![](https://netgalley-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/65fed9235e/images/icons/nav_back_xs.png)
Member Reviews
![](https://netgalley-profiles.s3.amazonaws.com/avatar573680-micro.png?1734600840)
May I first thank the publishers and NetGalley for providing me with a review copy.
Although I am aware of the David Raker series by this author I have not yet read any so I came to this book with an open mind.
The book starts with a woman left for dead on an island 100 miles from the coast which is uninhabited during the winter months. As she struggles to survive the back story slowly unfolds without revealing the reason why the perpetrators tried to kill both her and her brother. Running parallel to this an NYPD detective is investigating a seemingly unconnected missing persons case in the last weeks before his retirement. Slowly the two parts start to connect leading to an explosive ending. This is a slow burner of a plot a marathon with a sprint finish. I enjoyed reading this book and would recommend it.
![](https://netgalley-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/65fed9235e/images/profile-micro.png)
If you are looking for a thrilling, adrenaline ride of a book that will keep you guessing until the very end, then this is the one for you.
Rebekah has travelled to a small island near Montauk with her brother for a meeting, on the last day of the season. The book starts dramatically with Rebekah needing to stitch up her head wound after being attacked on the island. But who has attached her and why? Where is her brother Johnny? And why is she now left behind on a shut down island for the winter?
Told in flashback as well as the current narrative, the story tells what happens to Rebekah on the island and what has happened to her prior. Part way through, we are introduced to .Frank Travis, an NYPD detective who is days away from retirement and covering his last case. What links Frank to Rebekah’s story and why?
This book literally kept me guessing the whole way through. I was rooting for Rebekah and a couple of passages brought me to tears. Would recommend.
![](https://netgalley-profiles.s3.amazonaws.com/avatar541049-micro.png?1734600840)
Great storyline! A real page Turner
I literally could not put this book down and read it in 3 days. Highly recommended.
![](https://netgalley-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/65fed9235e/images/profile-micro.png)
Missing Pieces is a stand-alone book by Tim Weaver who writes the David Raker series, all of which I have read and enjoyed. I didn’t know what to expect with this book but am pleased to say it didn’t disappoint. The book is primarily set in and around New York. Rebekah (Bek) is a hospital doctor, her father has recently died, she has one young daughter and has just given birth to another, and her marriage has broken down. Bek goes for a night out with some old university friends, has too much to drink and wakes up in a strange mans bedroom not remembering how she got there. Bek’s brother Johnny, an aspiring historical novelist, asks to borrow her car to visit a remote abandoned island to interview a man out there doing research. On impulse Bek decides to go with him , leaving her 2 young daughters with her friend, but not saying where she is going, Bek and her brother Johnny soon find out when they are on the island someone wants them dead especially Bek but she doesn’t know why. At the same time soon to be retired cop Frank Travis is looking for a missing woman Louise Mason. The main part of the story revolves round Bek’s fight for survival on the abandoned island after she and her brother become separated, not knowing what has happened to her brother. The description of the island is very atmospheric, it completely draws you in and immerses you into the bleak landscape and dark and sinister forest. The chilling abandoned buildings are well depicted so much so you feel as though you are there with Bek and hoping she will survive. The missing pieces are woven together expertly as the story unfolds and goes between Bek on the island and Frank Travis search for Louise Mason. Another fantastic read from Tim Weaver which I can highly recommend. My thanks to NetGalley, Michael Joseph at Penguin for an ARC in Retford my honest review
![](https://netgalley-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/65fed9235e/images/profile-micro.png)
This book had a clever, complex plot and some excellent characterisation, but I felt it was a bit long and disjointed.
Rebekah (Bek), a hospital doctor, mum of two young girls and troubled by a failing marriage, has taken an impromptu decision to accompany her aspiring-writer brother on a ferry trip to a windy and isolated island about 100 miles off the New York coast. Winter is coming and the island is due to close until spring. The pair are attacked by someone who knows their names and Rebekah, assumed dead, is abandoned alone on the island for 5 long months.
She does not have great survival skills but manages to find food and presumably a source of water, all the while agonising over why no-one appears to be searching for her, about her children and how and why she and her missing brother were deliberately targeted. In a parallel thread, we have soon-to-retire Detective Travis, searching for a missing artist. It eventually becomes clear that the cases are linked.
