Finnish author Max Seeck’s Nordic noir, The Witch Hunter is police procedural that focuses on a series of murders in a Helsinki suburb that seems like they have come right out of a trilogy called The Witch Hunt. When bodies begin piling up, detective Jessica Niemi takes the lead in trying to find the murder and she quickly realises that there is more than one person recreating these heinous crimes and that something much more sinister is at play.
The Witch Hunter is written in the third person and takes a look at the plot from a couple different characters points of view. Each of the characters in Seeck’s novel bring something interesting to the overall plot and all make sense to the story. The voices of each character sometimes blend together, maybe because of lack of distinction. It would’ve been nice to have the character name at the beginning of each chapter so that the reader was aware of who’s point of view they were reading from.
The largest theme in Seeck’s novel is the Occult and witchcraft. It is the central theme to not only the book, but also to the murders that take place in the novel. It feels like this is not normally the focus for murders in books, however it makes for an extremely interesting plot that will keep the reader guessing what is going to happen next. Other than the Occult and witchcraft, there aren’t any overarching themes that stand out to the reader and because of this the novel feels very one dimensional. The reader does learn about Jessica’s past and it feels like it was added in so that the reader can see her growth as a person, but it felt out of place.
Seeck has written over 100 chapters for The Witch Hunter and what can seem daunting at first glance, the reader will quickly notice that these chapters are incredibly small. Depending on how you look at it, this can be absolutely lovely because the reader will feel like they are getting a lot of reading in. At the same time, a lot of these chapters could’ve been combined to create fewer yet bigger chapters. There are often a few that didn’t need to be broken up and because of this, things can feel quite choppy.
The story overall felt like it was never-ending and because of that, it was boring in parts that maybe could’ve been left out. The reader also jumps between the now and Jessica’s past. There is no way of knowing that this has happened other than the change in chapter so the first time that this happens it might take the reader a second to figure out what is going on. While it was nice to read about Jessica’s past, it almost felt forced and the way it tied into the now felt sloppy and redundant. Overall, The Witch Hunter was an entertaining read and those who find the occult and witchcraft an interesting topic will enjoy this book. Seeck ended the book leaving the reader wondering if they will be seeing Jessica Niemi again soon.
The Witch Hunter is available from Amazon, Book Depository, and other good book retailers, like your local bookstore.
Will you be picking up The Witch Hunter? Tell us in the comments below!
Synopsis | Goodreads
A shocking murder in an affluent Helsinki suburb has ties to the occult in this thrilling US 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 a formally set dinner table. Her most chilling feature—her face is frozen in a ghastly smile.
At first it seems as though a deranged psychopath is reenacting the gruesome murders from The Witch Hunter, the bestseller 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.
They 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.
