Joël Dicker: On Introducing Mystery Readers to Switzerland
New York Times bestselling author Joël Dicker discusses his hometown love in his new mystery novel, The Enigma of Room 622.
Joël Dicker was born in Geneva in 1985, where he later studied Law. His first novel won the Prix des Écrivains Genevois. The Truth About the Harry Quebert Affair was shortlisted for the Prix Goncourt, won the Grand Prix du Roman de l'Académie Française and became an instant New York Times bestseller. Find him on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.
In this post, Joël discusses his hometown love in his new mystery novel, The Enigma of Room 622, his hope for readers, and more!
Name: Joël Dicker
Book title: The Enigma of Room 622
Publisher: HarperVia: Mystery/Thriller
Release date: September 13, 2022
Genre/category: Mystery/Thriller
Previous titles: The Truth About the Harry Quebert Affair
Elevator pitch for the book: A writer who arrives in a palace in the Swiss Alps for a vacation finds out that a murder happened a few years ago in the room he is occupying, a murder that remains unsolved and he decides to find the truth about it.
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What prompted you to write this book?
I was really keen to share through a crime story the beautiful setting of my country Switzerland. To be able to share my love for this country with my readers.
How long did it take to go from idea to publication? And did the idea change during the process?
It took me two and a half years and the idea changed a lot during the process, because I write without a plan. So, I just had the idea of a crime story in Switzerland, and then everything was happening while I was writing the book.
Were there any surprises or learning moments in the publishing process for this title?
In the publishing process, no surprises, thankfully, because we really try to avoid surprises in the publishing process. But the surprise for me is always the reaction of the readers when the book comes out. I am always excited to see what people like, and it was very special for me to talk about Switzerland.
Were there any surprises in the writing process for this book?
Yes, I was really excited to see where it would go and very excited to be able to set a crime story in Switzerland, which is known to be a very quiet place, so that was exciting and challenging for me.
What do you hope readers will get out of your book?
I hope they will get a lot of excitement, get hooked and thrilled, and I also hope that after reading this book some people will decide to book their next vacation in Switzerland, and that they’re going to come visit my country.
If you could share one piece of advice with other writers, what would it be?
The advice would be, keep writing, keep trying, keep erasing, keep writing again; I think that it’s when we erase that we start writing the book.
Robert Lee Brewer is Senior Editor of Writer's Digest, which includes managing the content on WritersDigest.com and programming virtual conferences. He's the author of 40 Plot Twist Prompts for Writers: Writing Ideas for Bending Stories in New Directions, The Complete Guide of Poetic Forms: 100+ Poetic Form Definitions and Examples for Poets, Poem-a-Day: 365 Poetry Writing Prompts for a Year of Poeming, and more. Also, he's the editor of Writer's Market, Poet's Market, and Guide to Literary Agents. Follow him on Twitter @robertleebrewer.
