{"id":18320,"date":"2026-11-01T00:01:01","date_gmt":"2026-11-01T04:01:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/melanierobertson-king.com\/wp02\/?p=18320"},"modified":"2026-10-26T05:55:48","modified_gmt":"2026-10-26T09:55:48","slug":"the-murder-tree-by-caro-ramsay","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/melanierobertson-king.com\/wp02\/?p=18320","title":{"rendered":"The Murder Tree by Caro Ramsay"},"content":{"rendered":"

Today, I’m reviewing The Murder Tree by Caro Ramsay<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Blurb<\/h2>\n

Individually, the deaths of three elderly people aren\u2019t suspicious. But when DCI Christine Caplan discovers the victims are linked and the truth of their identities twists the investigation ever darker, one question haunts Caplan\u2019s every step: who needs these people dead\u2026 and how many names are on their list?<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Four siblings. Three dead bodies. One twisted bloodline.<\/i><\/b>
\n<\/i>
\nDCI Christine Caplan should be celebrating her daughter’s wedding. Instead, a journalist gives her a lead on a potential murder case with four whispered words: Witness protection. Suspicious death.<\/p>\n

The dead woman is Juniper Greene \u2014 a recluse found alone in her cottage, the doors locked from the inside. Officially, nobody cares. And since Caplan’s team is days from being shut down, she has nothing to lose by following the faintest trace of evidence.<\/p>\n

What surfaces is a family that shouldn’t still exist. Four estranged siblings\u2014two buried, two vanished or living under names that aren’t their own. One by one, these relatives are being picked off.<\/p>\n

It isn’t a family tree.<\/p>\n

It’s a murder tree.<\/p>\n

And someone is chopping it back to the roots.<\/p>\n

Caplan has to save the survivors. But can she find them before the killer?<\/b><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Book Links<\/h2>\n\n\n\n\n
Goodreads<\/b><\/b><\/span><\/td>\nhttps:\/\/www.goodreads.com\/book\/show\/258599440<\/u><\/u><\/a><\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Purchase Link<\/b><\/b><\/span><\/td>\nhttps:\/\/mybook.to\/murdertree-zbt<\/u><\/u><\/a><\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Book Info<\/h2>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Publication Day<\/b><\/b><\/span><\/td>\nThursday, October 15, 2026<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Publisher<\/b><\/b><\/span><\/td>\nSevern House (Imprint of Joffe Books)<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Genre<\/b><\/b><\/span><\/td>\nCrime Thriller<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Page Count<\/b><\/b><\/span><\/td>\n272 pages<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Series \/ Standalone<\/b><\/b><\/span><\/td>\n5th standalone book in the DCI Christine Caplan series<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

My Review<\/h2>\n

\"\" This isn\u2019t the first book by Caro Ramsay I\u2019ve read, but it\u2019s the first in her DCI Caplan series I\u2019ve had the pleasure of reading. The Murder Tree is the fifth book. So it looks like I have some catching up to do.<\/p>\n

DCI Caplan and her team find a body washed ashore. But that\u2019s not the only one they\u2019ll find as the case progresses. This one was likely a drug mule, having been disembowelled.<\/p>\n

From that point on, the death count rises. People aren\u2019t who they claim to be. This is where it gets interesting: Caplan and her team begin piecing the case together.<\/p>\n

The pacing suited the story and came together neatly in the end. I wondered who the murderer was right until the point where the author revealled the identity.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ll be getting the first four books in this series. Well done, Caro!<\/p>\n

About the Author<\/h2>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

CARO RAMSAY is the Glaswegian author of the critically acclaimed Anderson and Costello series, the first of which, Absolution, was shortlisted for the CWA\u2019s New Blood Dagger for best debut of the year. The ninth book in the series, The Suffering of Strangers, was longlisted for the McIlvanney Prize 2018.@CaroRamsayBooks | caroramsay.com<\/p>\n

