The end of the year is upon us, and I know I’m not the only one who won’t be sad to say goodbye to 2020. But before we close the book on this year and turn our attention to 2021, let’s not forget to celebrate the very exciting new crime fiction releases that December 2020 is bringing with it! This month, a few of my most highly-anticipated releases of the whole year will be releasing. From serial killer thrillers to detective novels and legal thrillers, this month has a whole variety of buzz-worthy new crime releases in store for readers, and I’m rounding up my personal most-anticipated list in today’s blog post! Read on for my picks for new crime fiction releasing in December 2020.
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Nordic Noir November: Spotlight on Finnish Crime Fiction
Happy Sunday, readers! Welcome back to our final spotlight on Scandinavian crime fiction this year! If you’re new to CBTB, every Sunday this November, I’ve been spotlighting crime fiction from a particular Scandinavian country, and sharing with you a rundown of my personal favorite crime writers from that country. We’ve “traveled” (virtually!) to Norway, Sweden, Denmark, and Iceland, and today we’re going to be exploring crime fiction from Finland! Of all the Nordic crime fiction traditions, I am the least familiar with Finnish crime fiction—but I’m on a mission to change that! As always, in today’s blog post I will share with you a rundown of the Finnish crime writers whose work I’ve read and loved. But given that I’m still in the learning-what’s-out-there phase of exploring crime fiction from Finland, I’m also going to give you a little sneak peek into another Finnish crime book that’s on my TBR list. I hope this will be a helpful resource for anyone else who wants to start on their own journey into Finnish crime fiction!
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Book Review: THE WITCH HUNTER by Max Seeck
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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