The Blackbird - Tim Weaver

 Weaver's hero, David Raker, is a private investigator of missing persons.   In this case, CCTV caught the Gascoigne car going over the edge of a steep hill.   When police arrived ten minutes later the car was on its roof and on fire.   When the fire was put out there was no trace of the driver, Aiden, nor his wife and passenger, Cate.   Two women witnesses, both of whom had called 999, had watched the entire time and seen no one crawl or be pulled from the wreckage.  Many months later Cate's parents hire Raker to solve the mystery.

Raker soon discovers that Cate was a promising young photographer who was working on a project about the unsolved Dunes Murders (the remains of three women found on a beach in Northumbria).   By the time of the crash, the project had turned into a book.   So where is the manuscript?   How far had Cate got with her inquiries?

The compelling aspect of Raker's character is the extent to which he is prepared to dig.   This is what justifies the 400+ pages of the book.   It takes a while to get going, and I have to admit I thought about giving up - but the slowness of the start is essential if we are to fully appreciate the full measure of Raker's compulsion.   There are many earlier books in the series and these probably explain the reason behind Raker's almost suicidal determination.  This book might have been easier to engage with had there been some sort of clue.   That said, once it gets going The Blackbird becomes really difficult to put down.

Also from an earlier book in the series comes Raker's involvement with an ex-cop called Healy for whom he has faked a death and arranged a new life.   Again, some sort of explanation would have been nice.   The way Healy is incorporated into the main narrative is cleverly done, though.

Weaver is an excellent builder of plot - excellent bordering on superlative.   He uses several voices to tell his story, all of them credible.  His one fault, and it only emerges towards the end, is some frankly bizarre word coinage.  I won't use them here because perhaps other readers find them acceptable.   New coinages don't usually bother me; in fact, I usually enjoy them.   Not these.   These are naff and I wish Weaver hadn't bothered.  Will they deter from other books by him?   Actually, yes, which is a pity because I was already Googling his other work when I spotted them.