Just finished this and still reeling at the excellent ending. I hadn’t read a “David Raker” book before but will definitely be putting them on my to read list. I loved the way Tim Weaver writes, explaining David Rakers thought processes as he goes along. A really good read.

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC in return for my honest review. It was a pleasure!

This is my first book by this author but it won’t be my last. David Raker is a private investigator who is hired by a man with dissociative amnesia. The case takes David to the Empress Islands and to things that happened 30 years before. An intriguing case and a good read.

How can you resist a title like that? Apparently this is the 8th book in a series by Tim Weaver but trust me you don’t need to have read the rest, though you’ll probably want to if you enjoy this one. My heart went out to our main man ‘Richard’, how awful must it be not to know who you are or anything else about yourself? Can David [Raker] help Richard get to the bottom of his mystery life? After all, that’s what he does, finds missing people. Surely it can’t be that difficult if the missing person is there to help. Not that easy either or you wouldn’t have a book right? Full of twists and turns, I might just have to get to know David & Tim a little better :)

This was an enjoyable story with an interesting plot.

This is the first David Raker that I've read and I suspect it will be the last. The setup was interesting and intriguing and it's reasonably well written, but the plot becomes increasingly implausible and convoluted. I still finished it as I wanted to know what happened which is some kind of recommendation I suppose.

I haven't read any of the other books in this series but I don't feel like I missed out on anything.

A man is found washed up on the beach but can't remember who is he, he thinks his name is Richard but is unsure, his whole life is a blank, I found this concept so scary! in comes missing persons investigator to work on this case, a little different from what he is used to dealing with. I got really immersed in this story and wanted to know what had happened to this man and how he had got to where he was. Tim Weaver kept me guessing the whole time.

Reviewed for Euro Crime by Geoff Jones:

Richard Kite is someone who has no memory of who he is or where he came from. He was found besides a lifeboat station on the Hampshire coast. His name has been made up for him. He asks private investigator David Raker to try and find out who he is. He seems to have a west country accent but is not recognised locally.

Richard sees psychologist Naomi Russum based in London. Raker visits Russom's clinic but finds her evasive. He gains access to her office illegally and finds photographs that she uses in her sessions with Richard, they include two photographs of a mysterious woman. Raker follows Russum to a school – The Red Tree City of London school.

Raker finds a mutilated woman's body on a disused railway site and connects this to the school, and particularly to a teacher – Jacob Howson. He meets the school's head Roland Dell and meets the sinister security chief Alexander Marek. Can Raker find out who Richard is and why he has lost his memory?

There are three parts to the book. The main part is with Raker's investigation. The second part is a diary written by a young girl Penny Beck. She appears to live on an island in the south Atlantic, very similar in climate to the Falklands. She lives with her mother and stepfather and step sister Beth. There is an area on the island fenced off called the Brink and all islanders are warned to keep away. The third part is a travel book around Britain's shores.

I have read a couple of the author's David Raker series and enjoyed his compelling storytelling. This book is equally rewarding. I didn't find the storyline around the Brink very plausible, however this is a minor criticism. Recommended as a good read.

Thoroughly enjoyed this and will now be reading everything Tim Weaver has and will write. It is a pleasure and a delight to find an author who writes so beautifully and can also construct an intelligent and exciting story.

I started reading this and then found I did not want to stop, even when I wasn’t reading I found myself thinking about it and when I finished it I was lost, I felt I was missing something in my life!
All characters are so believable that I feel I had actually met them as real people.

Thank you TW for writing it and thank you Net Galley for allowing me access to it.

I thought this was a bit slow at first but that was the clever thing about this book. The pace starts out quite gently as ‘lost man’ Richard Kite asks David Raker to find out who he is. As Raker becomes more involved, we, the readers, are more involved too as the pace hits up and the story spirals into an exciting and clever thriller. I was thrown by the insertions of what seemed like a different story at first, but gradually everything came together and I was unable to put it down! I look forward to reading more about David Raker. Thank you Net Galley for this review copy.

This was a very detailed story about a young man who had completely lost his memory. The story moved between the UK and the island at the edge of the Antarctic. The story is fascinating as all the different aspects are revealed. Lots of great characters, some very simple and others quite complex.. The conclusion is a complete revelation of all that went before and the repercussions on the participants. Absorbing read.

I’ve been a fan of David Raker since I started the first book in the series and I was waiting for this new one. I enjoyed reading this instalment, it is a good thriller, well written, powerful and tense. I like the premise of the story as well. I don't think it is the best Raker book, still it is extremely enjoyable and I will definitely recommend it.

Not always easy to keep stories fresh with same characters however Tim weaver manages to do just that.

This book is not an easy read, the characters are not the type you warm to and you don't really enjoy the story it is trying to tell. Life is too short!

Great book, didn’t know what to think about it early on but it grew on me and became more interesting the further through the book. I became immersed in the story and didn’t want to put it down. I will look for more from the author as I am now a fan.

David Raker, a Private Investigator, is intrigued when a personable young man approaches him for help - he is the "Lost Man" who,was found on a beach with a head injury and now has no idea of who or what he is. Enter our hero who gets himself involved in quite a few "how's he going to get out of that" situations with the villains always on the hunt for him. I did enjoy this book but felt it could have been a bit shorter. There was plenty going on to keep the reader gripped and interested as the mystery is solved. This is my first experience with David Raker and liked him enough to read his other exploits with different adversaries.

Great book, gripping plot - really enjoyed reading this.

A gripping, tense read that kept me on the edge of my seat. Many thanks for the ARC.

Very promising premise that really appealed to me as I love thrillers and mysteries. I was intrigued as to how one might pull this off. Sadly however, I disliked the narration and writing style, hence did not read past the first three chapters, thus never found out! The writing seemed very robotic (think: "I did this, and then I did this. I spoke to her and then we did this..."), and a lot of the stuff that was narrated just seemed irrelevant and boring. I'm sure Weaver is. a fabulous author and many people will enjoy this book, it was just not for me I'm afraid!

Thanks to NetGalley and publisher for advance copy of this publication in return for an unbiased review.
Try as I might, to be unbiased this is difficult on account of having read all Tim Weaver publications.
This latest book is however different from all the others in that we are introduced to the "missing" person early on in the story. The unfortunate thing however is that the "missing" person has no idea who actually is and what his background is.. A lengthy publication at over 500 pages but a cracking read. 5/5 from me.

Detective novel with a difference – recommended to all

Part of a series about private investigator, David Raker, this novel deals with him attempting to find out as much as he can about Richard, an amnesiac, who is trying to find out who he is. Raker's investigations take him to an island in the South Atlantic where the mystery unfolds. The plot involves murder, corruption, theft and should interest anyone who enjoys a well-conceived idea.
It's a page-turner, not overlong, original and quite clever.

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.