Lurid finds in Zoetermeer, does Kees know more about this?

Kees Hoefnagel worked for the Red Cross for 44 years and is now retired, but he does not want to sit still. He has been writing detectives since his retirement. The first book in the detective series has even been published. The crime scene of the book series is our own Zoetermeer. We spoke to Kees and his wife Corrie.

Kees is about 15 years old when his interest in detectives and thrillers starts. He devours well-known thrillers by the writer Havank and, as an adolescent, he loved to watch the spy series The Saint† It must have been sometime during those years that he decides, “When I retire later, I’m going to write detectives myself.” And so it happened. Kees is now working on his fourth book of the detective series Murders galore which takes place largely in Zoetermeer.

Love letters to a dog

Kees has always liked writing. Years ago, Kees and Corrie wrote love letters to a dog. “Acquaintances of ours had a dog, we thought it was funny to write love letters to that dog.” Kees and Corrie worked together at the Red Cross and were regularly abroad. “We always sent the postcards for the dog from a different country, our acquaintances did not understand it at all.”

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writing process

Kees gets inspiration from everywhere, from daily events to the news and commercials and of course from other detectives and series. “As soon as I get home, I crawl behind the laptop and immediately write down whatever comes to mind.” But sometimes months go by when he has no inspiration and does not write: “And sometimes I sit on it every night for weeks.” According to Kees, the most important thing is that you just sit down and start. “I don’t know in advance what exactly is going to happen, it gradually develops.” The main character of the book series is called Duncan: “I picked up that name from the former television soap As the World Turns†

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Zoetermeer as a murder scene

In his books Murders galore is the crime scene Zoetermeer. Kees and Corrie live near the Noord Aa. It is therefore not entirely unexpected that a gruesome find is made there. But there are even more famous places in Zoetermeer that appear in the book. Such as the water pumping station, the City Hall and the police station. Once you start the book, it’s hard to put it down. Because who is the killer?

Found a publisher

“Online I saw an advertisement from a publishing house. Although I write the books more for myself, I still submitted my script. They were enthusiastic and after some feedback and adjustments a book cover was made.” The first book of the detective series by Kees came out on February 4 and is to order here.

It remains to be seen whether the other books in the series will also be published. Kees: “That depends on how many of the first book are sold.”