Good, but..........

I have a great admiration for the writing ability of Tim Weaver and in particular his two previous outings for missing persons investigator David Raker namely Broken Heart and What Remains. In Broken Heart the authors love of cinema and in particular "noir"  adds an authentic old Hollywood feel to the story in contrast What Remains is equally outstanding with its imagery of old wooden piers and the thrill and sound of Victorian Amusement Arcades. Weavers attention to detail combined with his journalistic instinct creates well researched and highly entertaining novels. So what about his latest? I am missing really suffers from a strong storyline. When Richard Kite is discovered alone, lost and wondering on a beach this would seem the perfect case for Raker, a client who is himself missing or rather his mind and memory totally erased. So starts the slow process of building a case and when the body of a young lady is discovered the race is on to see if there is a connection to Kite. An attachment is revealed between England and the fictional Empress Islands (think Falkland islands with its cold barren wintry seasons) and our Private Investigator soon realizes that he must travel to the islands to resolve the mystery of the memory man.

There are no Victorian arcades or Hollywood actors here instead we the reader must persevere with Raker as he brings together the clues and treks the monotonous and barren shores of the depressing Empress Islands. The story lacks the vital spark that was ubiquitous in earlier novels, it is only natural that in a series such as this certain books will be more valued than others and I am confident that the next instalment (due for release in summer 2018) will see our hero returned to a more exciting adventure backed by a lively narrative. I end this review where I started, Tim Weaver is a writer of exceptional ability and if you value well researched and articulate writing then become acquainted with missing persons investigator David Raker I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review and that is what I have written.

Entertaining use of language in a drab crime procedural

Starts of as a tour de force crime story centred around DI Damen Brook newly moved to Derby from the Met. It would appear that Brook is not the only person to have settled in Derby for when a family is murdered the case bears all the hallmarks of The Reaper a killer that Brook previously failed to apprehend in London and is now terrorizing him anew in the beautiful Derbyshire peak district.

The first half of the story is very readable a cat and mouse game with Brook relying for advice from his old colleague, and former boss, retired policeman, now sadly alcoholic, Charlie Rowlands...."His back was no longer straight as a ramrod but curved and compressed. He'd lost weight as well as the last of his hair, and he was painfully thin. His face was bright and robust, however, as the faces of drunks often are. The red tinge around the high cheekbones and nose mimicked a rosy sheen of health. But the eyes had it, as always. That look of sunken pain, which repelled slumber....." There are the usual trade marks for a copper unable to divide his home and work time resulting in marriage breakup with Amy and a fragmented association with his daughter Terri. There is also some wonderful dialogue, exchanges and observations, a richness in the descriptive language that somewhat complements the ongoing and procedural side of the story......."Unattainable pleasures were to be avoided at all cost. The emotional epidermis of this male was pocked with enough wounds.".........."She was what the politer elements in the division referred to as a handsome woman. To the less polite elements, this meant that while her looks wouldn't make you vomit neither were they likely to induce an erection."...."The sewer he'd been trying to flee for nearly twenty years had taken root inside him."......."An old man in a hovel, clinging to the illusion of life and companionship, only a cat to care whether he lived or died. Mac was The Ghost of Christmas Future. Book had dropped in on his own barren existence, twenty years on."........"Death with dignity sat in their corner, waiting listening and appreciating."......

But the use and flow of language, no matter how good and entertaining, cannot conceal for me the cracks that appear in this long protracted and frankly boring crime procedural. I do not agree with reviews that declare The Reaper was "dreadful" and "extremely poor" but in the final analysis it had little to offer that was new in this crowded genre. Too much dialogue in the second part of the book made me feel that a good editing would greatly have added to the reading experience. I do however close this review with a certain amount of jealousy as a burned out DI still retains the ability to attract the attention of the voluptuous WPC Wendy Jones or perhaps it was the action of a dirty old man taking advantage of a junior and much younger police officer in his place of work, for in Brooks own words......"Wendy Jones was still an innocent abroad, a provincial girl with an endearing ignorance of the world as a dung heap."....

Disturbing and unsettling search for a lost child

A sixth sense and a highly tuned instinct are the qualities that Naomi Cottle is blessed with that allow her to find the missing children. Madison Culver has disappeared in the snowy forests of Northern Oregon when accompanying her parents in the search for the perfect Christmas tree. Naomi is determined to find Madison and in the process will encounter some painful memories from her distant pass. The snow girl is protected by Mr B and as this relationship unfolds the intention of the guardian gives the reader real cause for concern....."The day after the girl had slept in his bed for the first time, B had come back from trapping and sat on the edge of the bed...."

There is a strange, almost dreamlike quality to the storytelling. The author in this detached form of communication with the reader creates a very uneasy and unsettling image of neglected and disturbed children..."it is better for a child to attach to an abuser than to experience the blind hole of neglect."... Naomi travels to the endearingly named Stubbed Toe Creek and with the help of Ranger Dave hopes to unravel the mystery surrounding the disappearance of the young Madison Culver. Is there a connection with the snow girl? Will recently realized childhood memories help Naomi in her painful search for the missing child?...."What were you running from, then? she had asked. Monsters, was all that Naomi could remember. And to this day, outside the hints in her dreams, it was all she could remember still." Many thanks to the good people at netgalley for sending me a gratis copy in exchange for an honest review and that is what I have written.

