Recent Events

Monday 14 August 2017

‘I Am Missing’ by Tim Weaver




Published by Penguin Random House,
27 July 2017.
ISBN: 978-1-40591784-1


This is the eighth book written by Tim Weaver featuring his private investigator, David Raker. I have read and enjoyed them all, but for me, I Am Missing is one of the best.

Private investigator David Raker normally searches for someone who has gone missing, either voluntarily or because of the actions of others, so he is more than a little intrigued to be contacted by a man who tells Raker he is missing. Richard Kite - if that is his real name - has dissociative amnesia and was found badly beaten on the south coast of England ten months earlier. His story was picked up by the media and he was dubbed ‘The Lost Man’, but no-one has come forward to say they know him, despite many police and media appeals.

To find out about Richard Kite – who he is, where he has come from - proves to be one of Raker’s toughest jobs yet.

Raker follows the trail via an unidentified dead woman in London to a far-flung island a four-day boat journey from South Africa that has British sovereignty. There are twists and turns galore - one minute you think you know where it's going and then Weaver turns the tables on you. Intrigue and danger dog Raker’s steps all the way.

I Am Missing is both intriguing and complex, and David Raker is a fabulous character. What I particularly love about Weaver’s books is that as that as a reader, you feel you are trying to solve the mystery in step with Raker - what he sees, you see, what he finds out, you find out. This may seem obvious, but not every author has the ability to totally carry you along with the story and the character as Weaver does.

The book is also a fascinating study in what it means in Britain today to have no National Insurance number and no means of getting even a temporary one, and therefore having no identity within the system. For Richard Kite, this results in depression and confusion.

I Am Missing is a compulsive read and a well-paced page-turner with a fascinating sub-plot that impacts beautifully on the main plot. It can be read as a standalone, but if you haven’t read any of the others in the David Raker series, I would encourage you to do so!

By the way, if you like a podcast, Tim Weaver is the host and producer of the chart-topping Missing podcast, which features experts discussing missing persons investigations from every angle.
------
Reviewer:Mary-Jane Riley


Tim Weaver is the bestselling author of Chasing the Dead, The Dead Tracks, Vanished, the Richard and Judy Book Club selection Never Coming Back, and most recently Fall From Grace. All his thrillers feature missing persons investigator David Raker. Weaver has been nominated for a National Book Award and shortlisted for the Crime Writers' Association Dagger in the Library, which considers an author's entire body of work. A former journalist and magazine editor, he lives near Bath with his wife and daughter.



Mary-Jane Riley wrote her first story on her newly acquired blue Petite typewriter. She was eight. It was about a gang of children who had adventures on mysterious islands, but she soon realised Enid Blyton had cornered that particular market. So she wrote about the Wild West instead. When she grew up she had to earn a living, and became a BBC radio talk show presenter and journalist. She has covered many life-affirming stories, but also some of the darkest events of the past two decades. Then, in true journalistic style, she decided not to let the facts get in the way of a good story and got creative. She wrote for women's magazines and small presses. She formed WriteOutLoud with two writer friends to help charities get their message across using their life stories. Now she is writing psychological suspense, drawing on her experiences in journalism. The Bad Things by Mary-Jane Riley was published by Harper Collins/Killer Reads. Her second book, After She Fell, also published by Killer Reads in April 2016.  To read the review of After She Fell click here http://promotingcrime.blogspot.co.uk/2016/08/after-she-fell-by-mary-jane-riley.html



No comments:

Post a Comment