beginning and I am sure this is promising to be a new, and superbly crafted, crime series which I highly recommend. I look forward to the next in the series. Thanks to Net Galley for my ARC.

A nice start to a new series. DCI Christine Caplan has not only been demoted, she's been sent from Glasgow to a Highlands village to deal with an especially ugly case. Yes a family was murdered and yes the only thing taken in the attack was the famous Devil Stone but did Satanists do it? There are some unexpected twists here - even given that there are Satanists involved- so no spoilers from me. Ramsay has created a dynamic character in Caplan, a woman who has a messy back story and a sharp mind. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. It's actually a page turner and I'm looking forward to the next outing with Caplan.

Thanks to NetGalley and Severn House for the advance copy of this crime mystery/police procedural thriller. The Devil Stone by author Caro Ramsay is the first of a new series featuring DCI Christine Caplan. She works calmly, confidently and professionally despite hindrances in her profession, and her home life is in turmoil.

Caplan has been demoted because evidence was mishandled on her watch, and she is now blamed for the death in her presence of the perpetrator in a mugging incident. There seems to be an intent to undermine her reputation and her position as a police officer. Unknown forces are spreading lies and rumours.

She is being transferred from her post in Glasgow to a small Highland village. She regards this move as a punishment and a way to restore her rank and reputation. The wealthy McGregor family were victims of mass murder. Five family members were killed, and their bodies were displayed in a bizarre scene in their mansion. It appears the horrific murders were committed in a satanic ritual. Their deaths were undiscovered for three weeks as they planned to leave on a cruise. The youngest son, and now heir to a tremendous fortune, has vanished. Could he be the murderer? A goat's head and an inverted cross were displayed, and polaroid photos of their deaths were shoved in the victim's mouths. Valuable property was in the home, but the only thing stolen was a family heirloom, the Devil Stone. The investigating officer, Bob Oswald, has gone missing after viewing the murder scene.

An ambitious local detective is anxious to close the case. The bodies were found by two teenage hoodlums, known to be satanists, who broke into the home. Caplan believes the murder scene was staged for misdirection, and the case is much more complex. Rumours of her demotion in Glasgow have followed her, and she is being excluded from information with obstacles placed in her way. She is concerned that there is either incompetence or sinister motivation on the part of local detectives in blaming the two young satanists and closing the case quickly. She is assigned to work with an older teammate, Craigo, who has been bullied, shamed and ignored and who has never received a promotion. She discovers that Craigo is more capable than credited. It bothered me that she didn't treat him better and give him more responsibility. An atmospheric sense of place was well-developed.

This was a slow-paced, complicated, intense plot with dark and ghastly implications. Caplan doesn't know who to trust, and the increasing number of characters detracted from the suspense. There were too many suspects to keep me riveted. When corrupt police and the drug trade fall into Caplan's enquiry, not only her reputation but her life is in danger. There was plenty of chaotic, frightening action toward the end that I found difficult to visualize.
I will be looking forward to another book featuring this intriguing detective. I hope to learn more about her messy, disturbing home life.