Superior 2nd ww story

A superior second world war book based around the Greek resistance on the idyllic  Ionian island of Lefkas. It is a story about love, friendship, war, and treachery and brilliantly portrays how the Nazi regime attempted to subjugate all those who opposed it's so called Reich doctrine. I enjoyed the authors style of storytelling by introducing us to an aged Eleni Thesskoudis and through her eyes revealing the courage and sacrifice of the Greek resistance as first the Italians and then the Germans attempted to crush all opposition to its vision of a new world order..."Perhaps war was the real face of humanity, and peace was little more than a pretence of what human nature could be."...."They were lying in wait to slaughter their enemy, or be killed in turn. Against that reality what did their feelings matter? Feelings had no place in this setting, this moment." This is the second Simon Scarrow book I have recently read and it certainly does not disappoint. 

Very average

This is an average solid offering from Stuart Neville but not as good as the brilliant DCI Serena Flanagan...."Those we left behind" and "So say the fallen". DI Lennon is a typical over worked detective, the sole parent to his 6 year old daughter Ellen, mum having tragically passed away in a fire. He is helped in this endeavour by his one and only admirer Susan. It's almost Christmas on the streets of Belfast and a body has been discovered. Soon Lennon will be embroiled in the hunt for a killer and an investigation into the illegal importation of young girls from Europe for the purposes of prostitution. If we add to this a demented lonely killer then it is highly unlikely the dutiful detective will be sitting down to his turkey roast anytime soon....A book to pass away the time but instantly forgotten.

A clever piece of writing

This was actually a book I mistakenly downloaded but I must confess I really enjoyed. We are introduced to a woman suffering some form of acute amnesia who appears to be living on a Greek Island called Kommeno. How did this woman arrive there? Who are the mysterious residents of the island who seem to want to help....or do they? Back in the UK Lochlan Shelley is at a business meeting in Scotland when he receives an urgent call from a neighbour who informs him that his wife Eloise is missing. Is there a connection between these two events? To say much more about the happenings that unfold would destroy what is an excellent and clever piece of writing. The reader is slowly drawn in as CJ Cooke gradually reveals the secrets that are hidden in the minds of the two main protagonists. What is at the centre of this novel is only really disclosed in the final chapters and I certainly did not anticipate how the threads and clues would be bound together, and indeed how the author is very well placed to write such a powerful piece of prose. It makes me wonder if we really know the thoughts and secrets that are hidden in the minds of those we hold nearest and dearest. Many thanks to the good people of netgalley and the publisher Harper for a gratis copy in exchange for an honest review.

An exceptional writing talent

"All of his novels were so fast-paced that the reader was compelled to turn the pages in a non-stop effort to reach the end of the book. The final page often produced a totally unexpected plot twist that would invariably leave even his most die-hard fans surprised. His early books contained some violence that matched the era in which they were written, though this was considerably toned down as plots centred more on circumstantial situations to create the high degree of tension that was the hallmark of his writing. Sex was never explicit and, though often hinted at, seldom happened"  This is a Wikipedia description  of James Hadley Chase, a prolific quaintly English crime writer of the 1950's, 60's 70's His novels were always tightly constructed, intricate without being overly complicated but at the same time fast and exciting reads. I do hope Tim Weaver will not mind when I compare his style of writing to that of Chase but with very modern twists and themes. From the opening paragraphs- of "Vanished" we the reader are immediately drawn in...."Healy looked down at the temperature readout as he pulled up outside the estate. Almost twenty degrees. It felt hotter than that. He'd had the air conditioning on all the way from the station but, on the journey over, nothing had cooled His sleeves were rolled up, his top button undone, but the car was still stifling. Even in the middle of the night, under cover of darkness, the heat continued to cling on....." And so we ask...who is Healy and why is he out in the middle of a hot and sultry English summer night?

There are no wasted words in Vanished every page is readable and exciting drawing you in and inviting you to stay. The central character in all Weaver's books is David Raker an ex journalist who now uses his inquisitive skills hiring himself out as a kind of private detective to search for those individuals who have disappeared, desperately sought by loved ones who really only want to know why? Julia Wren hires Raker to find her husband Sam who disappeared some months ago, took an early morning London tube ride and was never seen again. Layer by layer, like the peeling of an onion, the twists and turns of this excellent thriller proceed at a terrific pace. The London underground/railway is used to great effect for the action scenes; the police are searching for The Snatcher and as his name suggests he removes his victims with stealth and cunning, is there any connection between this killer and the disappearance of Sam Wren? In the final chapters  just when we the reader thought the killer had been successfully identified there is a Hadley Chase moment and a "totally unexpected plot twist." My favourite character and one who demands greatest sympathy is ex London met detective Colm Healy, he was one of the Met's  best detectives - until the unsolved murders of a mother and her twin daughters consumed his career, his family and his life. Healy's world finally collapses when his own daughter Leanne disappears, soon to be the subject of a murder enquiry. Raker and Healy have a tenuous relationship and one can never be sure if the broken and distraught detective will finally succumb to suicidal thoughts.

As an ardent reviewer and keen blogger I awarded this book with four stars simply because the early David Raker lacked a little of the oomph, vitality and sparkle of later adventures (What remains;David Raker 6 and Broken Heart;David Raker 7 are exceptional) Tim Weaver is an extraordinary talent whose love of writing and his wonderful storytelling ability is beyond reproach and I look forward with great anticipation the new Raker adventure due for release at the end of July 2017.