Tuesday 10 September 2024

The Missing Family by Tim Weaver - #bookreview


After they arrested him, they took the suspect down to the basement.

It was vast, a maze of nearly identical corridors and entranceways...

***

One family . . .

On a beautiful summer's day, at a remote lake in the middle of Dartmoor, three members of the Fowler family take a dinghy out onto the water, leaving mother Sarah at the shore. Less than sixty seconds later, she checks to see where they are. The boat is drifting in the middle of the lake. It's empty. Sarah's family have completely vanished.

One killer . . .

At the Skyline Casino in London, the security team have just made a headline-grabbing arrest: they've spotted and detained a man suspected of murdering a high roller. After locking him in one of their holding cells, the team station themselves outside and wait for the police. But when the cops arrive, they find something impossible. The killer is no longer inside the cell.

Two detectives . . .

David Raker is an expert at solving missing persons puzzles – but these mysteries are unlike anything he's ever seen. As he digs into the Fowler's, his long-time ally – ex-detective, Colm Healy – tries to get to the bottom of what happened at the casino. But the men are in danger. Because, buried in the shadows of both cases, is a deadly secret that was never meant to come out . . .

***

 Although this is the thirteenth book in the David Raker series, and I have not read any of the previous books, this worked extrememly well as a stand alone novel.

David Raker is a missing persons investigator who has been called in by Sarah, a woman whose husband, son and his girlfriend have all dissappeared from a dinghy on a lake almost before her eyes.

In addition, he is also called in to investigate a missing persons case in a casino where someone has disappeared from a locked cell. The author does a great job in bringing these two seperate strands of the story together, and there were many twists and turns along the way.

Although this is a fairly long book at 496 pages, it is fast paced and I was able to read through it quite quickly as it made for compulsive reading.

I definitely did not predict the conclusion and there were certainly some surprises held back for the final chapter. It had everything that a book of this genre should have - compelling characters, a fast and exciting plot and several strands that fall together nicely at the end.

I am feeling tempted to go back and read some of the earlier David Raker books as I would enjoy seeing what had brought him to this point in his life.

Well written and perfectly executed and I highly recommend it.


ISBN: 978 0241586914

Publisher:  Michael Joseph

Formats:  e-book, audio and hardback

No. of Pages:  496 (hardback)


About the Author:

Tim Weaver is the author of 15 novels, including the David Raker mysteries You Were Gone, No One Home and The Blackbird. He's also written the standalone, Missing Pieces, as well as the limited edition David Raker story collection, The Shadow at the Door.

 Tim's book have been selected for the Richard and Judy Book Club three times, shortlisted for a National Book Award, and been nominated for both the Crime Writers' Association Dagger in the Library and Ian Fleming Steel Dagger awards.  They've also been Sunday Times Top 3 bestsellers and number ones on Kindle, iBooks and Audible. As well as all of that, Tim is also busy developing several original TV series' with Line of Duty creator Jed Mercurio's production company​.

Away from writing, he lives in Bath, home to overpriced real estate and Georgian terraces, and he's lucky enough to write full-time, allowing him to build his day around the things he does best: staring out of the window, and making endless cups of tea.


(ARC courtesy of the publisher)

(author media courtesy of the author's website https://www.timweaverbooks.com/)

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