There is a lot to like about this book - the characters, the location, the sense of isolation, abandonment and menace, and of course the central mystery. I didn't particularly like the way the ending was handled - although most loose ends were tied there was a definite Bond-like "bad person explaining themselves before shooting" vibe going on.
As for the writing style - it's mostly immersive and uncomplicated, but the author does have a habit of over-using the words 'she' and 'her'. For example - "...her lungs burning, images flooded her of when she had run for her school, when this would have been easy for her..." 4 'hers' in half a sentence in which only two are necessary seems excessive, and once noticed it can't be unnoticed. I was getting quite annoyed after reading "she looked around her" for the hundredth time. Maybe it's just me.
A good read, 3.5 stars which I'll round up to 4 because I do enjoy the author's David Raker books.
![](https://netgalley-profiles.s3.amazonaws.com/avatar570754-micro.png?1734600840)
Thank you Netgalley, Penguin Michael Joseph UK and Tim Weaver for letting me ready an ARC of Missing Pieces in return for an honest review
This book is a stand alone from the David Raker series, but he does make a cameo appearance towards the end
I'm not sure where to place this book as it had so many characters, twists and turns that at the beginning i was thinking of giving up. It was very slow, then it would pick up pace, slow down again and then towards the end it got more gripping and had me racing to the finish.
Rebekah Murphy's marriage seems like the perfect marriage until she finds another mobile phone in her husband's car. After confessing that he has been having an affair the marriage falls apart and he moves out.
"Bek" goes on a night out with an old university friend and finds herself in the morning in another man's bed, but not remembering how she got there. Daniel Foley seems like a nice guy and tells her a bit about himself, but 'Bek" feels guilty and doesn't see him again.
Her brother - Johnny wants to be a historical writer and has made an appointment on "Crow Island" to meet a local historian and asks "Bek" to go with him. At first she is apprehensive about leaving her two daughters for the day and then decides that it may be good to get away from everything for the day and agrees to go with Johnny.
Things take a turn for the worse once they arrive at Crow Island and as the island is due to shut down for the winter the next day it all seems a bit eerie and very quiet. They must get the last ferry off the island at 5.00pm, or there is no other transport to get from the island to home, or they will have to stay overnight until the last ferry for the winter arrives the next morning.
They find the dead body of the historian that Johnny is supposed to meet and are then attacked and chased by another man. At this point you do not know why and this is the case for the most part of the book.
'Bek' and Johnny become separated after she falls down a gully and is presumed dead by the attacker. She then becomes trapped on an abandoned island after waking up and not being able to find Johnny. She then assumes that Johnny is either dead or has made it on to the last ferry home. She is now cut off from her family and friends with no mobile phone after losing it, no food or clothes.
Someone is trying to hunt her down and kill her, but she doesn't know why and is stuck on the island for 5 months. She tries to work out what she knows, whilst living in one of the B&Bs on the island and who is actually trying to kill her and why is no one looking for her.
At this point she discovers that the last ferry to the island for the winter was on 30th October, not 31st October as Johnny had mentioned. You never find out why Johnny lied about this and you never find out whose grave it was under the roots of the tree that they saw when they found the historians body.
Louise Mason, Johnny's ex girlfriend disappeared without a trace just before Johnny and "Bek' go to Crow Island. Johnny is the main suspect of her disappearance, so when they then both go missing detective Frank Travis is assigned to the case, but he is due to retire within the next week. He wants to solve the case before he retires and he knows that he is Louise’s only hope of being found alive or dead.
Are the two cases connected? If so why?
![](https://netgalley-profiles.s3.amazonaws.com/avatar284023-micro.png?1734600840)
Missing Pieces by Tim weaver is another great book from the author. I have read the David Raker series, and this doesn’t disappoint. This is a standalone novel.
Doctor Rebekah Murphy has travelled with her brother Johnny a writer to Crow island. An island 101 miles from the mainland. They become separated when they have been travelling though dense forest and come across a body of the man they are supposed to meet. When the killer starts chancing them because they have seen to much. The problem is that the island is closed for the winter and has no way to contact the mainland so she does what she can to survive over 5 months. Rebekah is a tough cookie and the thought of coming home to her two girls keep her going until the island opens again and she can escape it. She doesn’t know why someone is trying to kill her and wonders if her brother Johnny is still alive.
