The Witch Hunter

What happens if the murders from a bestselling thriller suddenly become reality? (October 2020)

Disclaimer: this book has instances of swearing, sex, and scenes one might find disturbing such as descriptions of murder and rape.

At first glance, it doesn’t seem like anything is wrong.

In a Helsinki neighborhood decked with luxurious seaside manors, most inhabitants are sleeping, immune to the frigid February air. Outside, street lamps illuminate unbothered roads. Everything is quiet, pristine, and seemingly normal.

But at the most grandiose house of them all—a modern property belonging to writer Roger Koponen, famous for his thriller series Witch Hunt—Koponen’s wife Maria has been murdered, and not in the way you’d think. There are no stab wounds. No bullet holes. No corpse lying in disarray on the floor.

Instead, Maria is posed elegantly on a chair in a tasteful black dress, seemingly alive save for the fact that she is frozen not with an expression of horror on her face, but rather stuck mid laughter—grinning an empty, bottomless smile.

Here begins Max Seeck’s The Witch Hunter, a fast-paced thriller that follows investigator Jessica Niemi and the police department in their hunt for the perpetrator of this gruesome murder. Yet the case proves more difficult—and more bizarre—than any they have encountered before, and when bodies pile up, what at first seemed to be a disturbing reenactment of the murders written in Koponen’s Witch Hunt trilogy spirals into a much larger mystery. And as Jessica’s dark past catches up with her, she finds herself far more entwined with the case than she had ever anticipated.

Jessica is a strong main character, shaped by both a razor-sharp mind and a complicated past that Seeck unravels as the novel progresses. Her story is revealed in two time frames: in the present, as a head investigator on the case, and in the past, as a 19-year old wandering Venice to escape her traumatic childhood. Although the exact timestamps of the novel are blurred, I applaud Seeck for his clear distinction of Jessica’s character across the two parts of her life—we see Jessica’s progression from a weak, passive young woman to a witty and assertive adult. Additionally, Seeck’s writing is clear, enjoyable, and polished, exuding a narrative voice that feels fitting for the book’s plot and for Jessica’s character.

Despite having a strong main character, the book is told from several perspectives—at least seven. Seeck takes us through the perspectives of practically the entire investigative police department, which, while perhaps important to accurately conveying the investigation, felt overwhelming. For the majority of the book, the variety of perspectives are somewhat akin to a mirage: you think you’re being taken somewhere, but just when you grow closer to the characters, their perspectives dissipate into thin air.

One usage of perspectives that I did appreciate was the point-of-view of several murdered characters (or of characters who later prove a bit suspicious)—a risky move that, in my opinion, paid off. We don’t get to see exactly how the characters are killed; rather, we get ominous lines whose ambiguity is somehow more bone-chilling than a recount of the murder itself. Not only are these perspectives intriguing, but they also throw you right into the case alongside Jessica, making for a read that is suspenseful and fast-paced from the beginning (this is not one of those novels that takes a while to pick up steam). “For a moment, the contours line up with those of her reflection,” Seeck writes, in a moment of foreshadowing that left me waiting with bated breath for the rest of the book. “But then the figure moves, transforming into a distinct entity of its own.”

While I found the present timeline highly engaging, I was confused by Jessica’s earlier storyline in Venice, which leads me to the largest problem I found with the book: it tries to cover too much ground in a too short time. The past narration follows Jessica as she meanders through Italy and falls in love, yet the relationship has a dark side that Jessica struggles to come to terms with. Though I undoubtedly enjoyed the romantic storyline, it seemed like an ill-fitting piece to The Witch Hunter’s overall puzzle—it could be a novel on its own, but didn’t have much relevance to the present story. Ultimately, I ended up wishing that the book had either omitted Jessica’s days in Europe or found a way to tie it more neatly into the plot of the rest of the book.

However, the core of The Witch Hunter—the murder-mystery plot—is a masterpiece, and it’s why I loved and would highly recommend the book. Seeck’s pages bleed suspense, and my heart raced as I breathlessly finished chapters. Clues are positioned exactly at the right place: in retrospect, they form a clear trail, but as you read, they leave you guessing. The book’s descriptions haunted me and painted the setting in a mysterious light as if it were a carefully-directed movie.

Additionally, the plot is original and very clever. The whole basis of the murders reflects the Salem Witch trials, an original connection that adds historical flavor. And I absolutely loved the book’s central premise: what happens if murders straight out of a thriller become real? In answering these questions, Seeck pays close attention to his role as a writer, playing with the parallel between his books and the plot: Roger Koponen’s fictional Witch Hunt trilogy details the same murders which occur in Seeck’s own books, similarly titled “The Witch Hunter.” Let’s just hope that there won’t be a real-life reenactment like there was in the book…

Overall, if you want a book that sucks you into a unique and haunting plot, The Witch Hunter should be at the top of your reading list. And hopefully, the next book in the series can provide more clarity to the reasoning behind the past storyline—and answer all the burning questions the ending leaves you with!