Never Coming Back

Author Tim Weaver has had several previous books published in Great Britain but this--his fourth--is the first to be released here in the United States. They all feature David Raker, former journalist, who now specializes in helping to find missing persons. Apparently in a previous book, he was grievously wounded and in fact died for a few short minutes before being resuscitated. He has now left London and taken up residence in his parents' old cottage in Devon while he recovers physically and mentally. He has brought a roommate with him, former police officer with the Met in London, Colm Healy, recently fired and at loose ends. He doesn't stay in the picture long, just enough to get his teeth into the case of an unidentified corpse found washed up on the local beach.
The story line flips back and forth from a time about 15 months ago to present day. It also changes locales from the Devon coast, populated largely by fishermen and farmers, to the Las Vegas of big spenders and shady behavior. The missing persons in this story are an entire family--Paul and Carrie and daughters Annabelle and Olivia--who just disappeared, leaving behind the family dog, dinner still cooking on the stove, computers still turned on. No sign of struggle, unless you count the spilled milk carton. Cars are still in the driveway. Wallets and laptops still in the house. No credit card use and no contact in the last year. Emily is Carrie's sister and asks David to find them. He plunges into a thoroughly convoluted cover-up at multiple levels and in many directions, all designed to protect one man and his descendants. That man ran Sobibor and got away from the Nazi hunters by hiding in Las Vegas. His son and grandson apparently carry on the family tradition of unhesitatingly murdering anyone who proves inconvenient or potentially threatening.
Although this book is, according to the author, only 2/3 the length of the original draft, it still feels at times like it goes on too long. And it also seemed over-wrought in some of the details--he discusses the dark, lightless eyes of the killer about 30 times too often. Nevertheless, Raker finds out what happened to the family and I won't spoil that outcome here. Locales are convincingly portrayed and Raker is an interesting character. I might be tempted to read one of the earlier books or the one that came after this one, Fall from Grace.