Rowling shows dark side with book that gave her nightmares

J.K. Rowling. Photo / Getty Images

She may have started her career as a children's author, but JK Rowling's latest novel is a long way from Hogwarts.

The author's newest crime book emphasises the dark twist her career has taken, with her most gruesome plot to date and research which gave her "nightmares".

Calling it a "scary book", Rowling has said the grotesque storyline for Career of Evil disturbed her sleep for the first time in her writing career.

The novel, written under her pseudonym, Robert Galbraith, is the third in her acclaimed crime series, which she began in secret after she finished the Harry Potter series.

Published on Tuesday, Career of Evil is said to feature serial murder, paedophilia and a psychological disorder in which characters wish to amputate their healthy limbs. Parts of the book will be told from the perspective of a killer, with early reviews highlighting "unspeakable and horrendous acts".

Rowling has said the book involved the most planning of anything she has written; no small feat given the strict plotting of the Potter books.

Earlier this year, she told her Twitter followers: "My research into the subject matter of Career of Evil literally gave me nightmares, which has never happened before. It's a scary book."

The novel has already spent 24 days in the Amazon bestseller list, even before its release.

As with "Galbraith's" first two crime novels, it will star private eye Cormoran Strike, a war veteran who lost his leg in Afghanistan, and his sidekick Robin Ellacott.

Career of Evil opens with Robin receiving a package through the post containing the severed leg of an unknown woman.

The plot hinges on the hunt for who is responsible, with Strike chasing the many people he fears may have a potentially fatal grudge against him.

In researching the novel, Rowling is understood to have spoken to former servicemen about their experiences, as well as delving into the most disturbing of crimes.

Speaking at the Theakston's Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival, in Harrogate, North Yorks, last year, Rowling said she had planned the novel meticulously using "colour-coded spreadsheets". "The planning is insane," she said. "This is the best planned book I will ever have written."

The Cormoran Strike novels are due to be adapted into a television series by the BBC next year, and are expected to continue for at least seven instalments.

The first "Galbraith" novel, The Cuckoo's Calling, was published in April 2013 initially to little fanfare. Three months later, Rowling was unmasked as its writer, and the book leapt into the bestseller charts.