The Blackbird: The heart-pounding Sunday Times bestseller 2023 (David Raker Missing Persons 11)

I’m a little spiderWatch Me spinIf you’ll be my dinnerI’ll let you come inThen I will spin my web toHold you tightAnd gobble you up inOne big bite!The Blackbird by Tim Weaver reminded me of this poem. Around 60% into the story as pressure mounts on the search for the missing couple, one can literally feel the creepiness like a spider weaving a web around your head and regardless of the efforts taken to break out of that sticky gluey web, we are still stuck to it. Tim Weaver’s writing is outstanding, and David Raker after 10 books in the series is in his element. After reading another book in the series, I had always wished to read the whole of them in their entirety but so far have been unsuccessful. A pop-up on social media of a new release had me instantly attracted, so obviously was overjoyed in receiving the ARC of The Blackbird, book #11 in the David Raker series, which can easily be read as a stand alone.David Raker is a missing person investigator and his new case is as bizarre and as weird as it comes. A car has fallen into the ravine and burst into flames but the couple inside the car, Cate and Aiden have vanished without a trace and for two years, the mystery that has baffled one and all has become traumatic for Cate’s parents. David Raker is called in for any lead that would provide some semblance of closure for the grieving family but once the investigation starts, the complexity of the case that unravels for the reader causes a mind-numbing effect. Stretching back 30 years with the discovery of 3 dead bodies in Northumberland and a detective who has never let it go, the missing person's investigation wounds tighter and tighter and tension escalates to a fever pitch.The mystery of the murders is intricate and Tim Weaver has layered the story so excellently that the readers are at a loss figuring out this puzzle and pouring oil into the burning fire is David’s hidden secret regarding Colm Healy. David Raker is a wonderful character, he is dogged in his determination to get to the truth heedless of the danger he finds himself in and there is a time when he becomes a fugitive himself hiding from the police, trying to get to the truth and what an astounding reveal it is at the end as the true horror show of the murders comes to plain light.Brilliant and a must-read for fans of mystery thrillers, Tim Weaver’s The Blackbird is sure to leave your senses reeling.Many thanks to Penguin Michael Joseph, and the author for a chance to read and review this book. All opinions are expressed voluntarily.

This is an elaborate, somewhat complex and exciting tale. It is also well-written even though I am not a big fan of multiple time-lines. On the flip-side, it is too long and there are quite a few over-the-top plot elements. I'll definitely be going back for more. 4.5*

Det är en spännande berättelse, jag läste boken i bara 2 dagar.

Brilliant read. A truly fascinating story a real page turner. I loved the mystery and the characters, the twists, especially the very unexpected ending. I hope the next book carries on this mystery.

As usual, plot and place good.The guilty party explaining himself a bit long at end but before an excellent final twist.Five stars for the author but less for the editors as the print is small so when have whole chapters in italics not easy pn the eyes and the inserts on the text are even smaller!

I read a lot of crime. On this one I cant understand the good reviews.Spoilers!The investigator and investigations are well told, difficult to stop reading...But the end is ridiculous....The motivation of the culprits is preposterous...it is totally unbelievable and doesnt make sense.What really made me angry was that the description of the crime scene in the beginning, which is the most intriguing part is a lie....As in all bad crime, the culprit in the end gives long monologues how they did and why...Rule No 1 of Crime. Show dont tell. And it turns out what the author "showed" us in the beginning could not have happened in the described way...the whole mysterious crime scene...months of advanced crime scene investigation leading to nothing was why this was a mystery. But it could not have happened that may:Spoilers:The husband was "bleeding profusely, blood everywhere", yet inicially it there was no mention of blood...They had to drag out two severely injured bodies, bleeding through a ravine, which they hadnt planned, within minutes of a fireball and the emergency services arriving...there would have blood everywhere...footprints in the soot...all around...drag marks of the bodies being carried...the criminal did not have a car ready down there but up the top...total fraud....lazy rip off author!