Follow Caro at these links:<\/h2>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Instagram<\/b><\/b><\/span><\/td>\nhttps:\/\/www.facebook.com\/CaroRamsayAuthor<\/u><\/u><\/a><\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Facebook<\/b><\/b><\/span><\/td>\nhttps:\/\/www.facebook.com\/CaroRamsayAuthor<\/u><\/u><\/a><\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
X \/ Twitter<\/b><\/b><\/span><\/td>\nhttps:\/\/x.com\/CaroRamsayBooks<\/u><\/u><\/a><\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Website<\/b><\/b><\/span><\/td>\nhttps:\/\/www.caroramsay.com\/<\/u><\/u><\/a><\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Today, I’m reviewing The Murder Tree by Caro Ramsay Blurb Individually, the deaths of three elderly people aren\u2019t suspicious. But when DCI Christine Caplan discovers the victims are linked and the truth of their identities twists the investigation ever darker, one question haunts Caplan\u2019s every step: who needs these people dead\u2026 and how many names … Continue reading The Murder Tree by Caro Ramsay<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1634,1128,1271,6,1742],"tags":[106,2066,228],"class_list":["post-18320","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-caro-ramsay","category-crime-writing","category-crimemystery","category-novels","category-suspense","tag-authors-2","tag-caro-ramsay","tag-novels-2"],"yoast_head":"\nThe Murder Tree by Caro Ramsay - Celtic Connexions<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Today on my blog, I'm reviewing The Murder Tree by Caro Ramsay, book 5 in her DCI Caplan series. Come and find out what you think.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/melanierobertson-king.com\/wp02\/?p=18320\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Murder Tree by Caro Ramsay - Celtic Connexions\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Today on my blog, I'm reviewing The Murder Tree by Caro Ramsay, book 5 in her DCI Caplan series. Come and find out what you think.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/melanierobertson-king.com\/wp02\/?p=18320\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Celtic Connexions\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-11-01T04:01:01+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/melanierobertson-king.com\/wp02\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/The-Murder-Tree-Im-on-the-Tour.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1080\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1350\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Melanie\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Melanie\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/melanierobertson-king.com\\\/wp02\\\/?p=18320#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/melanierobertson-king.com\\\/wp02\\\/?p=18320\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Melanie\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/melanierobertson-king.com\\\/wp02\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/fc1dc45dd87a15ec9c0044a4fe9cd612\"},\"headline\":\"The Murder Tree by Caro Ramsay\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-11-01T04:01:01+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/melanierobertson-king.com\\\/wp02\\\/?p=18320\"},\"wordCount\":498,\"commentCount\":1,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/melanierobertson-king.com\\\/wp02\\\/?p=18320#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/melanierobertson-king.com\\\/wp02\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/10\\\/The-Murder-Tree-Im-on-the-Tour.png\",\"keywords\":[\"authors\",\"Caro Ramsay\",\"novels\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Caro Ramsay\",\"crime writing\",\"Crime\\\/Mystery\",\"Novels\",\"suspense\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/melanierobertson-king.com\\\/wp02\\\/?p=18320#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/melanierobertson-king.com\\\/wp02\\\/?p=18320\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/melanierobertson-king.com\\\/wp02\\\/?p=18320\",\"name\":\"The Murder Tree by Caro Ramsay - Celtic Connexions\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/melanierobertson-king.com\\\/wp02\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/melanierobertson-king.com\\\/wp02\\\/?p=18320#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/melanierobertson-king.com\\\/wp02\\\/?p=18320#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/melanierobertson-king.com\\\/wp02\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/10\\\/The-Murder-Tree-Im-on-the-Tour.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-11-01T04:01:01+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/melanierobertson-king.com\\\/wp02\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/fc1dc45dd87a15ec9c0044a4fe9cd612\"},\"description\":\"Today on my blog, I'm reviewing The Murder Tree by Caro Ramsay, book 5 in her DCI Caplan series. Come and find out what you think.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/melanierobertson-king.com\\\/wp02\\\/?p=18320#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/melanierobertson-king.com\\\/wp02\\\/?p=18320\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/melanierobertson-king.com\\\/wp02\\\/?p=18320#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/melanierobertson-king.com\\\/wp02\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/10\\\/The-Murder-Tree-Im-on-the-Tour.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/melanierobertson-king.com\\\/wp02\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/10\\\/The-Murder-Tree-Im-on-the-Tour.png\",\"width\":1080,\"height\":1350},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/melanierobertson-king.com\\\/wp02\\\/?p=18320#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/melanierobertson-king.com\\\/wp02\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"The Murder Tree by Caro Ramsay\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/melanierobertson-king.com\\\/wp02\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/melanierobertson-king.com\\\/wp02\\\/\",\"name\":\"Celtic Connexions\",\"description\":\"My Scottish roots and writing by Melanie Robertson-King\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/melanierobertson-king.com\\\/wp02\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/melanierobertson-king.com\\\/wp02\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/fc1dc45dd87a15ec9c0044a4fe9cd612\",\"name\":\"Melanie\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/ac3ad22152d09e4a7bd2cb3bae125e6661ce011f61dfc62b8aaa5f8f911edff9?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/ac3ad22152d09e4a7bd2cb3bae125e6661ce011f61dfc62b8aaa5f8f911edff9?