AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLERA shocking murder in an affluent Helsinki suburb has ties to witchcraft and the occult in this thrilling U.S. debut from Finnish author Max Seeck.A bestselling author’s wife has been found dead in a gorgeous black evening gown, sitting at the head of an empty dining table. Her most chilling feature—her face is frozen in a ghastly smile.At first it seems as … ghastly smile.
At first it seems as though a deranged psychopath is reenacting the gruesome murders from the Witch Hunt trilogy, bestsellers written by the victim’s husband. But investigator Jessica Niemi soon realizes she’s not looking for a single killer but rather for dozens of believers in a sinister form of witchcraft who know her every move and are always one step ahead.
As the bodies start piling up, Jessica knows they won’t stop until they get what they want. And when her dark past comes to light, Jessica finds herself battling her own demons while desperately trying to catch a coven of killers before they claim their next victim.
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This is a book that I would definitely recommend. Although I was a little confused at the very beginning, I totally got sucked in by the characters — and then there’s the story! Well-crafted, this is definitely a story for a dark-and-stormy night — or for any night — or for any day. Once you start reading, it’s pretty hard to put down!
Skillfully crafted plot, near perfect timing, intriguing characters, just really well done
The Witch Hunter is everything I wish for in a thriller: exceptional story, exceptional characters, exceptional writing, and shocking twists — exceptional everything. I loved this book, and you will too.
One of the best books I have read. Ever. Absolutely thrilling, well-written, and oh-so-hard to put down.
Seeck’s riveting, multi-layered debut, blending masterful police procedural with a chilling exploration of the occult, kept me up all night, devouring it in one amazing gulp, and checking under the bed.
I teetered between 3 and 4 stars for this one, but ultimately rounded up to 4 for several reasons:
1. I’m a huge fan of Nordic Noir and I felt this book was a good representation of the genre. The setting is bleak and the primary murder that gets the ball rolling starts at a mansion that overlooks icy waters and a rocky tundra. The murders committed in the crime are brutal (but not overly graphic for those weary about nordic noir violence). Perhaps most importantly of the genre, the protagonist is tortured by her painful past. All of these elements blend together to make a good nordic noir story.
2. There were moments that I actually had chills run down my spine. Descriptive imagery in the book put me on edge and certain scenes were creepy enough that I felt uneasy.
3. The plot was relatively strong and definitely held my attention. I read this book over the course of a day because I didn’t want to put it down. I wanted to know the who and why.
So what were the problems?
1. The author had a lot of great ideas, but perhaps too many ideas. There were a ton of different threads in the plot and at times that seemed to get tangled into a mess. When I finished this book, I had to sort through the murders and really analyze why they were committed.
2. There is a secondary story that left me a bit confused as to its purpose.
3. I felt some things that happened were lost in translation. A couple of events occurred and I had to go back and look to see if I missed something. I felt as if the author assumed I should understand something but I had no idea why this was the case. Also, I felt myself struggle a little with character names and places. For example, a murder takes place in Savonlinna and the medical examiner is named Sarvilinna. This created a small hiccup for me when reading.
Overall, I enjoyed this book. I think it had a great deal of potential. With that said, I think Seeck probably bit off a little more than he could work with to make a solidly cohesive novel. I’d still recommend this to readers and will definitely put the next book in the series on my tbr pile.
It should not be a secret that I have been loving Nordic Noir lately, and The Witch Hunter by Max Seeck was no exception! I’m very excited that it is book one of a series, and I had a great time starting to get to know Jessica. There are multiple viewpoints, but Jessica’s is the main one and I loved her. She has her secrets (who doesn’t), but she is an incredibly smart character and made for an awesome detective. I actually think the synopsis gives a little too much away, so I would recommend not even reading it. If you like Nordic noir and police procedurals I would just give it a try to see what you think!
I personally loved the police procedural aspect, and there are quite a few pulse-pounding moments. It is a bit on the slower side but was paced well enough that you never feel bored. Every time it would slow down something else would happen and then we were off again! It did veer off into Jessica’s backstory sometimes which was intriguing although I didn’t know where it was going. In that respect it reminded me a bit of a Lars Kepler novel, but it was actually about a main character instead of a side character. Eventually you do find out why that period in her life was being brought up and WOW, it was definitely a mind blown moment for me.
The Witch Hunter has some more gruesome and disturbing moments, and there is also a trigger for rape, but overall it didn’t go all that in depth so I think it would be ok for the more squeamish readers out there. It was CREEPY though, and I think it made for an excellent fall/October read. I will definitely be looking forward to book two which I hope will be released in the US sooner rather than later.
Thank you to the publisher for my advance review copy via NetGalley. All opinions and thoughts are my own.
This was the perfect thriller for the season. This book was set in Finland and I found that it was translated pretty well. There were a few things that were hard to figure out, but overall it was well done.
The book was set from quite a few POV which I really enjoyed, and the chapters were very short so it made this a really quick read.
Someone was recreating murders in a popular witch hunter series. The string of deaths starts with the author’s wife and continues from there. They know how the deaths will occur, but just not who or when.
The main character, Jessica, had a lot of emotional baggage and it jumped back and forth from then to now and at first I didn’t understand why it was done, but it did come together in the end.
The plot was something I hadn’t seen before and I didn’t see it coming, which I really enjoyed. Some of it was hard to understand, so I am not sure if it was translation or if it was just the writing style. Overall I enjoyed it. Thank you to Max Seeck, Netgalley and Berkley for an early copy
I had never read this author before, probably because this is a debut book. As this is a translated version, I’m not sure how debut it is. Anyway, I dived in thinking this would be paranormal. Once I finished it, I really still wasn’t sure if it was. This book is well-written, and the plot is interesting even if a little convoluted. There were so many big ideas in this, I think the author had a hard time fulfilling every one of those ideas. However, my attention was kept through most of this, and I was really wanting to see how it ended. I do recommend this because I am little more lenient on first books, and I do want to read the next one. Recommend. I was provided a complimentary copy which I voluntarily reviewed.
Have you ever read a book that challenged you in every possible way?
I’m always looking forward to reading great stories where the psychological elements are the main point in the overall plot and mainly because we all have different views of what and why certain things happen in one’s life.
This story kept me on the edge throughout each chapter and when I thought I knew what’s happening, another twist comes out and everything takes another turn.
Jessica has so much to overcome in her life while trying to catch a cult of killers that are always one step ahead of her.
The settings and intertwined plots are very interesting to a point of horror and creepy, many times I had to stop reading and take a deep breath as I had goosebumps all over but that was exactly what made me keep reading and wanting to read more and more because I couldn’t stop thinking why and who and how they managed to do all the gruesome things.
I’m really looking forward to browsing the next books by the author because this is one of those books that you are scared to read but can’t help yourself willing to know more.
One weird and creepy book!
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Who’da thunk we would read about witches today. But this author took a very interesting theory and created a book that is very creepy and extremely in-depth.
Set in Finland, this book is completely unique in its plot. An intense suspense mystery that winds you up with every page turn.
The special twist is that this book follows the police investigative team as they try to solve a series of murders that follow a plot from a book, a very twisted and detailed book.
The imagination of this author is quite remarkable and he surprised me many times with intricate detail and introduction of new evidence and crimes that keep you guessing all the way to the end.
I just love the bits, drips, and minute pieces of detail that you don’t really register until it all comes together. This is a work of art that really speaks volumes for the talents of the author.
For those that love cop thrillers and mysteries, this one is a creepy, twisted story that you probably want to read during the day. Just in case.