by Weaver, Tim
Finally, the character of Daniel Kalb is completely fictional.
Acknowledgements
When I said to my editor Stefanie Bierwerth and agent Camilla Wray that I wanted to do something different in Never Coming Back, I’m sure they were reaching for the prayer beads the moment I put the phone down. But, if they were worried, they never showed it, and their unswerving support and editorial brilliance has made Raker’s journey to Devon (and Las Vegas) smoother than I could possibly have hoped. I must also give a special mention – and thank you – to Rowland White, who stepped in while Stef was away, and who has worked so hard for me from the minute he first read the manuscript.
In truth, there are so many people at Penguin who have done such amazing things for this book, my only disappointment is that I’ve never had the chance to thank them all in person. I hope I can rectify this in the near future, but in the meantime a massive thank you to everyone for putting in the hours on my behalf, from sales through to marketing, from PR to editorial and beyond. I’m also indebted to the team at Darley Anderson, particularly Clare Wallace and Mary Darby in foreign rights.
Most people only get to see the book when it’s done, but my family get to see it (or at least its effects) when it’s far from finished and things aren’t going quite as well. So thank you to Mum and Dad for always being there, to Lucy and Rich for the same, and also to the Weaver family, the Linscotts, the Adamses and the Ryders. But, most of all, thank you to Erin, who surprises and amazes me every single day, and to Sharlé, who never complains when Raker and I head off into the hills together for months at a time, and without whom none of this would be possible.
TIM WEAVER
VANISHED
No life is perfect. Everyone has secrets.
For millions of Londoners, the morning of 17 December is just like any other. But not for Sam Wren. An hour after leaving home, he gets onto a tube train - and never gets off again. No eyewitnesses. No trace of him on security cameras. Six months later, he’s still missing.
Out of options and desperate for answers, Sam’s wife Julia hires David Raker to track him down. Raker has made a career out of finding the lost. He knows how they think. And, in missing person cases, the only certainty is that everyone has something to hide.
But in this case the secrets go deeper than anyone imagined.
For, as Raker starts to suspect that even the police are lying to him, someone is watching. Someone who knows what happened on the tube that day. And, with Raker in his sights, he’ll do anything to keep Sam’s secrets to himself …
‘Fans of Mo Hayder will be in seventh hell’ Guardian
‘Weaver has delivered another cracking crime thriller’ Daily Mail
www.penguin.com
TIM WEAVER
CHASING THE DEAD
One year ago, Alex Towne’s body was found.
One month ago, his mother saw him on the street.
One week ago, David Raker agreed to look for him.
He’ll wish he hadn’t
It starts out as a sad but hopeless case of mistaken identity. A year after the death of her son, Alex, Mary Towne is convinced she’s seen him alive – and she wants missing persons investigator David Raker to find him. Reluctant at first, but haunted by a loss of his own, Raker eventually agrees.
BIG MISTAKE.
For as Alex’s life begins to unravel in front of him, Raker discovers it wasn’t the innocent one his mother believed. Buried in his past are dark, dangerous secrets that were never meant to be found – and a sinister group of killers willing to protect them, whatever the cost.
Soon, Raker will discover there are things far worse than death …
‘I couldn’t put it down’ Sun
‘Weaver has delivered another cracking crime thriller’ Daily Mail
www.penguin.com
TIM WEAVER
THE DEAD TRACKS
‘I’ve worked murders for fifteen years, and you can just feel when a place is bad. You get a sense for it. And those woods … something’s seriously wrong with them …’
Seventeen-year-old Megan Carver was an unlikely runaway. A straight-A student from a happy home, she studied hard and rarely got into trouble. Six months on, she’s never been found.
Missing persons investigator David Raker knows what it’s like to grieve. He knows the shadowy world of the lost too. So, when he’s hired by Megan’s parents to find out what happened, he recognises their pain – but knows that the darkest secrets can be buried deep.
And Megan’s secrets could cost him his life.
Because as Raker investigates her disappearance, he realises everything is a lie. People close to her are dead. Others are too terrified to talk. And soon the conspiracy of silence leads Raker towards a forest on the edge of the city. A place with a horrifying history – which was once the hunting ground for a brutal, twisted serial killer.
A place known as the Dead Tracks …
‘I couldn’t put it down’ Sun
‘Weaver has delivered another cracking crime thriller’ Daily Mail
www.penguin.com
THE BEGINNING
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PENGUIN BOOKS
Published by the Penguin Group
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Penguin Books Ltd, Registered Offices: 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England
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First published 2013
Copyright © Tim Weaver, 2013
Cover design: www.designbysim.com
Cover Images: Boat on Lake: Valmir Singh / Getty Images
Pier: Paulo Dias / Getty Images
Sky: Dan Barnes / Getty Images
Birds: Ruth Martin / Arcangel Images
All rights reserved
The moral right of the author has been asserted
Typeset by Jouve (UK), Milton Keynes
ISBN: 978-0-141-96965-7