Interview: Madeleine Eskedahl talks about Angels of Clay

Madeleine Eskedahl was born in Sweden and has lived in New Zealand for over thirty years. She’s married and has two daughters, as well as Walter and Dottie, the family’s two West Highland Terriers. She lives north of Auckland in a rural community and loves spending time at the beach and going on coastal walks. Madeleine is passionate about conservation, and in her spare time, she enjoys being a ‘Penguin Ranger,’ which includes monitoring the Little Penguins around the coast where she lives. Madeleine’s first thriller, Blood On Vines, was voted into the prestigious Whitcoulls Top 100 list. Rings on Water was the second in the series, with Angels of Clay publishing this year. Apart from writing crime fiction, she also loves writing for children and was recently awarded the Storylines Janice Marriot Award. As for her Matakana crime series, she feels that her voice and Scandinavian Noir writing style come from where she grew up on the windswept island of Gotland, which in turn perfectly complements her love and appreciation of life in New Zealand. Madeleine talks to NZ Booklovers.

Tell us a little about Angels of Clay?

Angels of Clay was so much fun to write, and I really enjoyed exploring questions of identity, belonging and the past refusing to stay buried.

At the beginning of summer, a young Lotto millionaire is found dead in the clay pit of a renowned pottery retreat. The body is laid out in the shape of an X, with markings in the earth that resemble an angel-deliberate, unsettling, and inexplicable.

As the investigation begins, Sergeant Bill Granger and Constable Niko Sopoanga find themselves drawn into a case that quickly becomes more complex. The town of Matakana is already under pressure: a youth gang is leaving a trail of fear and fury in their wake -shoplifting sprees, smash-and grab raids, and brazen dine-and-dashes that are pushing local shopkeepers to the brink.

At the same time, Annika Granger is immersed in a family history project when she uncovers wartime notebooks and forgotten photographs - remnants of the days when US Marines were stationed in the area during WWII. But one discovery leads to another, and soon Annika is staring down a secret buried for generations.

 As Sergeant Granger receives devastating news that the Matakana station may be closing, a second victim is discovered—laid out in the same chilling manner. Links emerge to a historical crime, and the question looms: what dark motive connects the past and present?  

What inspired you to write this book?

When I began thinking about writing Angels of Clay, I was fascinated by a part of our local history that perhaps isn’t widely known - the presence of the US Marines stationed in Warkworth and surrounding areas during WW2.

Thousands of young men, far from home, trained here in the quiet hills and on our beaches before heading into the Pacific. Their time left a mark - not only on the land but on the people. Friendships were formed, romances blossomed and cultural exchanges took root. The Marines brought jazz, chewing gum and a different kind of optimism, at a time when the world was shadowed by war.

That brief moment in time still echoes through the generations, and it fascinated me, how something so fleeting could have such a lasting impact.

That mix of history, humanity and untold stories became the seed for Angels of Clay. I wanted to explore what happens when the echoes of the past, collide with the present - when secrets buried in wartime, resurface in modern life.

What research was involved?

Talking to people. There are many families that have lived in the area for a long time, older generations that remember the stories passed down by their parents and grandparents. Contacts and friendships that’s spanned generations, and stories of letters and parcels arriving from America for years after the war.

I also visited the Warkworth and District Museum, which has a wonderful exhibit of when the US Marines were in the area. This made me get a real feel of what life was like then. I read letters, viewed photographs and perused the many donated items dating back to the war years.  And of course I read as many books on the subject as I could get my hands on.

What was your routine or process when writing this book?

I try to write a little every day, usually in the mornings after we’ve taken Walter and Dottie, our West Highland White Terriers, for their walk and playtime on the beach. This gives me a thinking time. Thinking is writing.

If a soundtrack were made to accompany this book, name a song or two you would include.

I would say something along the lines of an eclectic mix of WW2 era jazz. I could picture In the mood by Glenn Miller or That Ole Devil Called Love by Billie Holiday, playing in the local halls where the handsome “yanks” took our beautiful New Zealand ladies on a night out. For the contemporary parts of the book, I could imagine Birds of A Feather by Billie Eilish or Sapphire by Ed Sheeran playing in the background.

If your book were made into a movie, who would you like to see playing the lead characters?

I think a strong cast of characters like Cliff Curtis or Grant Bowler as Sergeant Bill Granger. I still see Melanie Lynskey as a perfect Annika. James Rolleston would be a terrific candidate to play Niko.

What did you enjoy the most about writing this novel?

I always enjoy writing that first draft. Being a discovery writer, I have a very vague idea of how the book will start. From there I let the characters drive the series of events in an organic way. This ensures that I experience and unravel the story, in the same way as a reader would, and I love when the book takes me in unexpected directions.

What did you do to celebrate finishing this book?

I try to let the manuscript sit for a few weeks, then I start the re-write, making sure that everything makes sense, and both the main plot and the intertwined subplots tie up in a satisfying manner. When all the edits are done I take a deep breath and send it to my editor. My husband and I might go for a nice meal at one of our local restaurants to celebrate.

What is the favourite book you have read so far this year and why?

It’s difficult to pick favourites, but I really loved A Week To Remember by Ruth O’Leary, Uncovered by Jeannie McLean, Penguin Lessons by Tom Mitchell and I’m currently reading Love Stories by Trent Dalton.

Anticipated summer reads are all New Zealand authors – Summer Heat Cold Blood by KV Martins, The End, by Ian Austin, Dead On Target, by Stephen Johnson, The Carlswick Conspiracy, by SL Beaumont, The Boat Shed by Robyn Cotton and The Bride Must Be Stopped by Stephen Ross.

What’s next on the agenda for you?

I’m already thinking about the next book in the series, Circle of Death. And thinking is writing. This is the exciting part, creating something from scratch, building the world that they will be in, making characters grow and thinking of ways to challenge them, and of course introducing new characters, while throwing curve balls and adding obstacles and challenges. I’m really looking forward to getting into this novel.