Will Dean Books In Order

Publication Order of Tuva Moodyson Mystery Books

Publication Order of Standalone Novels

Publication Order of Anthologies

Will Dean
Author Will Dean grew up in the East Midlands, and lived in nine different villages before he turned eighteen.

Will was a bookish and daydreaming kid that found comfort in nature and stories and continues to still. He studied Law at the London School of Economics.

Will has worked as a waiter, a laborer on a building site, and sold discount haircut coupons on the streets in London for more than a year. Eventually, he began designing and managing electronic trading systems. After he worked that job for eight years, he moved to a small clearing in the middle of a huge Swedish elk forest and built his wooden house. It is here that he compulsively reads and writes and lives with his wife.

He wrote “Dark Pines” during eight months of parental leave, and the routines that he established during that time are set in stone. He writes a first draft once he has the rough arc of the story, and once he knows who the cast of characters are. Then he takes a train ride up to Varmland, the area where “Dark Pines” is set, for a single night trip, about one week before he begins writing. The train ride (no phone and earplugs) allows him a string of hours to flesh the story out.

The first draft takes him about four weeks. He wrote that novel during his then one-year-old’s naps (2.5 hours both in the morning and afternoon) because that was the time he had. The rhythm worked for him. One chapter in the morning and another in the afternoon.

While writing “Dark Pines”, Tuva came to him almost fully-formed. When he was writing, he visualized a large overgrown pine forest in his mind’s eye. He zoomed in further and saw there was a rough gravel track that snaked through the trees. He zoomed in even further and saw a pick-up driving. Looking through the window, he was able to see a young woman with hearing aids.

Will wanted Tuva to be just like somebody that you know. A relatable and normal person. He didn’t want her to be a superhero. She is unable to do martial arts or read minds or hack computers. Tuva is a lot like the rest of us. She is a determined, complex, and fragile person. She hates nature and is terrified of it.

It wasn’t his goal to create a series. He just began writing from Tuva’s perspective, and within a few chapters, he realized it was different than anything he had previously worked on. Her voice came right through naturally. He feels that he got lucky, and finds that she is a ton of fun to write.

In part, Tuva was a reaction to his terrible first novel, which he keeps locked in a drawer. The protagonist of that novel was basically Will, if he were five centimeters taller. So he realized he wanted to write a perspective character that wasn’t himself. Will wanted to write somebody interesting.

While the first book came out in some good shape, it needed a bit of work but the basic structure was there from the start, the second was a lot more tricky. His first draft of “Red Snow” didn’t contain any crimes really. That is due in part that he is most interest in sense of place, character, and mood. The crimes were there in his head, and they are alluded to in the narrative, but he needed to make them much clearer to the reader.

Will’s debut novel, called “Dark Pines”, was released in the year 2017, and is the first novel in his “Tuva Moodyson Mystery” series.

“Dark Pines” is the first novel in the “Tuva Moodyson Mystery” series and was released in the year 2017. One isolated Swedish town. One dense spruce forest that is overdue for harvest. One deaf reporter that is horrified of nature. One pair of eyeless hunters found killed in the woods.

It is the first week of the Swedish elk hunt and the sound of gunfire is all around. Tuva Moodyson investigates a story that might make her career, she finds a web of secrets that knits Gavrik town together. Could these latest killings linked to the Medusa killings from two decades back? Could somebody be following her? Why would they take the eyes? Tuva has to face her demons and venture deep into the forest to stop this killer and write her story. Then she must get the hell out of Gavrik.

“Red Snow” is the second novel in the “Tuva Moodyson Mystery” series and was released in the year 2019. Two bodies. One was a cold-blooded murder, while the other was a suicide. Could they be connected? Who is really pulling the strings in the tiny town of Gavrik?

Two coins. There were Black Grimberg liquorice coins covering the murdered man’s eyes. The hashtag Ferryman begins trending while local people stock up on ammo.

Two weeks. Tuva Moodyson, a deaf reporter working at the local newspaper, has just two weeks to investigate the deaths before she begins her new job in the south. There is a blizzard coming in. Residents, who already are terrified, feel more and more cut-off. Tuva has to go deep into the Grimberg factory in order to stop this murderer before she leaves town for good. Who is to say, however, that the Ferryman is going to let her go?

“Black River” is the third novel in the “Tuva Moodyson Mystery” series and was released in the year 2020. Fear. Secrets. Lies. For four months now, Tuva has been living clean in southern Sweden when she gets some horrifying news. Her best friend, Tammy Yamnim has just disappeared.

Tuva races back to Gavrik during Midsommar’s height, and she fears for Tammy’s life. Why was she taken, and by whom? Who could be sabotaging the small-town search efforts?

Surrounded by the dark pine forest, the sinister residents that live in Snake River are always suspicious of outsiders. Unfortunately, they have all the answers. During the shortest night of the year, Tuva struggles in order to save her friend. The single question is who is going to be there to save Tuva?

One Response to “Will Dean”

1. Mark birchall: 1 year ago

   Loving Tuva. I recently finished the Ruth Galloway series by elly griffithsand was desperate to find another series. I am half way through red snow and have just bought black river. Thank you.

   Reply