The Blackbird by Tim Weaver is the 11th book in the David Raker series and I’ve read and thoroughly enjoyed them all.
In short, we follow David Raker in another intriguing missing persons case, this time this case links to an unsolved 30 year old murder which soon escalates into a difficult and dangerous quest as the pieces unravel. Liars were why cases were unpredictable. Liars got you killed.
I am a big fan of Tim Weaver, I just love his MO of using a missing persons format to consistently create absorbing stories with the brilliant and likeable David Raker at it’s core.
The Blackbird, although not clear throughout most of the book as to why it was used as the title, becomes absolutely clear towards the end…very clever and apt. I enjoyed this book, another fascinating plot with twists and turns galore but it’s the ending which is flipping genius and I cannot wait for the next book to see what this means for Raker! I highly recommend this smart, suspenseful and thoroughly entertaining David Raker series…Tim Weaver always delivers.
Big thanks to Tim Weaver, Penguin Michael Joseph and NetGalley for this eARC which I chose to read in return for my honest review.

It was great to be reading the 11th David Raker book by Tim Weaver. I thought that the opening was excellent. A car crash that no one could have survived, so where are the bodies? Two witnesses were there within a couple of minutes of it happening and saw no one emerge from the car and there are no bodies in the burnt out car. The book follows Raker's investigation into their disappearance on behalf of the family.

I guess anyone who has read previous books in the series will have an idea of what might happen. If you haven't tried these books and enjoy a good thriller then do start from an earlier book to get the background stories of the main characters (maybe book 3!). It becomes increasingly tense and pacey. The twists and turns are very good. Some of the people from previous books are in this and Raker does get to meet some new characters too.

Overall and for me this is classic Weaver/Raker stuff. It's very well written and has a pace that kept me with it all along. I do love the "impossible mysteries" that Weaver sets for Raker to solve. This is probably one of the better ones too as far as I'm concerned. It's good to see Healy around again as well as some of the other smaller part characters from previous books. The presence of "old friends" is always good! It seems possible to me that Raker will have gained some new friends for the future too perhaps. I do have a minor reservation with an aspect of the plot here however I dislike spoilers and, taking the book overall, it was a small matter. Fans should be very happy with this latest outing for Raker - it was good to be reading one of his stories again.

So often the endings of book generally are maybe not quite there. I had some doubts about this one at one point. However I found myself laughing aloud at the end - my thanks to the author for the ending!

I read this book in one sitting. The first couple of chapters really hook you in to mystery. Needing to know what happened.

Weaver manages to pack in a whole host of twists and turns into this story to keep you interested.

I did find some of the back and forth a little confusing and admittedly, reading all of these in order would probably also help.

I didn’t like the ending - I felt it ended up letting the rest of the book down, which is why I’ve gone for a 4/5.

*4.5 stars*

Cate and Aiden Gascoigne are caught on CCTV, driving along a country lane, looking perfectly happy, however, 10 seconds later their car plunges 90 foot down a ravine. But, here’s the thing, rescuers arriving at the scene can find no evidence of the couple, they have simply disappeared!

The first chapter ensures that the reader will stay with this mystery - simply desperate to know what happened to Cate and Aiden, especially as the mystery deepens, and explores many avenues along the way.

Why have I never read Tim Weaver’s books before? Big mistake! This was a terrific read. It’s quite complex, so your full attention will be required, but you will be richly rewarded with a storyline that is clever, tense, pacy, and with an addition of many twists to keep you on your toes. Highly recommended!

I would like to thank Netgalley and Penguin Michael Joseph UK for an advance copy of The Blackbird, the eleventh novel to feature London based missing persons investigator David Raker.

Cate and Aiden Gascoigne are seen on CCTV 10 seconds before their car goes off the road, tumbles down a ravine and bursts into flames. They should be dead, but the car is empty. Two and a half years later Cate’s parents ask David Raker to investigate what appears to be impossible.

I’m not sure if I enjoyed The Blackbird or not. It is incredibly well plotted with twists and developments galore, but it is also incredibly tense and I had to keep putting it down for a bit of breathing space. I put this tension down to the author’s skill in getting the reader to identify with David Raker, as I certainly did, so the situations and danger he gets into made me squirm for him. Logically I know that he will survive whatever is thrown at him, but it doesn’t feel that way when immersed in the pages.

The novel opens with Raker pondering the conundrum of what happened to Cate and Aiden and why. It is a great hook as he goes over how the situation, timing wise, is impossible and yet it happened. As he investigates the novel broadens into something darker and dangerous. I’m not going to hint at what, but the author whets the reader’s appetite with narratives from various characters in the past. I spent my tension downtime trying to work out where they fit in to the present, with some more obvious than others while the big picture remains elusive. It makes the novel compulsive reading as the reader searches for answers. If all the action and tension weren’t enough, the author leaves the reader with a bombshell of an ending.

Raker is a widower and I don’t know if the loss of his beloved wife has engendered a certain recklessness or if he always had it. Whatever, he lives close to the edge and isn’t afraid to push the boundaries. He seems to attract the crazies, perhaps because he’s drawn to the cases no one else will touch. It ramps up the tension and excitement, so who really cares?

The Blackbird is a good read that I can recommend.

When Cate and Aiden Gascoignes car plunges into a ravine and explodes into flame they are surely dead. However when emergency services get to the scene there is no trace of the couple.

And so begins The Blackbird aka David Raker 12.

I have read all of the previous Raker stories and you might think that would give me a head start in figuring out the mystery in advance but definitely not! As with the others before it, this is full of twists & turns as we follow Raker as he investigates what has happened to the Gascoignes.