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/ac3ad22152d09e4a7bd2cb3bae125e6661ce011f61dfc62b8aaa5f8f911edff9?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Melanie\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/www.melanierobertson-king.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/melanierobertson-king.com\\\/wp02\\\/?author=2\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The Murder Tree by Caro Ramsay - Celtic Connexions","description":"Today on my blog, I'm reviewing The Murder Tree by Caro Ramsay, book 5 in her DCI Caplan series. Come and find out what you think.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/melanierobertson-king.com\/wp02\/?p=18320","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"The Murder Tree by Caro Ramsay - Celtic Connexions","og_description":"Today on my blog, I'm reviewing The Murder Tree by Caro Ramsay, book 5 in her DCI Caplan series. Come and find out what you think.","og_url":"https:\/\/melanierobertson-king.com\/wp02\/?p=18320","og_site_name":"Celtic Connexions","article_published_time":"2026-11-01T04:01:01+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1080,"height":1350,"url":"https:\/\/melanierobertson-king.com\/wp02\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/The-Murder-Tree-Im-on-the-Tour.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"Melanie","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Melanie","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/melanierobertson-king.com\/wp02\/?p=18320#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/melanierobertson-king.com\/wp02\/?p=18320"},"author":{"name":"Melanie","@id":"https:\/\/melanierobertson-king.com\/wp02\/#\/schema\/person\/fc1dc45dd87a15ec9c0044a4fe9cd612"},"headline":"The Murder Tree by Caro Ramsay","datePublished":"2026-11-01T04:01:01+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/melanierobertson-king.com\/wp02\/?p=18320"},"wordCount":498,"commentCount":1,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/melanierobertson-king.com\/wp02\/?p=18320#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/melanierobertson-king.com\/wp02\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/The-Murder-Tree-Im-on-the-Tour.png","keywords":["authors","Caro Ramsay","novels"],"articleSection":["Caro Ramsay","crime writing","Crime\/Mystery","Novels","suspense"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/melanierobertson-king.com\/wp02\/?p=18320#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/melanierobertson-king.com\/wp02\/?p=18320","url":"https:\/\/melanierobertson-king.com\/wp02\/?p=18320","name":"The Murder Tree by Caro Ramsay - Celtic Connexions","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/melanierobertson-king.com\/wp02\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/melanierobertson-king.com\/wp02\/?p=18320#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/melanierobertson-king.com\/wp02\/?p=18320#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/melanierobertson-king.com\/wp02\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/The-Murder-Tree-Im-on-the-Tour.png","datePublished":"2026-11-01T04:01:01+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/melanierobertson-king.com\/wp02\/#\/schema\/person\/fc1dc45dd87a15ec9c0044a4fe9cd612"},"description":"Today on my blog, I'm reviewing The Murder Tree by Caro Ramsay, book 5 in her DCI Caplan series. Come and find out what you think.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/melanierobertson-king.com\/wp02\/?p=18320#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/melanierobertson-king.com\/wp02\/?p=18320"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/melanierobertson-king.com\/wp02\/?p=18320#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/melanierobertson-king.com\/wp02\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/The-Murder-Tree-Im-on-the-Tour.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/melanierobertson-king.com\/wp02\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/The-Murder-Tree-Im-on-the-Tour.png","width":1080,"height":1350},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/melanierobertson-king.com\/wp02\/?p=18320#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/melanierobertson-king.com\/wp02"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"The Murder Tree by Caro Ramsay"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/melanierobertson-king.com\/wp02\/#website","url":"https:\/\/melanierobertson-king.com\/wp02\/","name":"Celtic Connexions","description":"My Scottish roots and writing by Melanie Robertson-King","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/melanierobertson-king.com\/wp02\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/melanierobertson-king.com\/wp02\/#\/schema\/person\/fc1dc45dd87a15ec9c0044a4fe9cd612","name":"Melanie","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ac3ad22152d09e4a7bd2cb3bae125e6661ce011f61dfc62b8aaa5f8f911edff9?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ac3ad22152d09e4a7bd2cb3bae125e6661ce011f61dfc62b8aaa5f8f911edff9?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ac3ad22152d09e4a7bd2cb3bae125e6661ce011f61dfc62b8aaa5f8f911edff9?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Melanie"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/www.melanierobertson-king.com"],"url":"https:\/\/melanierobertson-king.com\/wp02\/?author=2"}]}},"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2NmRa-4Lu","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/melanierobertson-king.com\/wp02\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18320","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/melanierobertson-king.com\/wp02\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/melanierobertson-king.com\/wp02\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/melanierobertson-king.com\/wp02\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/melanierobertson-king.com\/wp02\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=18320"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/melanierobertson-king.com\/wp02\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18320\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18331,"href":"https:\/\/melanierobertson-king.com\/wp02\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18320\/revisions\/18331"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/melanierobertson-king.com\/wp02\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=18320"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/melanierobertson-king.com\/wp02\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=18320"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/melanierobertson-king.com\/wp02\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=18320"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}