Cover Image: No One Home

No One Home

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didn't discover Tim Weaver's David Raker books until Book 8. I was hooked after that one & enjoyed book 9, so I was delighted to get my hands on Book 10.

In an isolated village called Black Gale live nine people. They all get on extremely well. One Halloween they got together for dinner party and vanished! Not a trace could be found of them. Eventually, despairing of getting answers, one of their relatives get in touch with David Raker. David finds missing people; with a chequered often tragic past it fills something missing in his own life.

The scene switches to the 1980's Los Angeles where a police officer struggles to make her mark in a misogynistic police department. Whilst everyone seems to be involved with a high profile case, she gets sent to investigate a body found in a bath of acid. It is said that there is always one unsolved case that lingers with every detective. This is Jo's & the story switches back to her throughout the story of Raker's search for the residents of Black Gale. The reader presumes there is a link between the stories.

This is a complex cleverly plotted story. It took me a lot longer that usual to read this one as I needed to make sure I wasn't missing important clues. I never got anywhere near solving the mystery but I was gripped to the last page.

Thanks to netgalley & the publisher for letting me read & review this book- it was brilliant!

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Apologies to fans of Tim Weaver but this is the first book I have read by him!! It certainly won't be my last. The fact that this is the 10th book in the series had no effect on my enjoyment of the story, just made me more interested to go back and read more by this author. The plot starts straight in with a visit to a 'ghost' village (not quite a village but ...) from which all 9 residents have disappeared on the same night - Halloween. From there the plot moves backwards and forwards as more characters become involved and the complications take us on a long and twisted journey. Very well written and cleverly set out. The way the sequence of events is presented adds to the tension.
Very many thanks to Netgalley/Tim Weaver/Penguin UK - Michael Joseph for a digital copy of this title. All opinions expressed are my own.

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An intricate and twisted read that keeps you on the edge. There’s enough detail to keep you guessing but not enough that you lose track of the plot.

I didn’t realise this book was part of a series - you don’t need to read others to appreciate the character of Raker / get an understanding of his past and character, although I’m sure it adds to his persona.

I’d definitely be keen to read more in this series and look forward to more books by Weaver.

5 stars.

Thanks to NetGalley, Penguin Michael Joseph and Tim Weaver for my ARC in exchange for a free review.

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I really enjoyed this book, the story of David Raker, a missing persons investigator trying to find out how a small village of people all disappeared on the same night.

I have not read any of the other David Raker books and I think that would have helped as there are references to other cases throughout the story but it does also work as a stand alone thriller/ murder mystery.

I was certain I had the whole story worked out from the beginning but it turns out I was completely wrong!

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All nine people in a small rural community ,Black Gale, are at a Halloween dinner party . They all disappear with no obvious trace or appearance of having prepared to leave . A number of years later somebody decides to take a new look at this case . Many twists and turns from hereon in .

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Like all Tim Weaver's books, well written and a great story line, full of intrigue and twists and turns!

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I had no idea this was a series when I requested it. There are 10 books before this so there was bound to be events from previous books discussed within this one. So there were some plot elements that I didn’t understand but it didn’t make a huge difference.

The mystery was amazing and kept me guessing till the end - the last 10% of this book was so suspenseful. The character of David is highly complex and really enjoyed reading about him so I might pick up some of the other books in this series. At first I didn't really enjoy the multiple POV's however as the story unfolded and the stories intertwined I loved it. I found it interesting to read about Jo's struggles as a female cop in the 1980's. By the end of the story I was attached to her character. I highly recommend this if you like mystery novels.

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In No-One Home you follow David Raker and the mysterious Healey as they search to discover what happened at Black Gale. One night the 9 residents were enjoying a Halloween party, the next day they had vanished without a trace.

I enjoyed the mystery of the story and really liked Raker and Healey. This is book 10 in the series, I haven’t read the previous books but that didn’t matter, it worked well as a stand-alone.

