Never Coming Back

British author Weaver makes his U.S. debut with this darkly atmospheric mystery, the fourth to feature missing persons investigator David Raker (after Vanished). While on holiday to his childhood home in Devon, Raker agrees to help his high school girlfriend, Emily Kane, find her family. Ten months earlier, Emily entered the unlocked house of her sister, Carrie Ling, and discovered the TV on, dinner cooking on the stove, and the dog roaming around—but no sign of Carrie, husband Paul, or daughters Annabel and Olivia. Raker’s quest begins sluggishly, but the plot picks up speed after he learns that Carrie stumbled on the existence of a shadowy organization with sinister past associations. Weaver ramps up the tension through a series of well-executed twists. While Raker isn’t a particularly sympathetic character, his drive, fueled by a sense of responsibility for the missing, is infectious. Readers who brave the slow start will find their patience well rewarded. [em]Agent: Camilla Wray, Darley Anderson Literary (U.K.). (July) [/em]