A Presence of Absence by Sarah Surgey and Emma Vestrheim: Guest Post

A Presence of Absence by Sarah Surgey & Emma Vestrheim

Series:  Odense Series #1

Release Date: 15th April 2017

Genres:  Nordic Noir / Scandinavian Crime

A Presence of Absence is the first book in The Odense Series. Although this is a solid crime novel, it also begins and ends with grief for many of the characters, personal demons and life decisions.

A gritty murder case gets in the way of the characters’ everyday lives and sends the birthplace of Hans Christian Andersen, the Danish city of Odense, into a panic.

British detective Simon Weller escapes the fallout from the recent suicide of his Danish wife, Vibeke and heads out to her home city of Odense. But once there he is paired up with a local detective, Jonas, who is also about to hit rock bottom in his home life, and they must overcome their differences and personal problems to try and catch one of the worst serial killers Odense has ever seen. The case takes them back into past decades as history starts catching up with some of the local inhabitants. When Simon realises that his wife's suicide may not be all it seems and her name appears in the case, his integrity within the case is compromised, how far will he go to find out the truth of Vibeke's past and hide it from his already troubled police partner?

Back home in London Simon's family are struggling with their own web of lies and deceit and the family is falling apart.

With one family hiding a dark secret, the whole case is just about to reach breaking point.

GUEST POST

We are an English/Australian writing duo, Sarah Surgey & Emma Vestrheim, who have come together to create a new twist within the crime fiction genre.

'Nordic Noir', or Scandinavian crime fiction, has become one of the most popular literary genres in the United Kingdom, the United States, and around the rest of the world over the last decade. In these books, we travel to the Nordic countries Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden to immerse ourselves in gritty crimes, deeply humanistic tales of personal struggle, and the melancholic landscape. But, after we discovered how 'Brit Crime' overlapped with ease into 'Nordic Noir' both of us set about blending the two together and have re-ignited a spark into both genres.

A Presence of Absence is the first book in The Odense Series. Although this is a solid crime novel, it also begins and ends with grief for many of the characters, personal demons and life decisions (which readers will most probably identify with).

A gritty murder case gets in the way of the character’s everyday lives and sends the birthplace of Hans Christian Andersen, the Danish city of Odense, into a panic.British detective Simon Weller escapes the fallout from the recent suicide of his Danish wife, Vibeke and heads out to her home city of Odense. But once there he is paired up with a local detective, Jonas, who is also about to hit rock bottom in his home life and they must overcome their differences and personal problems to try and catch one of the worst serial killers Odense has seen in many years.  The case takes them back into past decades as history starts catching up with some of the local inhabitants.

I am Sarah Surgey a 36-year-old British feature writer for various magazines. I live in the UK with my husband and 4 daughters. 

I was brought up on crime books and inevitably have always had crime story scenarios going around inside my head. After interviewing many famous authors for different magazines within the Nordic literary circle and always knowing the answer to my question of "Why did you start writing?" I felt now was my time to get my stories out there, for people to read!

Emma Vestrheim is the owner and editor-in-chief of Cinema Scandinavia, a Nordic film and television journal that analyses popular Nordic titles. 

Part of her work includes working with directors, actors, and film-makers, and her numerous interviews with the biggest names in Nordic film and television have given her a privileged access to what makes Nordic narratives so successful. Cinema Scandinavia publishes bimonthly and is available in major Nordic film libraries.

Emma grew up in Australia and completed her degree in film and television in Melbourne. After finishing her studies, she moved to Norway to pursue her interest in all things Nordic; not just film – Emma has fallen in love with the Scandinavian way of living (‘hygge’), modern Nordic cuisine, and the beautiful mountains and fjords of Western Norway, where she currently resides.

Readers can find out more on their Indiegogo page or contact them via Theodenseseries.com

  

Indiegogo link: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/new-nordic-noir-the-odense-series-novel/x/14033454 (preferred link to use when linking to the book)

Preorder link: http://theodenseseries.com/product/a-presence-of-absence-preorder/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheOdenseSeries/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/OdenseSeries

BOOK 2 IN THE SERIES