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A review by ojtheviking
Heksejakt by Max Seeck
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
I believe this is the first time I have read anything by a Finnish author. But it was a solid read. It had that Nordic crime novel flair that I have seen from Norwegian authors, too. However, this story is somewhat darker, colder, and more morbid, and explores occult concepts.
The premise was very cool, people being murdered in the same vein as in the book of a bestselling author. So we have a book within a book here, so to speak, but not in a way that makes it too meta; the fictional book is more of a source material for both the killers and the policemen to work off of.
The suspense begins almost immediately, and things start escalating already during the investigation of the first crime scene, only to continue to branch out until it's borderline too convoluted, with a significant body count along the way.
Seeck's writing feels very direct and controlled, almost systematic. He sticks very closely to the plot most of the time, which can cause character development to suffer a little bit. Most of the time is spent exploring the main character, Jessica Niemi, giving us some insight into her traumatic past. Some of the characters feel like they are just there to help her story progress, so they become a bit one-dimensional.
Some of the occult elements also came close to being a bit clichéd at times, reminiscent of the Satanic Panic in the 1980s. But Seeck still managed to create an eerie vibe overall that prevents it from being silly. These elements were also left a bit ambiguous, which I actually appreciate.
I can only assume that Seeck had decided to continue this story in a second installment by the time he was writing the ending of this first book, as some key plot points were left open-ended. Either way, we did get a second one, so it will be interesting to see whether the next one picks up from this or changes direction entirely.
The premise was very cool, people being murdered in the same vein as in the book of a bestselling author. So we have a book within a book here, so to speak, but not in a way that makes it too meta; the fictional book is more of a source material for both the killers and the policemen to work off of.
The suspense begins almost immediately, and things start escalating already during the investigation of the first crime scene, only to continue to branch out until it's borderline too convoluted, with a significant body count along the way.
Seeck's writing feels very direct and controlled, almost systematic. He sticks very closely to the plot most of the time, which can cause character development to suffer a little bit. Most of the time is spent exploring the main character, Jessica Niemi, giving us some insight into her traumatic past. Some of the characters feel like they are just there to help her story progress, so they become a bit one-dimensional.
Some of the occult elements also came close to being a bit clichéd at times, reminiscent of the Satanic Panic in the 1980s. But Seeck still managed to create an eerie vibe overall that prevents it from being silly. These elements were also left a bit ambiguous, which I actually appreciate.
I can only assume that Seeck had decided to continue this story in a second installment by the time he was writing the ending of this first book, as some key plot points were left open-ended. Either way, we did get a second one, so it will be interesting to see whether the next one picks up from this or changes direction entirely.