You might already be drooling in anticipation because Chasing the Dead by Tim Weaver seems like one of those dark and brooding crime thrillers that Dennis Lehane typically delivers. And to be fair, the book does start off on the right foot: you immediately empathize with David Raker after his great tragedy, and maybe you even grow to like this meek, good-hearted soul. The investigation is solid enough too, barring a few hiccups in the dialogue, like:
“Yes?”
“Yes.”
“Really?”
“Really.”
“Are you sure it’s really real?”
Why is everyone acting so weird here?!
Furthermore, Tim Weaver introduces such a twisted antagonist that you might just crap your pants! You’re so freaked out that you barely notice how bizarre most of the characters in Chasing the Dead are. For instance, they casually rat out their well-paying clients for a measly 200 quid or, for no apparent reason, suddenly off themselves!
Then David Raker’s investigation shifts into full-blown action mode, and you think, “Hmm, still decent, maybe a solid 7/10.” And just at that moment—when Raker, this mild-mannered soul, should be dialing the cops because he understands that things have clearly spiraled out of his control—you realize that Tim Weaver, the author, probably took a little break during the writing process. Not too long, just enough to pop over to some shady clinic in Thailand and have the left hemisphere of his brain—the part responsible for rational thinking—surgically removed. The whole thing, no less!
The World’s Second Dumbest Conspiracy
From this point on, Raker uncovers THE WORLD’S SECOND DUMBEST CONSPIRACY (see The Three-Body Problem by Cixin Liu for the first), involving participants who, out of sheer goodwill, aim to “help” others by subjecting them to brainwashing. If someone isn’t too thrilled about this so-called help, they kill them. If anyone not a prospective patient happens to stumble upon them, they kill those people too. Meanwhile, they scatter half of England with corpses in an attempt to COVER THEIR TRACKS.
During all this, their terrified, brainwashed, religiously fanatical members—former abuse victims, as well as addicts and criminals—infiltrate the HIGHEST levels of the British government and police. To spy. I’ll tell you, they’re definitely not lacking in self-confidence!
The Man Shot in the Leg Is Hot on Your Heels
As for the diabolical villain in Chasing the Dead, it turns out he’s just your garden-variety psychopath (Tedious, very tedious.).* And Raker? A complete nutjob. He shoots his enemy in the leg and then proceeds to run from his limping pursuer. Yes, yes, you’ve got it right: THE MAN SHOT IN THE LEG eventually sets a trap and CORNERS HIM.
Oh, and at this point, there are still fifty pages to go—for reasons unknown—because everything has already been solved. Why, you ask? Well, because Tim Weaver (remember this name, folks!!!) must have realized that even half a brain was too much for him. So, off he went on another trip to that infamous Thai clinic to have half of the creative side of his brain lopped off as well. You can imagine the kind of brilliance a poor bloke achieves with a paltry quarter of a brain.
Rating: 4/10
Chasing the Dead (David Raker #1) by Tim Weaver
304 pages, Paperback
Published July 19, 2016 by Penguin Publishing Group
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* garden-variety psychopath (Tedious, very tedious.) An elegant reference to the movie The Silence of the Lambs.