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Another incredible book from Tim Weaver, he just doesn't have the capability to write a bad book.

I remember reading the description and wondering how he comes up with these ideas!! I really enjoyed how he blends two different plots and even though, at the time, you can't figure out how the two are connected you can be certain at some point they will!

Terrific writing.

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No One Home is my first Tim Weaver book, but is actually the tenth book in his David Raker series and I would suggest starting with an earlier one if you are a newcomer to the books like me. There is clearly a large amount of family backstory around Raker and his sort-of assistant Healy, which is not strictly relevant to the plot at hand, but leaves the reader feeling a bit out of the loop as to the history of their relationship and how they have ended up where they are now.

The plot itself stands alone and I was instantly gripped by the idea of a kind of Marie Celeste village with no clue as to the whereabouts of the families involved. Raker’s experience with missing people is fascinating and you get a real insight into the kind of methods and techniques that can be used in his line of work.

Similarly it is interesting following the parallel (albeit set in a different time) unfolding of Jo Kader in LA, chasing her serial killer. Her struggles as a woman in a male environment, and her dedication to both family and career added an emotional depth to the story, and I really enjoyed trying to work out where the two threads would finally converge.

I would have really liked to see more of the personal element in Raker’s side of the investigation (himself and the victims), as I felt that his narrative felt a little dry and repetitive, as he haunted the empty houses and quietly followed paper/electronic trails. The original tension of the disappearance had pretty much dissipated by the time the sedate and orderly search suddenly exploded into climactic action. The ending was then packed full of excitement but felt oddly confusing and unemotional, leaving me feeling a bit flat about the final reveals.

Whilst this was an interesting suspense thriller, I don’t think it made the best introduction to Tim Weaver’s writing or David Raker’s career, so I would recommend starting with an earlier book in the series if you haven’t already.


‘I just don’t understand what happened to them,’ Ross said.
For a moment, as I looked at him, he was perfectly framed, his parents’ house behind him, the grass too long out front, weeds running rampant, the dark windows giving just a hint of the empty hallways within. He told me over the phone that he’d been trying to keep the house together, the lawn mowed, the rooms tidy, but it was hard when even the process of unlocking the front door hurt. His parents had been gone two and a half years, with no answers and no trace.
But they weren’t the only ones.

– Tim Weaver, No One Home

Review by Steph Warren of Bookshine and Readbows blog

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This is the first book I've read by this author and what a brilliant one to start with. Amazing story with great characters. Can't wait to read more by this author.

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It's not often that I pick up this genre, but I'm really pleased I did with this one. In short, the plot centres around a village all going missing one night - there are only four households in the village - all friends who meet for dinner and disappear. On Halloween...

I did wonder where this one was going to go, was it going to be supernatural, planned by them, murder? I had absolutely no idea, but for me it just didn't seem that there was an easily explainable reason once the facts where out there.

The plot is fast paced, twist and turns everywhere, and it kept me on the edge of my seat. Just when I thought I had something worked out it turned out to be completely wrong.

A real page turner!

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At Halloween, the residents of Black Gale gather for a dinner party. As the only nine people living there, they've become close friends as well as neighbours.
They eat, drink and laugh. They play games and take photographs. But those photographs will be the last record of any of them.
Because by the next morning, the whole village has vanished.
With no bodies, no evidence and no clues, the mystery of what happened at Black Gale remains unsolved two and a half years on. But then the families of the missing turn to investigator David Raker - and their obsession becomes his.


Once again, I have read a book that is part of a series without knowing it. I was just a few pages in when I realised that past events were being mentioned in a matter of fact way. As though I was supposed to understand what was being referred to. A quick Google soon confirmed that I was indeed reading Book 10 of a series!

Never mind though. By this point I was hooked and just wanted to continue with the book, which is exactly what I did. And I don’t feel that this hindered me in any way. As mentioned, there were a couple of references, but this book was more than capable of standing alone.

