We knew the evening would be special the moment the room began to fill, but welcoming Tim Weaver for the first event of his tour for The Lost Women felt particularly electric. We were proud to be the first bookshop to be a hosting an event celebrating the launch of the fifteenth David Raker novel, a milestone that speaks not only to a bestselling series but to the enduring pull of a character who continues to evolve, deepen and surprise.  We were delighted to welcome back Holly Watt as our chair who guided us into a conversation that unfolded with the pace and intrigue of a Raker investigation.

Tim began by reassuring newcomers to his books that they can be read in any order; each stands alone, a different missing‑person mystery with its own emotional gravity. He believes he has carved out a space in crime fiction distinct from the police procedural, and the longevity of the series, he suggested, comes from not restricting Raker to specific locations or people, allowing him to adapt and carry unanswered questions from one case to the next. When asked about structure, he admitted he avoids rigid planning, preferring discovery as he writes. Ten months and about 1,500 words a day usually shape a book, a rhythm learned through years as a journalist and magazine editor, though far removed from the 2am starts of certain blockbuster authors!

Holly invited him to talk about the central cases in The Lost Women. Tim described how he was inspired by images of abandoned homes buried in desert sands in Namibia, places erased by time. In the novel, that unease becomes a fictional Cornish settlement where three women vanish while filming a documentary about Zauna Roy’s missing brother. Their disappearance links unexpectedly to a man whose wife insists, after surgery, that the person who returns to her is not her husband. When Raker steps in, the threads twist into something darker, tugging him back toward unresolved parts of his own life.

A reading from the second chapter pulled us deeper into Raker’s world, the prose edged with grief and resolve, and the audience fell into that charged silence that only arrives when a writer has you by the heartbeat. It was a reminder that beneath the puzzle work lies an emotional core. Research, Tim explained, is a careful balance: enough to build credibility but never so much that the machinery shows. He was clear that he does not base stories on real cases, out of respect for those living without closure. Asked whether he would change anything about Raker, he reflected on the ways experience has shaped him as an author. Raker’s empathy, he said, is the character’s real superpower — an unusual trait in male crime protagonists and one that helps readers connect so deeply.

Then came the tease that set pulses racing: the long path to screen might finally be narrowing to a point. Earlier options faltered — one expired, another lost its plot before it found one — but the current project, based on No One Home, is several drafts into its pilot stage and we were left hoping it will come through for Tim.  But when he confirmed he is working with Jed Mercurio you could feel the room become energised and excitement to learn more….but we will have to wait!

The evening ended with a lively and varied Q&A followed by Tim and Holly signing copies of their books. Fifteen books in, Tim Weaver is still surprising his readers — and himself — and The Lost Women promises to draw us once more into the shadows where only Raker dares to look.

Signed copies of The Lost Women are available in store or online HERE