Looking at other reviews for this book I feel somewhat in the minority as I thought it was good, but not that good. I did not realise until I had my copy that it was part of a series of which I have not read previous books, but I don’t actually feel that this set me at a disadvantage as it read OK as a standalone novel.

The story is about David Raker, once a journalist but now someone who finds missing people. His wife passed away 8 years ago after a long battle with cancer but, just after Christmas, he receives a phone call from a London police station saying they have a woman there who claims to be her. On arrival he sees a woman who looks much like his wife and has many of her mannerisms but who is not her and, most disturbingly, recalls numerous intimate details about their relationship. She also claim he is sometimes violent with her and that he suffers with mental illness. Raker soon finds himself the centre of an investigation into her disappearance and with his whole life turned upside down.

Desperate to discover who this woman is and why she would claim to be his beloved deceased wife whilst holding on to his sanity, Raker embarks on his own investigation. Who is this woman? Why is she trying to pull his life apart? And why is an eminent psychiatric doctor baking up her claims?

It all sounds really intriguing doesn’t it? It really is a clever story but for some reason I found myself struggling to get in to it and as much as I was fascinated to discover the outcome, it was actually fairly hard work getting to the end. It is well written but in some places over heavy with facts and details on characters and situations; a little busy I suppose. I also found some of it a wee bit too far-fetched.

All of that said, it is a very interesting and highly disturbing story. I cannot 100% put my finger on why it didn’t totally click with me. In theory such a book is right up my street but in reality is fell just short of the mark (whilst still being entertaining). It may well just be me though as, as previously said, it has heaps of really glowing reviews online.

Thank you to #NetGalley and #PenguinUK for a copy of #YouWereGone in exchange for an honest review.

Another book on NetGalley that you pick unaware of the fact that it's no X in a series of books. So apparently this book is 9th installment of David Raker series. I wish the publisher noted this in the description.
I felt a little bit lost, unsure if it's because I didn't read the other books or because the subject was quite foggy itself. but this was still a good read.
David Raker's wife is dead, and has been dead for 8 years. But one day a woman walks into a police station claiming she's his wife and she is not dead! She claims David is ill and has black-outs. David thinks she is a liar. But she resembles his dead wife so much...
So it turns into a tense WHO IS LYING game and although I skim-read some parts and think the book could have been shorter, this was still an enjoyable and tense read!
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this copy in exchange for an honest review.

This is a compelling thriller full of so many twists and turns that you occasionally lose track - but in a good way, because that closely mirrors the central concept of the book: are we remembering things correctly?

David Raker is a journalist turned PI who lives alone following the death of his wife Derryn eight years before. Until Derryn shows up at a police station - or someone claiming to be her. Although we only have David’s point of view, the woman’s story is so convincing that both David and the reader begin to doubt what is true and what isn’t. As the plot thickens and more information comes to light, David finds himself locked in a battle against time - and the police - to solve the mystery. Some of it felt like characters were being set up for roles in future books (I’m not sure what role the character Kennedy really played in this story) but as a stand alone this is an enjoyable and unpredictable thriller.

"You Were Gone:David Raker Missing Persons", written by Tim Weaver and published in hardcover on the 17th May 2018 by Michael Joseph Ltd. 496 pages. ISBN-13: 978-0718189006

Three days after Christmas, a woman walks into a police station. She has no phone and no ID, just a piece of paper with the name of missing persons investigator David Raker on it. She tells officers that Raker is her husband.

When he turns up at the station, Raker is stunned. The woman looks exactly like his wife. She knows all about their marriage, their history, even private conversations the two of them had. There's just one problem: Raker's wife has been dead for eight years.

The woman tells the police that Raker had a breakdown. A respected doctor backs up her account. Items are missing that prove Raker's side of the story - and, worst of all, he soon becomes the prime suspect in her disappearance!

Could Raker have imagined their whole marriage? Is he delusional? Is this really the woman he loved and grieved for? Hunted by the police, Raker will have to find out the truth before it costs him everything - his memories, his sanity, his life .

This is a very exciting book which whilst it is very long I was totally gripped until the very thrilling conclusion. It is very factual, there is very little unnecessary pages. I have read a couple of the the authors books before. This is the ninth book with the protagonist David Raker and the focus is always on missing people. Each book is a self contained story but there are some references to previous adventures mentioned in the text but this does not usually interfere with ones enjoyment of the story.

