Looking for a serial killer thriller with an extra-chilling edge this winter? Look no further than Finnish crime writer Max Seeck’s US debut, THE WITCH HUNTER. In this thoroughly entertaining—and thoroughly chilling—serial killer tale, a shadowy group is bringing the horrific crimes of a bestselling trilogy of books to life, and it’s up to a detective with secrets of her own to crack the case. Roger Koponen has made his fortune writing the Witch Hunter trilogy, a gruesome and terrifying fiction series. When Roger’s wife is found brutally murdered, her body displayed in a manner eerily similar to one of the crimes depicted in Roger’s books, investigator Jessica Niemi is assigned to the case. But the deeper Jessica digs into the murder, the more unusual the case becomes. And when more bodies start piling up, and it becomes clear there must be more than one villain responsible for these brutal acts, Jessica finds herself drawn into a web of conspiracy and sinister intrigue. THE WITCH HUNTER is a page-turning, entertaining Nordic thriller with plenty of appeal for fans of Nordic Noir and serial killer thrillers alike. Laced with elements of witchcraft and the occult, THE WITCH HUNTER delivers a seriously chilling read perfect for the winter months ahead. Max Seeck’s US debut has positioned him as an author to watch.
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Wintry Mysteries & Thrillers for Your End-Of-Year TBR
Winter is the perfect time to cozy up with a crime book. For me personally, my holiday break from work is always my time to dig into some slow-burning and immersive detective novels—there’s nothing more blissful to me than a quiet morning cozied up under a blanket, sipping some coffee, and reading a murder mystery while the snow falls outside. If that sounds like your idea of a perfect winter morning too, today’s blog post is for you! In today’s blog post, I’ve rounded up a whole bunch of mysteries, thrillers, and suspense novels with wintertime vibes for your end-of-2020 reading list! Whether you’re in the mood for chilling psychological suspense, Nordic Noir, or a good old fashioned detective story, there’s a little something for everyone in this reading list. (I’m even sharing one of the books I bought for myself this year at the end of the list, too!) So grab your coziest blanket, put on a pot of coffee, and dig in to find your perfect winter read.
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Nordic Noir November: Spotlight on Icelandic Crime Fiction
Happy Sunday, readers! Welcome back to our weekly spotlight on Scandinavian crime fiction! If you’re new to CBTB, every Sunday this November, I’m spotlighting crime fiction from a particular Nordic country, and sharing a rundown of my personal favorite crime writers from that country. We’ve already explored Norwegian crime fiction, Swedish crime fiction, and Danish crime fiction, and this week, we’re “traveling” to beautiful Iceland! This blog post is going to be shorter than my previous Nordic Noir November posts for a very simple reason: when it comes to Icelandic crime fiction, I have two ride-or-die authors whose work I will literally always read, no matter what, and those are the two authors I want to spotlight for you all today. There are a number of fantastically talented Icelandic crime writers whose work has been translated to English (and many more whose work looks very intriguing, and I hope will be translated to English soon!), but as has been the case with all my previous installments in this series, I want to keep this list focused on highlighting just my personal favorite authors from each country. When it comes to Icelandic crime fiction, that means I’ve got two authors to spotlight for you today! Whether you love creepy, horror-inspired thrillers, modern mysteries with classic crime vibes, or gritty procedurals, my two favorite Icelandic crime writers have a book for you.
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Nordic Noir November: Spotlight on Danish Crime Fiction
Happy Sunday, readers, and welcome back to our weekly spotlight on Scandinavian crime fiction! If you’re new to CBTB, every Sunday this November, I’ll be spotlighting crime fiction from a particular Nordic country. We’ve already explored Norwegian crime fiction and Swedish crime fiction, and this weekend, it’s Denmark’s turn! Denmark is home to two bestselling crime writers whose work helped introduce me to the Scandinavian crime fiction genre, writers who remain some of my favorites to this day,, and it’s also home to a number of up-and-coming crime writers whose novels are shaking up the genre, and delivering truly gripping and inventive stories. Today I’ll be walking you through my personal favorite Danish crime writers, and giving you tips for where to start with their work! I’ll add the same disclaimer here that I’ve had on my last couple Nordic Noir blog posts: this list is by no means an exhaustive rundown of all the Danish crime writers out there, simply a guide to my personal favorites, which I hope will help you embark on your own journey discovering their work!
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Book Review: THE KINGDOM by Jo Nesbø
Where to begin with this book review? If you’ve been around Crime by the Book for more than a couple days, you’ve probably already picked up on the fact that Norwegian crime writer Jo Nesbø is my all-time, hands-down favorite author. I could go on and on about my long standing love of Nesbø’s books. I could tell you about the moment I was recommended his books while on my first trip to Norway years ago; I could share how his books got me through heartbreak, a cross-country move, job changes, health challenges, and a whole lot more; I could tell you about the time I spent a day in Oslo, Norway retracing the most significant locations from his bestselling crime fiction series. But (contrary to how it seems so far!) this blog post isn’t actually about me. It’s about Nesbø’s outstanding new standalone novel THE KINGDOM—a book that captivated me and swept me up in its gritty, tragic tale of love and betrayal. In THE KINGDOM, Nesbø departs from his beloved Harry Hole series with a standalone novel that trades serial killers and police procedure for long-buried interpersonal secrets and the fallout of their resurrection. THE KINGDOM is a masterful work of rural noir, a story that will pluck you up from wherever you are sitting and bring you to a small (fictional) town nestled in the mountains of western Norway. Slow-burning yet propulsive, THE KINGDOM showcases a new side of Nesbø’s crime writing talent. With THE KINGDOM, he has delivered another outstanding work of crime fiction, a story that explores themes of family, love, and loyalty, all wrapped up in a gritty, slow-burning, rural noir package.
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