There are two cases here. The case of the missing villagers which Raker is looking into and something that happened in the LA over 30 years ago which is being investigated by Jo Kader, a woman detective who is having to prove her worth every second of every day to the men that she works alongside.

These two stories from different countries and eras couldn’t possibly be connected – could they? But fairly soon it becomes apparent that they unfortunately are.

There are an awful lot of characters in this book but every single one of them comes alive on the page with such depth and personalities that I had no problem in keeping track of who was who, and that is a very rare occurrence in such a complex book.

This is such a well-written book. The twists and turns are plenty but they come slowly, as if to tease the reader and as the pace quickens, you just can’t read or turn the pages fast enough.

I honestly can’t think of anything that I did not like in this book and I will be going back to book 1 of the series.

A twisty, turny corkscrew of a book – and I loved every word.

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What can I say about the latest Tim Weaver book? Fast paced, gripping, full of twists and turns. It’s my second book by this author and it certainly won’t be my last. I couldn’t put it down. Thoroughly recommend!

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I have read and enjoyed all the David Raker series, so was eager to read this latest one. It certainly lived up to expectations! Raker is asked to investigate the disappearance of 9 neighbours in the small Yorkshire hamlet of Black Gale. How could they have all disappeared without a trace? The story alternates between Raker's investigation and a murder case in LA in the eighties. There's lots of action and the story will keep you on the edge of your seat til the end. Thanks to NetGalley for a preview copy.
Copied to Goodreads.

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Wow! I thought this was a story about a village going missing (which in itself is interesting enough!) but there are two other subplots. One of them linked to previous books in the series and another seemingly unconnected as it happens 30 years prior to current events. This kept me thinking about how the two stories would come together or if they would at all, which I really enjoyed as I like books that make me think! I did guess parts of the story but at one point I did have a jaw drop moment!
This was a great read and I will certainly look at for the author's previous work and I am hoping there will be a next in the series!

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This had rather a complex set up but was an intriguing story. All the characters were very well described as was the different scenario’s both in the U.K. and the USA. At the start it seemed difficult imagine as to how these two different stories would eventually link up. In places it was difficult to place the characters backgrounds but gradually they all became clearer. This was to be expected as there was so many main characters that all were intertwined in a wonderful way.
I loved the way that the two stories both evolved separately and jointly to give a magnificent ending. The hints to parts of the ending were there but no way did I put it all together.
Great book which was a compulsive read.

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I started reading this book without knowing it was part 10 of a series, and apart from a couple of references to past cases, I would not have realised as it works so well as a standalone book and was totally gripping.

There are two storylines, current day in the UK and the US in the 80's, which you know are edging closer together with each chapter. The plot is full of suspense and dark intrigue and I was compelled to keep reading. The ending leaves me hopeful that there will be another David Raker book in the series but in the meantime I will be looking at the other cold cases he has investigated in the past.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC for an honest review.

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Wow, wow and wow, brilliant, my family have starved this week, I've not put this down, Tim Weaver is such a fantastic writer, I'd highly recommend if you love a good mystery, get it now.

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A clever, twisty and atmospheric thriller about an investigation into the mysterious disappearance of nine people from an isolated village in Cumbria one Halloween night.

This is the 10th book featuring David Raker but it does work well as a stand-alone. There are two timelines (one going back over 30 years) and two equally dogged investigators working on different cases - one in the UK, the other US based - but of course the cases do eventually link up. There was quite a large cast of characters and I will confess that I kept a note listing their names, dates of birth, relationships and any other clues I spotted along the way.

The characters were all well-drawn, the plot was complex and sophisticated, and the author clearly takes the writers' mantra "show, don't tell" very seriously, which is refreshing. I thought the ending was superb, and although it left some things to the imagination there were enough clues to piece together what happened.

It's a book which could genuinely be described as gripping.

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