The Dead Tracks by Tim Weaver

 

Seventeen-year-old Megan Carver has been missing for seven months. With the police making no progress, her family hires missing person investigator David Raker in the hope that a fresh pair of eyes will discover what happened to their daughter.

The David Raker series by Tim Weaver was recommended to me a year ago, and I thoroughly enjoyed the first book in the series, Chasing The Dead (you can read my review here). I was really looking forward to reading more in the series, particularly as there are fourteen books, but I'm ashamed to say that my plans fell through. Having finally found some time, I made a start on the second book in the series, The Dead Tracks, and I'm now kicking myself for not picking this book up sooner.

When David Raker is hired to look into the Megan Carver disappearance, a missing persons case that the police have made no progress on in seven months, he assumes that if he manages to locate the teenager, it will be her body he finds. Having previously been a journalist, Raker has built up a network of contacts that he uses to full effect to quickly bring him up to date on the case. Discovering that another girl went missing shortly before Megan, he's shocked that the police haven't connected the cases or informed the public. You can feel Raker's disbelief and anger, and this intensifies when he discovers the reason behind the lack of interest.

The story is full of twists as Raker discovers connections to organised crime and a serial killer. The serial killer element adds a seriously sinister tone to the story as it bears an uncanny resemblance to the case of murderer Milton Sykes, who operated in the area almost 100 years previously. The legend of Sykes still fills locals with dread. 

With the police regularly trying to dissuade Raker from investigating Megan's disappearance I began to suspect that a police officer was behind the abductions. Thankfully, Raker is the type of investigator who refuses to back down; his backstory also makes him careless where his own safety is involved. The plot moves at a blistering pace, with danger lurking around every corner and a villain who seems to have eyes everywhere. The story is very violent at times, and you can understand the desperation a parent feels and the lengths they will go to for answers. I was frantically turning the pages, desperate to know how everything fitted together, and whether Megan was alive or dead. I ended up reading late into the night, not a good idea when the book is creepy, to find out how the story would end. All I want to do now is move straight on to the next book in the series.

Author Details

Tim Weaver is the Sunday Times bestselling author of fifteen novels, including No One Home, The Blackbird and The Last Goodbye, and a short story collection. He is also the host and producer of the chart-topping Missing podcast and is currently developing an original TV series with the team behind Line of Duty. A former journalist and magazine editor, he lives near Bath with his wife and daughter.