PMJ signs four 'ingenious' interconnected stories from Weaver

Penguin Michael Joseph has signed a collection of interconnected stories from bestselling crime author Tim Weaver.

The Shadow at the Door comprises four linked novellas, all centred around Weaver’s series character, missing persons investigator David Raker. Maxine Hitchcock, publishing director of fiction, acquired UK and Commonwealth rights from Camilla Bolton at the Darley Anderson Agency.

The new book follows the publication of Tim’s first standalone novel Missing Pieces, which became a top 10 Sunday Times bestseller after its hardback publication in April this year and is out now in paperback. For the first time, the marketing campaign for Missing Pieces will comprise TV advertising on ITV Hub and Sky Online’s Video on Demand services, targeting domestic crime and thriller content.

Weaver has been nominated for a National Book Award, selected for the Richard & Judy Book Club twice, and shortlisted for the Crime Writers’ Association Dagger in the Library Award. He said: “I’ve had the idea for The Shadow at the Door for a while –– a series of standalone novellas, all of which are also connected in some way, so that the events that happen in one reverberate into the next. Now, thanks to Michael Joseph, I’ve been given the chance to write it. I’m so excited for Raker fans to read this one in November."

Hitchcock added: "This is Tim Weaver at his most ingenious. Four seemingly unconnected cases. One incredible connection. More evidence, if proof was needed, that he is one of the most exciting authors around."

The Shadow at the Door will publish in hardback on 11th November 2021. His next novel The Blackbird is coming in hardback in March 2022.