I Interviewed Inger Wolf about her new book Evil Water

Blurb:

Two women disappear without a trace, and the same autumn a farmer on the outskirts of Århus finds them murdered in suitcases under a heap of stone. The skin of one woman is filled with the letter Y and the other has a rare flower in her hair. Inspector Daniel Trokic is leading the case which goes in several directions: to a tribal population in Africa, religious insanity and a horrifying meeting with leeches. When a third woman disappears, Trokic is under pressure to find out what the killer wants to say with his macabre scenery and rituals.

Info about the author:

Danish crime writer Inger Wolf has spent most of her life in the city of Århus in Denmark close to the forests and the sea. This beautiful place has been the fictitious setting for several murder cases in her novels. Inger started writing when she was around ten years old. When she was 15, she wrote her first book - a novel about a rock band. The book was never published, and more unsuccessful attempts followed before she finally had her first novel Sidespring (On the Side) - a book about divorce and motherhood - published in 2000 by Rosinante. In the meantime she studied English at a business school, and supported herself as a freelance translator.

Long walks in the forests around Århus became the inspiration for her first crime novel Sort Sensommer (Black Indian Summer) which was published by Modtryk in 2006. Sort Sensommer won the 2006 Danish Crime Academy Award as 'Most Exciting Crime Novel Debut', and the rights for the book were sold to Norway, Holland, Germany, Sweden, France and Spain. Since then four more books about chief inspector Daniel Trokic and his team have been published in Denmark - Frost og Aske (Frost and Ashes) in 2008, Sangfuglen (Song Bird) in 2009, Hvepsereden (Wasp's Nest) in 2011 and Ondt Vand (Evil Water) in 2012.

Evil Water (2012) is her first book translated into English, and more will follow. To Inger this is a new opportunity to reach and get to know a new audience.

In 2011 she decided to quit traditional publishing in order to get more control over her career. She founded her own publishing house, Black Cat Edition, which is now publishing all ebooks and future paper books.

Today, Inger lives with her Dutch boyfriend Toine and her 17 year-old daughter Cecilie in a town house in southern Spain. The household also include two cats and two dogs.

Links where the book is available:

Amazon / Amazon UK

Excerpt:

Farmer Jørgen Viuff rolled up his sleeves, put a bent, arthritic arm in the air over the dinner table and smiled forcedly.

    ’Does this look like an arm that would be able to kill anybody, Inspector?’

    Daniel Trokic threw a skeptical glance at the arm with the swollen veins, thick, stiff hairs and brown spots. Then his gaze moved on through a small window. Despite the faint reflection from the light in the living room, he could see another bright light from projectors in a tent around a crime scene. A small group of people worked around two suitcases on the farmer’s field. Soon he would be going back to join them. An officer from the reporting unit had followed Trokic to the house and was now waiting outside. A simple safety measure.

    ’For the time being, you’re not on top of my non-existent list of suspects,’ Trokic admitted ’but since two women turned up dead on your land tonight, I have to ask some questions, you know.’

    Jørgen was probably close to eighty. Sinewy, furrowed and worn out. He seemed like someone used to hard work, but he would hardly be able to handle a grown woman. Or two of them. A pair of brown trousers and a gray untidy shirt hung on him; nails and hair were unkempt, and a wound on his partly bald head suggested that he had fallen or hit his head against something recently. A bit shabby, as Trokic’s girlfriend, Christiane, might have put it, and he felt uncomfortable intruding on their privacy.

    A strong heat radiated from the wood burner in the corner, making Trokic sweaty under his black leather jacket. The place smelled of smoke, cabbage and stable. Through a chink to the kitchen, he could see the barrel-shaped wife doing the dishes in an upset pace. A new plop sounded for every item hitting the water. He had no doubt that she was listening.

  Contact links:

Website: http://www.ingerwolf.com

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Inger-Wolf/341498462577637

Twitter: https://twitter.com/inger_wolf

Interview Questions:

1.       Where did the idea come from for the book? 

I wanted to write a story where the reader was drawn into this monstrous serial killer's universe and got an explanation for his reasons to kill these young women. The psychological aspects interest me. At the same time, I wanted to use several locations and the settings of Århus in Denmark to create an interesting atmosphere. Finally, the killer's method of killing his victims with blood leeches was actually something my daughter came up with.

2.       What genre does your book fall under? 

I would call it a psychological thriller. It's  a bit more high paced than the average detective crime novel.

3.       Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition? 

That's a hard one. I think the British actor, Jason Statham would make a good Daniel Trokic. He's got this tough don't-mess-with-me look. And he's attractive too.

4.       What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book? 

It's a detective team's high-paced hunt for a serial killer which uses blood leeches to kill his victims, set in Århus, Denmark.

5.       Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency? 

It's self-published with my 'publishing house' Black Cat Edition which is  now located in Spain. I left one of the biggest publishers in Denmark 2 years ago and never looked back.

6.       How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript? Approximately 4 months.

7.       What other books would you compare this story to within your genre? 

I think this book is a lot like those of Karen Slaughter, Patricia Cornwell, Thomas Harrison and Jo Nesbø. It's rather gruesome, lots of detailed forensic work, psychopaths and a complicated plot.

8.       Who or What inspired you to write this book? 

It's my interest in psychopaths and the dark side of human nature that keeps inspiring me, also in this case. I want to know why and how somebody can commit such evil crimes. So I usually read a lot of non-fiction about serial killers and watch documentaries. Very often it helps me come up with ideas.

9.        What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest? 

I will give the word to a reviewer who said "I don't think I've ever read a book that has made me so on edge before", and add that this book will creep you out – and don't read it in the bathtub.