Richard's Review:

If you haven’t read any of Tim Weaver’s superb David Raker mysteries before, don’t worry – The Black Bird stands perfectly well on its own, with Raker as the dogged, determined investigator who sees every dead end as a challenge; even an opportunity. (However, if you want to go back to Raker’s genesis, Weaver’s ‘Chasing the Dead’ is a great place to start).

The Black Bird opens with a classic Weaver conundrum. A young couple, Cate and Aiden Gascoigne, are caught on CCTV on Gatton Hill in Surrey, laughing together and seemingly without a care in the world. Moments later, their car has veered into a deep ravine, plunged to the bottom and exploded in a fireball. Chances of survival: nil. And yet… number of charred bodies in the smoking wreckage?

Nil.

Judy's Review:

Cate and Aiden have vanished into thin air. But how? That’s the first question David Raker must find the answer to when he’s called in by Cate’s grieving family. The second is its logical sequel – where are they now?

This is number 11 in the Raker series and Weaver certainly doesn’t make things easy for his hero. The investigator hits a series of dead ends. But there are tantalising discoveries too. Cate was a photographer and it turns out she’d begun a new project featuring – guess what – the victims of unsolved murders. Significant, or just another red herring? And what about the two witnesses to the crash? Their statements on what happened are almost suspiciously word-perfect.

Assuming the couple are still alive, someone has gone to a lot of trouble to keep them hidden – and is prepared to kill to keep it that way.

The tension rises as you turn the pages – and you’ll love the twist at the end. British crime writing at its best.