What a rollercoaster of emotions! We join Raker, our narrator and protagonist, being told that his wife is in the police station asking for him. Fine. Except that his wife has been dead for eight years. We experience his trauma at seeing a lady who looks and sounds like his wife but can’t be - right? Unless the sickness he is told he has is real. This book has twists and turns aplenty and will keep you gripped to the very last page.

Having read all Tim Weavers previous David Raker outings I was looking forward to reading this . Having read them all we know how much he loved and misses his wife Derryn . What happens when he's called to the police station after a woman has turned up claiming to be his dead wife . She looks like her , sounds like her but surely it can't be her . Where has she been for the last 8 years ? She says she has been living with Raker in their house but he has no recollection of this and things get even murkier when it transpires that a well regarded psychiatrist says he has been treating him and its all true !!1 Not quite as exciting as the previous novels but that didn't make it any less enjoyable for me , it was more of a slow burning mystery than a wild ride . Still 5 stars from me though , looking forward to the next one !!

You were gone Tim Deaver
What a brilliantly crafted book! It is very well written so from the very start I cared about what I was reading. The characters were created as individual people who came to life and I was truly gripped to see how their interactions developed. The story is written in a couple of voices to gradually fill in the back story and had a brilliant twisty plot, creating a whole series of possible scenarios which my mind tried to work out. My problem was finding enough time to keep reading! I was totally hooked and am very tired now!! 5 well deserved stars 🌟 from me. My first book by Tim but it won’t be my last!

Having read an earlier book by this author, I thought I was prepared for this one. Not a chance! This is an intense, remarkable, spectacular thriller - twists and turns galore - and completely flabbergasting!

David Raker is a former journalist who now locates missing persons. He has a penchant for digging his heels in and not giving up and going wherever the case takes him. This time, however, it's a bit different. This time it's personal - and then some. His wife died eight years ago and yet she has just turned up at a police station. How can that be? Is she not really his wife? Or is he not really who he believes himself to be? Take it from me that you will never work out where this one is going!

Despite my best intentions, it's to my shame that I haven't kept up with Tim Weaver's books on David Raker. I was so thrilled to have this one on my list, and must get around to reading the others. Trust me, this is not a novel you want to miss. It is adroitly crafted, leading you one way and then another and keeping 100% of your attention all the time. It is a wholly believable scenario. The writing is fluid and compulsory, taking you inside the protagonist's head as he struggles to make sense of what's happening to him. Who can he trust? And why does he get the feeling no-one trusts him? Does the reader even trust him? Well, I'm not going to tell you - read the book!

Tim Weaver has that terrific skill of producing stunning books, no two the same despite the subjects being similar. His writing is quite beautiful, the plot so very skilfully created, and this is a book to be savoured. By the final page - no matter how impossible it seems at times - everything is solved, explained and neatly tied off. Just how I like it! Fully recommended and a psychological thriller which should be at the top of all thriller lovers lists!

My immense thanks to publishers Penguin UK - Michael Joseph for pre-approving my request via NetGalley. This is my honest, original and unbiased review.

Here I am again, reading yet another book which is part of a series that I had no idea about.

Again though, I feel that despite this being book 9 of a series, I’m not really missing anything. I doubt that any of the previous books would really have helped with me relating more or perhaps, better with the main character.

David Raker receives a telephone call just after Christmas to tell him that a lady has just walked into a police station in London, stating that she is his wife.

The wife that he buried eight years ago!

This woman looks like his wife, knows private intimate details of conversations that David had had with his wife . . . what’s going on and who is telling the truth?

Such a gripping book with an ending that I hadn’t seen coming.

Although, I’m not sure that I’m going to go back and read this authors back catalogue, I certainly enjoyed it.

David Raker really begins to doubt his sanity when a woman claiming to be his wife and even looking like her turns up at a police station 8 years after her death. The plot twists and turns so you are never quite sure who is telling the truth and who you can trust. A gripping well written psychological thriller that will have you glued to the story as it unfolds

Loved the concept of this book. I was gripped from the start. This is a really good read. There are plenty of twists in the plot and it is written really well. I have read most of Tim Weavers books and like them all.
Thank you to Netgalley for my copy.

A private investigator whose wife died some years ago is called to a police station to see a woman who claims to be his wife. He realises it is a plot of some sort but is hard pressed to understand what is happening to himself. the plot is labyrinthine but compelling and readable. The denouement is good, and you will be hard pressed to spot the identitiy of the perpetratior before it is revealed.

Superb start to this novel and very well written. Not too flowery with a strong plot line and plenty of twists. If I'm honest, it was a little slow in the middle for me but picked up and was well worth sticking with.

This is the first David Raker book that I’ve read and whilst it worked as a standalone, I did feel like I was missing out on what happened in his past.
This didn’t affect my enjoyment of the story and I can honestly say this was a real puzzler for me. I was really torn at several points in the book about whether or not he was losing his mind or whether someone was manipulating his life.
When David is called to the Police station as he has been asked for by name, by a woman claiming to be his wife, his world crumbles as his wife died eight years ago.
The woman looks like his wife and retells some of their most special moments together but in his mind he knows it can’t be her - can it?
David doubts everyone and everything around him but still, even with all that, he’s determined to get to the truth, no matter what.
This book had me doubting my own thoughts about possible scenarios and is really cleverly written.
This is a real brain teaser of a story and I really felt for David when there’s no-one he can trust and he has to take some risks to find out the truth.
This is a great book and I think I’ll be reading the past books in this series.
Thanks to Penguin and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.

