A dead body is found with a gruesome rictus of a smile plastered on her face. Even worse, the dead body is the wife of best-selling author, Roger Koponen, whose novels feature horrifying deaths including one very similar to that of his wife. Roger was away at the time of the murder, in front of an audience answering questions about those very same novels. Unfortunately, the death of Maria Koponen isn’t the only death and the pieces of the investigation only get more convoluted. Jessica Niemi is the lead investigator and she’s in a race against time as the killer, or killers as she soon comes to believe, have an occultic endgame ahead of them that she and the rest of the team hope to avert before too many more lives are lost.
Jessica Niemi is an intriguing main character. I love her spunk in the face of adversity, and she’s encountered more than her fair share of adversity. THE WITCH HUNTER alternates in time between the present-day murders and the past history of Jessica, as we delve into a slice of her life. I have to admit I wasn’t a fan of her history with Colombano and was glad those chapters weren’t a huge part of the story. Their relationship quickly de-evolves into a very controlling and abusive one. I understand the need for that history for Jessica, but it was a very painful journey. However, it also explains to the reader her struggles in the current day murders when events seem to be turning towards her as a focus.
THE WITCH HUNTER is a dark, eerie thriller that borders on the old school horror tales as the emphasis is more on the tale than the gore. While the deaths are horrific, Max Seeck doesn’t spend a lot of time glamorizing them but instead focuses on the hauntingly eerie resemblance of all the victims and their attire. I had to resist peeking at the end just to see how it all turned out as Max Seeck does such a marvelous job at heightening the tension with each flip of the page. THE WITCH HUNTER is a tale that is hard to put down and definitely not a book you start just before bed thinking you can read only one chapter! Max Seeck hooks the reader instantly with this dark and occultic thriller and I can’t wait to see what other tales he has in store for us!
A 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 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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