The story is set in two timelines. The time before and what led her up to her present predicament. And Detective Frank Travis who is dealing with cold cases which involves searching for Rebekah and her brother Johnny.
This is another gripping, well written read from Tim weaver of one woman’s determination to survive on a deserted island. Why is she being hunted by a killer and where is her brother Johnny? I was just slightly disappointed at the explanation at the end of what happened it was a bit long winded. 4 stars from me
![](https://netgalley-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/65fed9235e/images/profile-micro.png)
Missing Pieces by Tim Weaver
I have read and enjoyed some of Tim Weaver’s David Raker books, so was intrigued by this stand-alone novel.
Rebekah is trapped on a remote island off the American coast, at the start of a cold winter, and someone is trying to kill her.
How she got there, and why, is told in a series of flashbacks, and we learn about her father and brothers, her unfaithful husband, her children.
Travis is a New York policeman approaching retirement, who works on missing persons cases, and wants to solve the mystery of the disappearance of Louise Mason before he retires.
Initially there is no connection between the two characters, but their stories start to intertwine, as we are fed snippets of each of their stories.
The descriptions of Rebekah coping on the island are compelling and extremely well written, and you can feel her fear and anxiety, and celebrate with her as she overcomes obstacles.
There are so many twists and red herrings before the truth is finally revealed in satisfying climax, and I thoroughly recommend this book.
Thanks to Netgalley and Penguin Michael Joseph UK for the opportunity to read this book.
***Spoiler paragraph****
However, my practical brain has problems with Rebekah’s stay on the island
It is very unlikely that a wheel left standing in a garage, with a tyre attached would just happen to fit her car. She is replacing a wheel, not a tyre.
The gas station – everything, everywhere ese is disabled, but she makes the pump work.
Fresh water – at the start, she is worried that her water is running out, and even when she reaches the first hostel, there is no water. Then it’s not mentioned again.
She survives the whole of a very cold winter in a building with no heating and no hot water. All she has is blankets. Would she not attempt to have a fire – all that wood around.
![](https://netgalley-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/65fed9235e/images/profile-micro.png)
Tim Weaver is author of the David Raker series and now, this standalone, although Raker does make a cameo appearance. I may only have read No-one Home from the Raker series and this, but I have become a fan of his, his writing and plotting is absolutely riveting, atmospheric, complex and multilayered. Rebekah Murphy's British mother, Fiona, left her American father, Henry and her two brothers, Johnny and Mike when she was so young that she can barely remember her, a mother who has virtually no contact with them throughout their lives. Henry moves the family back to his home in New York where he works as a cop, and Beks joins them after finishing her A Levels in Britain. Rebekah is now a doctor, Mike and her father are dead, she is separated from her husband, Gareth, and mother to 2 young daughters, Kyra and Chloe.
Feeling she has not spent enough time with her aspiring writer brother, Johnny, Beks makes the fateful decision to join him on a trip to the remote and uninhabited Crow Island, only to find themselves targeted by killers. She has no idea why anyone would want to kill them, although she has more than enough time to ruminate over this mystery, as it looks as if Johnny has been murdered and she is left behind, injured and assumed to have died. Desperately missing her daughters, she is tested to her limits, trapped on this forested island during the freezing winter, alone with no hope of rescue for 6 months. In New York, the tenacious Detective Frank Travis is close to retirement, working on the case of the missing artist, Louise Mason, but has got nowhere. However, he has never let go of anyone, and he is to acquire 2 further strange missing person cases. What connects Louise with Beks?
Weaver slowly and expertly drops in tantalising missing pieces to this compelling and complicated puzzle of a mystery that goes back and forth in time. There are red herrings as well as actual clues in this dark and disturbing nightmare story of survival in which I was completely immersed, desperate for answers, and totally rooting for a Rebekah experiencing a recurring nightmare of being in an apartment numbered 127. If you are a fan of Weaver and the Raker series already, you are likely to love this, and if you are a crime and mystery reader who has never read him, this is a terrific place to start. Highly recommended. Many thanks to Penguin Michael Joseph for an ARC.