I was completely gripped by this amazing story and had great difficulty in putting it down until I reached the very exciting conclusion. I will certainly look out for further books by this very gifted author. Strongly recommended.



Best wishes,



Terry
(to be published on eurocrime.co.uk in due course)

Imagine your deceased wife turning up after 8 years – you know it can’t be her, or is your mind going and you imagined her death? This excellent book had me guessing right until the end. A great read.

Read this book on holiday. Loved it. Kept you gripped the whole way through.. would definitely recommend it and look forward to the author’s next novel. Thanks to NetgLley and the publisher for the chance to review it.

Wow!!!!
I don't know what else to say but wow! What a story!! This is the mastery of screwed up stories but is so gripping and well thought out. Highly recommend to anyone!

I am not quite sure what to say about this book. I like Tim Weaver and thoroughly enjoyed the last one I read, but I did begin to find this a little tedious and rather unbelievable. I plodded on until the end, but it was not one of the best books I have read recently.
Rather an odd story.

You Were Gone hooked me in from the first page.
Plenty of twists and turns throughout.
David’s wife is apparently back from the dead, is this for real, is he losing his sanity or is something more sinister going on?
Have a read you will not be disappointed.

A clever and original story which I did enjoy on the whole but it seemed to drag along a bit. The character of David was the only one I felt I truly got to know. I wish I had read the earlier books in the series which all get high praise but this book is ok as a stand alone story.
I could almost see the headlines for the film which I do think this book could easily be made into.

I thought this book was fantastic. Ive read the other books in the Raker series and think this is my favourite. I was hooked from start to finish. Definitely recommend if you enjoy an enthralling thriller, unputdownable!! Also recommend starting from the 1st in the series - Chasing the Dead. Excellent author *****

The twists and turns in the story kept you guessing until the end as to how it was going turn out. Everytime I thought I had worked it out, something happened which meant I was wrong.
It made me want to keep reading and not put it down as had to know what happened.

Complex and twisted thriller that kept me guessing all the way,I had no idea who the real villain was! Characters were all very well portrayed and David's confusion seemed very real.

I love Time Weaver and I have read all the David Raker books. When this was released, I felt I was reconnecting with an old friend! I really enjoyed this although some of the memories it stirred up about Derryn were very sad, but we learned more about her. The twist was clever although a large dose of detachment was required from me as it was completely far-fetched! Didn't diminish my enjoyment though.

You Were Gone, whether by chance or design, has you as the reader questioning your understanding of events as much as David Raker does in the novel. It all seems a tad bizarre when he is informed his wife has just walked in to a police station but David knows he was with his wife throughout her decline and finally her death some years ago! This is where the doubts start to creep in to David’s mind and yours too, as we find out that David has ‘issues’ which may just explain the appearance of his wife. Quite a lengthy novel with many twists and turns, never dull though, a real page turner.

I struggled with this book. I so wanted to like it. It started off well but just seemed to wander along so much so that I found myself speed reading the pages and willing it to end. At 40% in I decided I just wasn’t interested in what happened and unusual for me called it a day
I guess you can’t like them all

A brilliant domestic thriller that really does keep the reader guessing until the last page.
David is celebrating Christmas with his two daughters when he receives a phone call from the police informing him that his wife has walked into Charing Cross police station saying she lost him. But Derryn, David’s wife, died eight years ago.
Did Derryn really die eight years ago? Is Derryn who she claims to be? Has David gone mad? They can’t both be telling the truth.
At first I thought it surely can’t take a whole book to resolve this? I was utterly amazed by the skill of the author to be able to weave in so many plots developments, without making the story so ridiculous. I was gripped by the book and had to greedily read as many pages as soon as possible as I could not get enough of the storyline and wanted to find out the truth and get to the bottom of it all.
I wholeheartedly recommend this book to anyone who loves a good domestic thriller.
Thanks to NetGalley for a Kindle copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book is full of twists and turns and is a definite page turner! I couldn't put it down! The characters are so well written and the storyline had me gripped from the very first page. I found myself doubting every character and I couldn't wait to finish the book to find out what was going on!

A good thriller that kept me intrigued. I read it a while ago but couldn’t leave a review as it took a while to work out how to do it with all the changes on netgalley.

Really good story - a slow build up but thoroughly enjoyable and cleverly executed - recommended. I did have my doubts about the sanity of the story teller but the resolution was very clever.