You Were Gone is the first book I’ve read by Tim Weaver and although it’s book 9 in the David Raker series, I didn’t feel that I had missed out by not reading the previous books.

The premise of this book is fantastic. A woman turns up at a police station three days after Christmas with no phone or ID, just a piece of paper with David Raker’s name on it. She claims he’s her husband, looks exactly like David’s wife, has knowledge of their past together, but his wife has been dead for eight years! What follows is David seeking to unearth the truth. Is he delusional or is there more to this story?

This book is well written, gripping and tense and guaranteed to keep you enthralled to the end.

Thank you to NetGalley, Penguin UK Michael Joseph and the author for the chance to review.

This is the ninth in a series of David Raker books by Tim Weaver. I haven’t read any of the others but I didn’t feel disadvantaged by that as it was a fine standalone book.
David Raker is a missing persons investigator. He’s been doing this since his wife Derryn died of cancer 8 years ago.
The book starts with David getting a call from the police to say that a woman has walked into Charing Cross police station with no id and is confused. She has a scrap of paper with David’s name on it and says she is his wife. The story just gets more and more strange from then on and one has to suspend a certain amount of disbelief to go along with it. I found myself constantly suggesting things in my head that he should produce to prove where he’s been the last 8 years when this woman claims she was with him. Does he have no photos, diary or calendar entries (online or paper), friends he was with, etc? It was a good story but too unrealistic for my liking. More than once David Raker puts himself into a situation where he is completely alone with someone potentially dangerous and of course the inevitable happens. No one even knows where he’s gone if he doesn’t come back. I also found it very long with pages of unnecessary and detailed descriptions.
It was a good enough story but too much superfluous details and unrealistic plot to make me want to read more.
With thanks to NetGalley and Penguin UK - Michael Joseph for a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Having read and enjoyed one David Raker book several years ago I was looking forward to the chance to read a copy of the latest in the series thanks to Net Galley and the publishers, Penguin. But I am sorry to say that I didn't like it. It started off well with the appearance of a woman at a police station claiming to be Raker's wife. But Raker's wife had died eight years previously. Cue tension, mental anguish etc etc. I was gripped for about 35%. And then it just got tedious. Very repetitive; slow drip feed of information and it just dragged. I started skimming from about 60% just to get the thing finished. It is about 150 pages too long for the plot.

Yay! I adore all of Raker's adventures and this is no exception. It's fabulous!
A superbly crafted dramatic thriller about a wife returning from the dead after 8 years, or, has she? Tim Weaver creates and builds tension on every page of this excellent read.
If it's your first Raker book....I envy you, as you've got such a treat ahead in catching up. However, you certainly don't need to have read any of the others in the series to enjoy this heart stopper.
Massive thanks to net galley, Penguin and Tim Weaver for the opportunity to preview this 5* read.
Publishing date is 17 May, but, you can preorder now.

Can't write too much without giving anything away! A must read, keeping you gripped until the very end.

would like to thank netgalley and the publisher for letting me read this fantastic book

oh my word what a thriller of a ride this book was, being able to read such a psychological thriller with twists and turns galore..i cant even begin to put into words how amazing this book is...

tim weaver is the master of psychological thrillers and will be keeping an eye out for more of his work

This is the 9th book in the David Raker series and the books just get better and better and if possible, this one is the best (so far)
Although you don’t need to have read the rest of the series, it certainly helps and coming back to another David Raker book feels like coming home to an old friend.

A woman walks into a police station a few days before Christmas with no ID or phone, just a piece of paper with the name David Rakers and she claims he is her husband. When David arrives at the station he faces a women who looks just like his wife, the only problem being, his wife died 8 years previously.

This latest instalment ticks all the boxes for a psychological thriller, It’s exciting, thrilling and at times a little bit emotional.

An excellent 9th book in the series and I look forward to the next.

Despite this being the 9th book in the series I have to admit this is the first that I’ve read. I really don’t think that this was a disadvantage as i felt it could definitely be read as a stand-alone book, however after finishing this one I really want to read the previous books !!

The book starts with a woman walking into Charing Cross police station and asking them to get David Raker, as he is her husband and they have been separated. The only problem being David Rakers wife died 8 years ago. Who is this woman ? Did David’s wife really die 8 years ?

This book is really full of twists and turns and poor David Raker is pulled from pillar to post until he really doesn’t know what to believe, and nor do we as the reader.

This book is a brilliant read and one that will keep you up most of the night until you finally get to the truth.

A woman walks into the police station and claims that missing persons investigator David Raker is her husband. When he arrives at the police station, fully expecting to see a woman he does not know, he is shocked that she looks exactly like his wife, Derryn. Even more startling is that she knows details about their marriage and even conversations they shared. But the problem is that Derryn has been dead for eight years. She claims that David had a breakdown and has a doctor who backs up her story. Is David losing his mind? Or is she lying?

This book works as a standalone even though it is the ninth book in the David Raker series. I must confess that I have not read any of the previous books, but it seems like it is a series I would enjoy if the books are all as good as this one. It is a long book, but one that progresses at a fairly fast pace throughout. The book was well written, and the characters are realistic. The ending was a surprise. I recommend this book.

You Were Gone kept me enthralled right from the beginning. I didn't want to put the book down as I found the suspense intriguing and with lots of twists . Tim Weaver manages to draw you into the story, a widower visiting his daughter and then suddenly the twist .... a woman claiming to be his wife has appeared after eight years. Raker wonders whether he made up the death of his wife or if this 'woman' is the liar, however there is always a hint of doubt and his job as a missing person investigator comes into play. The book kept me entertained throughout, making me want to read another by Tim Weaver.