Author: Tim Weaver
Genre: Crime / Thriller
Originally Published: 2013
Originally Published: 2013
Page Count: 533 pages
Date Read: 21st July - 30th July 2014
Never Coming Back is the fourth instalment of Tim Weaver's thrillers that use missing persons investigator, David Raker, as the protagonist. In this, my first, and Raker's fourth outing, we see Raker return to his family home in the south of England, recovering after the events of (what I assume was) the third book, 'Vanished'. Whilst there a body washes upon the shore, while at the same time an old flame visits him and asks him to investigate the disappearance of her sister, Carrie, and her family.
This the basic gist of what sparks the rest of the novel. There are a series of flashbacks from Raker's past but mainly from other people as well, which I assume is just to keep the reader interested and so we're not just following Raker trying to piece things together whilst pissing everyone off in the process. The novel was confusing to start with, we start with Raker in 2007, and then we're in the shoes of former-Cop, Healy. It was confusing switching back and forth between the pair, who were both as annoying as one another.
By the end of part one, we're essentially following just Raker with the occasional flashback to other characters in Las Vegas. The characters in the novel range from the stereotypical mob-boss with bird-like mannerisms (he reminded me a bit of Norman Bates, or Billy Drago in The Untouchables), to the equally stereotypical villagers, where Raker lives. The whole novel seems to focus on the enigma of one of these 'gangster-type' men, Cornell, whose stern seemingly follows everyone.
I must admit this took a slightly different path from what I expected, I thought it was going to match that of Linwood Barclay's No Time For Goodbye, but it didn't. It became some political crime novel, which I really enjoyed.
The characters were frustrating, all the male characters are arsey with one another and can't seem to listen to each other. The dynamic between Healy and Raker was annoying, and as a first time reader with this series, I question Healy's relevance to the novel. I put in my review on goodreads:
"Read this if you like characters who are so arsey with other people it's a wonder people bother with them, several incredulous plot twists, and very descriptive writing."
The writing was clumsy at times with its phrasing, but what novel isn't nowadays? It was annoying that the most redundant things were being described to us.
The strength of the novel comes with its mystery, it wasn't exactly original but it held my attention and kept me coming back for more. I just wish it strayed from the stereotypes, and had tried to keep its 'plot twists' down. I can't quite count how many chapter endings I could hear the 'Eastenders' credits sequence in my head. Despite this, the mystery was engaging, the writing was brilliant, and whilst I couldn't really care for Raker, I'll be checking out some more of his adventures soon. 4 stars.
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