![](https://netgalley-profiles.s3.amazonaws.com/avatar702202-micro.png?1734600840)
This was my first introduction to Tim Weaver’s work and from the outset, I was spell-bound by the novel’s atmospheric setting on an isolated island, some 100 miles from Long Island, in the middle of winter. It is here, on an island whose infrastructure was all but destroyed in a hurricane some decades ago, that protagonist Rebekah finds herself trapped. A heightening sense of claustrophobia as the wintry conditions close in on her combined with her own torrid recollections lead to Rebekah quickly becoming vulnerable and threatened. Initially it is not clear how her story relates to that of missing woman Louise, who lives elsewhere, but trying to find out what connects the two women, and whether there is hope for both of them, keeps you reading. A commendable read – and my thanks go to the publishers and NetGalley for the free ARC provided to me in return for this honest and unbiased review.
![](https://netgalley-profiles.s3.amazonaws.com/avatar393118-micro.png?1734600840)
Super-suspense thriller – tension high throughout! We learn of Rebekah’s fight for survival while trapped on a Winter-season uninhabited island where unknown men have tried to kill her, and her brother. The story unfolds, with chapters headed ‘Before’ to fill in the mysteries piece by piece.
Parallel to this there‘s a story of a detective at NYPD one week off retirement, trying to solve a missing person case from 3 months ago which has gone cold. He’s determined to do so, before he retires.
Brilliant writing keeps you on the edge of your seat, with many sections ending on cliffhangers – but you’re off on the next mystery before you can object! My brain could barely keep up the speed I wanted to read this at. Mixed reaction to the conclusion, but no spoilers here.
![](https://netgalley-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/65fed9235e/images/profile-micro.png)
Thanks to the publishers and NetGalley for the AC in return for an unbiased review.
Having been a fam of Tim Weaver's work for many years and read all the David Raker books I was looking forward to this one being something completely different which is exactly what it turned out to be.
Rebekah Murphy accompanies her brother to a remote island to conduct an interview but ends up being marooned on the island for six months.
The story is told in flashbacks and what appears to be a number of unconnected events.
Enter Detective Frank Travis and we get a cracker of a story.
A definite 5/5.
Thanks
![](https://netgalley-profiles.s3.amazonaws.com/avatar257375-micro.png?1734600840)
I’ve read the David Raker series by Tim Weaver- David Raker searches for missing people and returns them to their loved ones if at all possible. In Missing Pieces there is a departure from this idea in that the book is indeed about a missing person but it is from her point of view and it is a stand alone as Mr Raker does not have any role in the story apart from a cameo at the end.
Once I got used to the unusual narrative- the book kept jumping backwards and forwards in time and was told from several different viewpoints, I was very invested in the story and thoroughly enjoyed the book.
Rebekah Murphy is the hero of the book and we first encounter her, injured , not knowing what has happened. It is gradually revealed that Rebekah is stranded on a remote island off the coast of Long Island, she has to do everything she can to survive and it also becomes apparent that someone is trying to kill her.
The reader is also treated to a narrative from the point of view of Frank Travis, a police detective who is near retirement, working on a missing person case. Gradually Rebekah’s and Frank’s story come together and moves to a very exciting conclusion.
Most of the first part of the book is devoted to Rebekah’s attempts to survive alone on an uninhabited island and the reader is only fed “pieces” of information so it is incredibly difficult to work out why she is there. This must have been very difficult to write as the author had to be careful not to reveal too much at a time so the reader was left wondering what is going on but keen to read on to find out more.
The descriptions of the loneliness of a solitary existence were very good- the author obviously has a great imagination. The setting was also well described, so much so that I assumed that Tim Weaver had visited Crow Island whilst doing research for the book.
I liked the character of Rebekah- she has to draw on all her mental strength to survive on the island alone for 5 months.
The timeline of the story did jump around a lot, even going back to Rebekah’s teen years and childhood when her mother walked out on the family and the theme of abandonment featured heavily in this book. When reading it is important to look at the section headings “Before” sections lead up to what happened and italics are Frank’s sections.
The title “Missing Pieces” was very clever as it was only when all these missing strands of the plot were pulled together that the reader got the full backstory and current story of the main protagonist.
I thoroughly recommend this book to David Raker fans as well as readers new to Tim Weaver.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for my arc in exchange for an honest review.
