TRUE CRIME QUEEN: ‘HOW I CREATE FEAR'

AUTHOR RUTH MCIVER’S LATEST NOVEL WAS INSPIRED BY HER OWN DARK PAST

- Courtney Greatrex

Most true-crime novelists aren’t afraid to spill a bit of blood on the pages of their book, but that’s not true of Ruth McIver.

The author, from Perth, prefers to create a more suspenseful and anxiety-inducing style of writing. In her hotly anticipated book, I Shot the Devil, that’s exactly what readers can expect.

“I am not really into incredible violence in my books, I prefer to create suggestive violence and to create fear in other ways,” Ruth, 41, tells New Idea. “You can create a lot of suspense with someone stalking you online, for example, that is really fearful. I will splash out with a bit of violence, but one thing that I am conscious of – especially if it’s based on a real case – is to be incredibly careful with that.”

Ruth’s new novel follows the story of journalist Erin Sloane, who is tasked with investigating a thrill-kill murder. As she unravels details about the case, it propels her closer and closer to a terrifying truth from her past. And closer and closer to danger as well.

Ruth drew on her own experiences to create the novel, which has been described as “electrifying”. She says she has dreamt of being an author ever since she was a child.