The story runs alongside a mystery from 30 years before and as the story develops we start to make connections between the cases…. I’ll stop before the spoilers!

Fast, paced and twisty as hell. Definitely recommend this and Weavers other books for those who like immersive thrillers. Top class.

Many thanks to Net Galley & Michael Joseph for the opportunity to read an advance copy

Tim Weaver never disappoints. So many twists and turns it makes me giddy! I love the way he ends a passage with a cliffhanger and then goes on to a different character or time frame to give you time to draw breath without losing the pace. An excellent jigsaw of a book. with lots of surprises at the end.

Absolutely brilliant, I've waited patiently for this book, certainly hasn't disappointed, Tim Weaver draws you in and you really can't leave until you've finished the book, so many twists and turns, what a surprise though, wasn't expecting that

Most Intriguing Yet…
David Raker returns in another missing persons case and, perhaps, his most intriguing yet - this time in a seemingly impossible scenario. A ninety foot ravine car drop and a subsequent inferno would most definitely have killed those inside the car. However, recovery shows the car to be completely empty, whilst previous CCTV footage prior to the incident shows Cate and Aiden Gascoigne to be clearly inside. With a credible and realistic cast, twist and turns,a solid mystery at heart and clever plotting this is a tremendous addition to the series.

A clever well written book, great character and a great plot Tim does it again. Master story teller and his best.

A clever and brilliantly written, totally thrilling read!

I’ve only read one Tim Weaver book prior to being sent a copy of Blackbird, but I’m now a total fan! This book was faultless in its execution and style. From the first page I had to hit the ‘pause’ button on life because I was hooked!

I love a good mystery and this book certainly delivers. Told from the first person, David Raker (our investigator). We, the readers are flung into situation that doesn’t make any sense and has no plausible leads to follow up. How/why did Cate and Aiden’s car end up at the bottom of a ravine and where are their bodies?

Running alongside this major question mark are a past event 30 years ago, a situation with one of Raker’s friends/ex colleagues and for a further twist, the investigation into The Dune Murders. Needless to says there’s are loads of twists, thousands of turns and SO many seemingly unrelated characters and storylines that you’d have to be a absolute genius to figure this one out!

This thrilling read has kept me guessing from the moment I started reading. The style in which Weaver writes has this wonderful eb and flow that just draws you in but the speed at which events unfold is relentless so be prepared, you need to sit up and pay attention.

As I mentioned above, I am now totally hooked on Raker and will be eagerly awaiting Tim’s next book as I check out a few from his back catalogue. Join me, read this book - it doesn’t disappoint!

Thanks to NetGalley for my advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

While I haven’t read all of the books in this series, I’ve read enough to know that I love it! The Blackbird is compelling, a proper page-turner. Once I picked it up, I couldn’t put it down. Tim Weaver is the king of misdirection and he really dials it up with this one. Highly recommended!

It’s been a while since I read a Tim Weaver Raker novel and now I’m seriously wondering why
This was a fabulous read, exciting and fast paced as usual as Raker gets himself into scrape after scrape whilst trying to find the missing
This was an intriguing synopsis , 2 people disappeared after their car plunged down a ravine , could they have survived and how could they disappear so quickly with witnesses on the scene, it’s certainly a job for David Raker who is probably up against his most dangerous foe yet . Absolutely brilliant , off to search out the few from the series I have missed

4+

I genuinely don't know how Weaver does it.
So many twists and turns, and each of them makes perfect sense YET I never see it coming.
I NEVER work out how or why.
He's a near genius I'd say.
This week in Rakers life is relentless, just one thing after another. The pace does not let up .... I raced through the book at every chance I got.
If you've read Weaver before, you know what you're getting,and it's good. Very good.
If you've not read him before, I almost envy you the back catalogue to catch up on.
I say it every time, but these books do just keep getting better and better.

When Aidan & Cate Gasgoine disappear after crashing into a ravine, missing persons' investigator David Raker is called in by Cate's family to find out what happened - their car was burnt to a crisp, but there were no bodies and no sign of the couple, and only two witnesses to the accident. But when a secret from David's past is threatened and he feels like he may be being followed, the investigation veers off into a direction that David cannot have expected.

This is a really good book - it does start a little bit slowly, but ramps up towards the end to earn a five-star review. This is the twelfth book in a series, but - as I didn't - you don't need to have any prior knowledge, as any references are explained.

I love Tim Weaver's David Raker series and feel that it gets better with each book. Cate and Aiden Gascoine disappear after their car crashes into a ravine and Cate's family hire missing persons investigator David Raker to help find them. This is a well written, beautifully paced novel with lots of twists and turns and an unexpected outcome. I love the character of Raker and Weaver brings in a host of other interesting and well drawn characters. Although this is a part of a series it works well as a standalone but I would highly recommend starting at the beginning as there is an ongoing plotline. Highly recommended.
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this digital ARC.
4.5 stars

The Blackbird, Tim Weaver

Cara and Aiden Gascoigne are laughing, smiling ten seconds before their card plunges off a ravine and bursts into flames. When the car burns out however, no trace of the couple is found and two years later the family call missing persons investigator David Raker in to solve the case.

A new David Raker is always a happy day. Cemented as one of my all time favourites, getting an early copy of this thanks to #NetGalley and #PenguinMichaelJoseph was a dream.

With a catalogue like Weavers if you expect even a slight dip in quality you won’t find it. The Blackbird is as clever, brilliant and thrilling as each one that came before. Every twist is smarter than the one before and Raker is one of the best on page crime protagonists created.
This one throttles towards an explosive end and you’ll close it ready to open the next.