Dozens of murders in Vienna in one night, and all in the Austrian city’s iconic cafes, sounds alarming. But this was Kriminacht, an evening devoted to crime fiction that is unique in Europe.
Now in its eighth edition, the event on Tuesday night saw 63 readings from authors – not just from Austria and Germany but also stars from the US, Britain and, of course, Scandinavia – at 54 locations.
In addition to homegrown writers such as Eva Rossmann and Andreas Pittler, they included Daniel Woodrell of the US, Denmark’s Jussi Adler-Olsen, Arne Dahl of Sweden and Scottish author Christopher Brookmyre.
Organisers were hoping to beat last year’s record when 27,000 people lapped up tales of grisly killings from the likes of US authors Mary Higgins Clark and Daniel Depp (half-brother of actor Johnny Depp) and Britain’s Simon Beckett.
“I love the humour, his descriptions, he is so witty,” said Sabine Hauswirt, a photographer, who came to listen to Woodrell reading out bits of his The Death of Sweet Mister amid the mirrors and lamps of the plush and packed Cafe Landtmann.
“The event is sensational,” the beaming Hauswirt, clutching two freshly signed copies of Woodrell’s thrillers, said.
According to the appropriately named Juergen Kill from Woodrell’s Munich-based publisher Liebeskind, which has just released the German version of The Death of Sweet Mister, there is no end of demand in the German-speaking market.
In particular, he said, anything Scandinavian sells “insanely” well, following on from the enormous success of Sweden’s Stieg Larsson, the late author of the incredibly successful Millennium trilogy.
“We are seeing a boom everywhere. It appeals to all ages, to men and to women,” he said. And importantly for the publishing industry, “they are also read by people who read a lot of books,” he said.
Events like Kriminacht (a combination of the word krimi or crime novel and nacht meaning night) have also mushroomed in recent years in German-speaking markets.
In Munich, for example, there is a festival devoted to the genre. Another such event was due to take place in Berlin yesterday.
Across town in Vienna, meanwhile, demand for Adler-Olsen, whose books regularly feature highly on the Spiegel bestseller list in Germany, was so strong that the event had to be moved to a cinema – where he was cheered like a pop star.
In the German-speaking market alone, Adler-Olsen's books have sold more than 3.5 million copies.
The event is also free of charge – except for the legendary Viennese cake and coffee and other refreshments.