THE WITCH HUNTER

 4 stars out of 5

One of the joys of getting my hands on books prior to their release - besides

the fact that they're free, which is hardly insignificant - is finding gems that otherwise would have remained hidden to me. And if in the process my reviews can bring them to the attention of other readers who are of the same mindset, well, that's also a plus.

This one, which dabbles in the occult, falls a titch outside of my comfort zone. Add to it that it's set in Finland, where all the towns and character surnames might as well be Greek to me, and I honestly can't call it an easy book to plow through. But it sure does qualify as one of those above-mentioned gems that I'm happy to have had the privilege of reading. And because it's the first in a new series, I also have the privilege of looking forward to the next one.

Featured here is Jessica Niemi, a sergeant with the Helsinki police. She's called in after the discovery of a dead body - the wife of a prominent author. It's not your run-of-the-mill murder, though; no, this beautiful lady is dressed in a knockout black evening gown, placed at the head of a formal dining table and "decorated" with an exaggerated Joker-like smile.

Not long thereafter, another woman's body turns up - this one buried under the ice near the other dead woman's mansion. It doesn't take long for Jessica and her team to come up with a theory: Someone is copying the gruesome murders from the best-selling "Witch Hunter" series penned by the first dead woman's husband. Visions of the occult begin to appear following the discovery of a Latin phrase on the first victim's rooftop - a reference to a book on torturing and punishing women who are suspected of being witches.

Creepy starts to get creepier as we learn that Jessica, too, has a few secrets (as does her good friend and supervisor, Erne Mikson. And not long after that, speculation grows that somehow Jessica herself may have a target on her back as well.

Will she be next? Well, I'll never say a word, except that finding out kept me turning pages (well, okay, Kindle screen swiping) right to the very end. Kudos to the author, and thanks to the publisher, via NetGalley, for the advance copy to read and review.

The Witch Hunter by Max Seeck (Berkley, October 2020); 400 pp.