Book Review: The Suffering Of Strangers by Caro Ramsay

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The Suffering Of Strangers is the ninth in  Caro Ramsay's  Costello & Anderson series, set in Glasgow and, like the others in the series, The Suffering of Strangers is explosive, human and relevant. 

Hot on the heels of receiving a bashing in court over a child abuse case which led to a child's death, Costello is at her lowest.   Relationship problems, a breakdown in communication with her one time work partner, Colin Anderson and an unfortunate meeting with a rough sleeper, who turns out not to be a rough sleeper, sets the scene.

Then, still smarting from her defeat in court, Costello is put in charge of an unusual baby abduction case. Baby Sholto, taken from his mother's car, is replaced by an unidentified little Dons baby, later named Moses. 
Unable to get a handle on what's going on, Costello begins to suspect some sort of child trafficking/surrogacy scam. 

Meanwhile, Anderson, in the cold case unit, is put in charge of recruiting a rape victim to be the poster face of police Scotland.  When he discovers he has a personal connection with the proposed candidate and Costello reveals a tenuous link between the two cases, Anderson and Costello and the rest of their old team are reunited.

What grabs me about these books is Costello herself.  With her usual directness, anger and indignation, Costello ruffles feathers as she dogmatically ploughs her way through the investigation with determination and disregard fro the niceties of life.  She is a star character and I love her. 
This is a fast paced, enjoyable read which addresses a shed load of issues, from organised trafficking, to forced surrogacy, to child abuse, to misogyny.  Highly recommended.