The Witch Hunter

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Synopsis

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.

Synopses source: Goodreads

Review

Genre(s): Mystery / Thriller, Occult
HB&W Rating: 2.5 stars
View on Goodreads
Buy on Barnes & Noble, Amazon

This is my pick for my 2025 Book Challenge for January: Winter. For more wintery reads, see my blog post here.

First, let me start by saying that I realize it is possible that some of the issues I have with this book are a result of things being lost in translation. Still, as popular as the author is in Finland, I would hope translations were given a thorough editing, so I’ll proceed as such.

I spent the majority of this book trying to figure out if there was a paranormal element to the story that would edge it into horror instead of thriller, but while I still can’t answer that definitively, I can safely say that this is definitely more psychological thriller than horror. You’d think that constant question would lend to some angst over what would happen to the characters, and it did for a while, but ultimately, it was a let down.

I mostly ended the book with the thought of what the heck did I just read, but not necessarily in a good way. The secondary storyline felt incongruous with rest of the story and only really served to explain Jessica and Erne’s relationship, and didn’t even fully explain it at that. The bulk of the story was a police procedural with a dark side.

Content warnings should have been issued for the book as well: mental illness, abuse, SA, death of parents/sibling.

I don’t know if I’d recommend this to someone unless they specifically like Nordic Noir, police procedurals, and the occult.

Until next time,

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