Feature: The Ice Coven by Max Seeck

Happy Book Birthday to Max Seeck whose second Jessica Niemi thriller, The Ice Coven is out today!

I was meant to be reviewing it today but LIFE got in the way of my reading. And since it hits shelves today and I want all of you to buy it, I'm going to do a feature instead :)

So here's a bit about the book from Goodreads:

Six months have passed since Jessica's encounter with the mysterious serial-killing coven of witches and the death of her mentor Erne. Her nightmares about her mother and the witchcraft that undid her have only gotten worse, but she's doing what she can to stay focused. Her homicide squad, now under new leadership, has been given a murder case and a new series of disappearances to investigate. A young woman's corpse has washed up on an icy beach, and two famous Instagram influencers have gone missing at the same time.

The missing influencers and the murdered woman all have ties to a sinister cult. Jessica finds an eerie painting--of a lighthouse on a frigid island--as she investigates and under the picture is a gruesome poem detailing a murder. The nightmares about her dead mother have intensified and seem all too real, making Jessica wonder if the woman might be trying to tell her something about the killings. And as Jessica works frantically to solve her latest case, her terrifying past and the coven of witches that almost killed her shockingly reemerge and threaten to destroy her.

So if it's not clear, you do need to read these in order! (You can check out my review of The Witch Hunter here, if you're interested.) 

This is Nordic Noir to a T and if you haven't yet taken the dive into that particular subgenre of crime fiction, I highly recommend that you rectify that ASAP! 

There's a unique style to Scandinavian crime fiction that I find so completely appealing. I think it's the ice and the snow and the odd sense of isolation even when the setting isn't necessarily isolated at all. 

All that's to say, Nordic Noir/Scandi Crime is some of my absolute favorite and I definitely want to see more crime fiction fans seeking it out :)

So yeah, run out and buy The Ice Coven today! And go ahead and get them both if you haven't started the series yet—you're going to want to read them back to back!

Order a copy from your favorite indie via Bookshop!

The Witch Hunter by Max Seeck

Roger Kaponen is well known for his occult thrillers. But no one ever expected a murderer to use his books as a blueprint for their crimes. And yet, when Kaponen's own wife is discovered brutally murdered in their home, it seems someone has done just that. 

Jessica Niemi is one of the investigators on the case. And she's the first to draw the connection between the books and the crime. Soon, she and the rest of her team realize they're being manipulated by a murderer who is always one step ahead. And with Kaponen's books as guides, they know there are more bodies to come. 

I have been all about Nordic Noir of late. In fact, I'd say it helped get me out of a pretty major (and understandable) reading slump this year! Thankfully, there's a ton of backlist to delve into and just as many new releases on the horizon!

Max Seeck's debut is one of the latest and is out on shelves today. 

This is a fun one because, in addition to the regular Scandi Crime darkness, it's got an extra creepy layer that makes it a perfect Halloween-y read!

A woman is found in her own home, murdered and gruesomely posed. The placement bears a striking, and later confirmed, resemblance to a murder that takes place in her own husband's bestselling crime series. 

Jessica Niemi is a smart cop with a secret past. Throughout the book, she's not the only one keeping secrets. Her mentor is ill and trying to keep his health concerns under wraps as best he can. But the case is all consuming, which means he doesn't have much time to worry about his own diagnosis. Especially when it becomes clear that Jessica has caught the attention of the killer. 

Seeck throws bodies at the reader pretty continuously as the book goes on. Any time the police think they may have a lead, there seems to be yet another murder to add to the growing list!

Jessica is a fascinating character. There are flashbacks to a trip to Italy that takes place when she's 19. How these figure into the story as a whole don't really become clear until the very end, but it's yet another part of her past that she's intent on not revisiting. 

Interestingly, Goodreads has the book listed as Jessica Niemi #1. A quick search reveals there is indeed a second book that has just been released overseas. I'll be looking forward to reading more and seeing what happens next with Jessica. 

Order a copy from your favorite indie via Bookshop!