Detective Jessica Niemi is called to investigate a murder case which is completely out of the ordinary. The wife of a famous writer, Roger Koponen, appears to have been killed in a bizarre ritual.As more ritual murders occur in the coming days, it becomes obvious that Jessica is after a serial killer. But the murders are not random - they follow a pattern taken from Roger's bestselling trilogy. Has a devoted fan lost their mind, or is this case more personal?
The Witch Hunter by Max Seeck was published on 17 September 2020 by Welbeck Publishing. My thanks to the publisher who sent my copy for review, and to ed public relations who invited me to take part on this blog tour.
I've not read anything by Max Seeck in the past and the blurb for The Witch Hunter really intrigued me. I love Nordic crime fiction and as soon as I saw mention of a serial killer and Helsinki, I was in!
This is a lengthy novel at around 500 pages but it's one of those that you just keep reading and reading until your eyes droop, before you know it, you've raced through 100 pages or so and it really didn't take me long to finish this one.
The story opens as Maria Koponen looks out from her luxury home at the frozen sea. The author builds up the tension quickly and there's a real unease as you read this. The sudden ending to this introduction just left me desperate to know more.
Maria's husband Roger is a best-selling crime fiction author. His latest series of books have been runaway best sellers and he is in demand at literary events all around the country. The reader is introduced to Roger as he struggles to hide his boredom at yet another book talk. However, his interest is piqued by an unusual question from a strange man in the audience. The author paints Roger as a self-obsessed deceit man whose morals are questionable.
Jessica Niemi is a police officer and it's not long before she and her team are well acquainted by both Roger and his wife. Jessica is something of an enigma, the reader is often left in the dark about her background, yet it is clear that she has much to hide.
What follows is a complex and quite intense murder mystery. This author has cleverly constructed his story which incorporates grisly, violent death and some mystical elements that are cleverly perplexing. It becomes clear that the murderer is basing the deaths on those that Roger Koponen has detailed in his crime novels. Really cleverly done, by both Max Seeck and the the fictional murderer!
A novel filled with twist and turns that will lead you astray and make you dizzy. I did struggle at times with Jessica's backstory, which felt sometimes like an intrusion on the main plot line. Despite this, it's a thrill of a read and I will certainly look out for more from this author.
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