The Ice Coven

Starred review from July 26, 2021
Lisa Yamamoto and Jason Nervander, Finland’s “most-followed social media celebrities and lifestyle bloggers,” haven’t been seen since they attended a record launch, in Seeck’s outstanding sequel to 2020’s The Witch Hunter. Their celebrity makes the search a priority for Det. Jessica Niemi and her colleagues in Helsinki’s Violent Crimes Unit, especially when an ominous poem is posted on Yamamoto’s Instagram account days after her disappearance: “Deepest sea, darkest grave/A princess sleeps beneath the waves/Soon sea will freeze, snowfall cover/And none shall her tomb discover.” A photo of a lighthouse was also posted. One of the comments on the social media site is simply the word justice in Japanese, suggesting that Yamamoto’s probably unpleasant fate was merited. The puzzle deepens when a search of the missing woman’s home unearths a sketch she made resembling the Instagram image, with a drawing of a schoolgirl standing in front of the lighthouse. Seeck throws in a murder that definitely happened, human trafficking, frog toxin, and somnophilia into the mix, masterfully ratcheting up the tension. Ragnar Jónasson fans will be mesmerized. Agent: Rhea Lyons, HG Literary.

August 15, 2021
A Helsinki detective fights personal demons as she attempts to crack a string of murders. Jessica Niemi still hasn't recovered from the loss of her boss and mentor in The Witch Hunter (2020), and she's still keeping big secrets from her fellow homicide squad members. The only survivor of a family car crash, Jessica inherited a large fortune, but she doesn't want her colleagues to know that she lives in her family's mansion, or that her dead mother often appears to her there--so she meets with them in a tiny apartment in an adjoining building. A talented detective, Jessica has a tenuous relationship with all her teammates except for Yusuf, her partner. Though her ambitious new boss dislikes her, she assigns her the case of Lisa Yamamoto and Jason Nervander, missing influencers who have huge social media followings. Lisa vanished after attending a party for a pop star. Her apartment is filled with her artwork, manga-style drawings of young girls dressed in school uniforms. Her roommate, Essi, claims to have no clue where she might be. So when a dead body dressed as a schoolgirl is found in the water with no obvious cause of death, Jessica has to wonder if there's a connection. Every bit of technical wizardry and evidence from interviews suggest a link to a prostitution ring rife with sadomasochism. But Jessica refuses to give up even though her life's in danger and she fears that her mental problems could force her to resign. A disturbing mystery whose complex heroine's internal struggles only enhance the storyline.

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August 20, 2021
Seeck continues the story of secretive, stubborn detective Jessica Niemi in this riveting sequel to The Witch Hunter (2020). Niemi is still recovering from a traumatic experience with a dark cult, as well as from the death of her supervisor and mentor. Then a new case emerges: two influencers, Lisa Yamamoto and Jason Nervander, are missing. When a photo of a lighthouse is posted to Lisa's Instagram with a sinister rhyme in its caption, and a young woman's body is found with strange markings on a nearby beach, a mystery unspools in metadata, deleted photos, and burner phones. One plot point from the first novel repeats itself in somewhat predictable fashion, and fans may be disappointed at the lack of fantastical elements. But The Ice Coven is still a gripping page-turner. The novel's compelling, exciting side cast of characters, and the intense, twisting revelations of the case, keep the pace of this book rushing forward to its climax. Thriller fans will finish The Ice Coven and be impatient to start the third, teased volume of the series.

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