![](https://netgalley-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/65fed9235e/images/profile-micro.png)
Bek goes with her brother to an island for an appointment he has lined up to get information for his new book. What neither of them know is that they have been followed and are about to be hunted down. This island is uninhabited for 5 months of the year after today so no one will come to find them, there's no ferry to get there. Bek manages to get away but the men think they've killed her and her brother, she can't find her brother and fears the worst. But she doesn't know why she is being hunted or her brother! She knows that the men will come back to find her to make sure she's dead. Does she survive the harsh 5 months of winter on the island and will she figure out who is trying to kill them and why?
Loved this book couldn't put it down, will definitely be looking for more from this author in the future.
![](https://netgalley-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/65fed9235e/images/profile-micro.png)
Am sad to say to say I couldn’t stick with this book. I found the story far too confusing and never quite knew where I was in time with which character!! Perhaps it all came together in the end but although I tried very hard in the end I just didn’t have it in me to even try to put the missing pieces together. Sorry!
![](https://netgalley-profiles.s3.amazonaws.com/avatar603636-micro.png?1734600840)
Rebekah is trapped on a deserted island and there are two men trying to kill her. She went to the island with her brother Johnny and now she can’t find him anywhere, so maybe they have already killed him. That’s it really, but the author strings this rather thin storyline out for a very long time, and throws in another missing person case, just to confuse the reader even further.. Sorry to be negative about this book, but it is unnecessarily long and feels as if the author stuck his heroine on a deserted island for no satisfactorily explained reason, made a list of all the terrible things that could happen to her, and chucked them in one by one until the book was full. I felt as if there wasn’t much flow or momentum here, the storyline was fractured, and the changes of voice not always easy to follow or justify. There were some good descriptions of place, and especially good representations of the terrifying weather and the sea, and these went some way towards mitigating the other flaws.
![](https://netgalley-profiles.s3.amazonaws.com/avatar745465-micro.png?1734600840)
An excellently crafted book the author has a superb ability to create an atmospheric backdrop and situation which is both terrifying and mysterious.
The main character is stranded on an abandoned island and faces a struggle for survival, both physically and also mentally as she is totally isolated and apart from her young children for months. She is also scared for her life as somebody is trying to kill her and he doesn’t know why.
We are drip fed pieces of information about what is happening and the tension is really gripping. There are also lots of twists and turns which caught my breath and the ending had me in tears. Definitely recommend!
![](https://netgalley-profiles.s3.amazonaws.com/avatar771246-micro.png?1734600840)
She knows she's alone on an abandoned island with a killer on her trail. She knows that to get home, she must live to understand why this is happening. She knows someone tried to kill her for a secret. What she doesn't know is what that secret is . . .
Rebekah is trapped on Crow Island and is 101 miles from the US mainland. Much of the island was destroyed by Hurricane Gloria in 1987 and has few facilities. How and why is she trapped? Meanwhile, soon to be retired Detective Frank Travis is searching for missing artist Louise Mason. How do these seemingly disparate stories connect?
The story is told from a two-person perspective, so we get a real feel of both sides and characters and how they link with each other. The book is very well written, and a book I would describe as a typical thriller that keeps you guessing and wondering.
This is a first for me by the author and one I enjoyed and would read more of their work. The book cover is eye-catching and appealing and would spark my interest if in a bookshop. Thank you very much to the author, publisher and Netgalley for this ARC.
3.5/5.
![](https://netgalley-profiles.s3.amazonaws.com/avatar651581-micro.png?1734600840)
‘Missing Pieces’ -Tim Weaver
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
This book opened with themes of isolation and quickly progressed into a stoic display of courage despite bleak circumstances. Let it be known, Tim Weaver disproves the theory that men cannot accurately depict women in fictional writing. It was beyond refreshing to read of a courageous, uncomplicated female protagonist like Rebekah.
Throughout, Weaver used impeccable, vivid imagery to make this book incredibly atmospheric. There was a perfect synergy between flashbacks of Rebekah’s past life and present day; of her accepting, yet battling against the odds, detailing her harrowing fight for survival in a desolate island with scarcely any chance of rescue.
Supremely well written and endlessly engaging.
Thank you to Penguin Michael Joseph UK and NetGalley for this ARC.
![](https://netgalley-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/65fed9235e/images/profile-micro.png)
A clever, well-written book, with good characters. Unfortunately I found it very hard to get into, and a bit of a chore to read. I would probably read other books by this author though.