For a book lover I think very few things are as satisfying as when a book lives up to your expectations and especially if it exceeds them. With the second book in Jessica Niemi series, The Ice Coven, Max Seeck sealed the deal and is now on my "must read" list of authors. Before I start building the hype especially for Nordic thriller lovers, I would urge you to pick up The Witch Hunter first because for this series reading the books in order does make a big difference.

First of all let me say I devoured this book in less than 24 hours. And the first thing I did upon finishing it was to check whether book #3 has already been published in Finland (it has) because I can't wait to get my hands on it.

In The Ice Coven, Jessica Niemi and her team are still reeling from the events of The Witch Hunter. When two Instagram famous influencers disappear after a launch party for a new album of a famous rapper and cryptic posts appear on their accounts, Jessica and her team are assigned to investigate. At the same time a dead body with strange marks on one of the arms appears on a local beach and questions arise as to whether the two investigations are related.

I love that in the sea of (many great) psychological thrillers on the market, Max Seeck manages to create cases and characters that really stand out. I also realize that most of my favorite authors have one thing in common - they are great at making their characters come alive. I feel like I would recognize Jessica, Yusuf, Nina, Rasse if they walked by me.

If you are a fan of Nordic thrillers, if you're into shows like Bordertown and Deadwind, if you enjoy getting hooked on series with imperfect, complex main protagonist, and dark and twisty storylines than this is definitely a book series for you.

A huge thanks to Berkley Publishing, Penguin Random House and Netgalley for gifting me an early copy of this book, it absolutely made my (reading) weekend.

The Ice Coven is available for purchase so go grab a copy!

The Story: Six months after Jessica's encounter with a serial-killing coven of witches, Jessica and her team from the Violent Crimes Unit is now assigned to investigate the missing persons case of Finland's well-known social media celebrities and lifestyle bloggers - Lisa Yamamoto and Jason Nervander. It seems to be a straight forward case at first, but when the body of a woman is found near Aurinkolathi, this case has turned into a clear homicide.

My thoughts: This second installment of this series was definitely darker, grittier, with a pretzel-twisty, brilliant plot! Oh my goodness. I just have to say that I enjoyed this one more than the first book!

There are so much depth to the characters! I love love love Jessica and her team! Their work dynamics, relationships and conflicts were well-written. It was really interesting to see how their new leader Helena Lappi is trying to manage this team. Jessica reminds me so much of Harry Hole - an excellent cop with a bad ass attitude! I took an instant liking to her!

I am not going to give away too much of the plot except that it was so original, unique and social media is the driving force of the entire story.

While this book can be read as a stand-alone, I would recommend reading the first book first for all the backstories which will help in understanding these characters in a deeper way.

Overall, this was a fantastic police procedural that will keep you at the edge of your seat! It is perfect for the spooky season as there was a dash of paranormal in the story too!

Pub. Date: Sep 28, 2021

***Thank you Berkley Publishing Group, author Max Seeck and NetGalley for this gifted copy to read and review. All opinions expressed are my own.***

The second in a series and while the mystery is self contained there are definitely pieces of the main character that are evolving from the first book to this one and this is one of those series that I suggest starting at the beginning.

Jessica Niemi is a detective in Finland and she is concealing major secrets about herself to her co workers and friends. These secrets are greatly affecting her life, but she cannot reveal them for fear of their opinions of her changing. While dealing with the recent death of her mentor at work, a young woman's body washes up on a beach and two "influencers" go missing and she is on another case.

Just as in book one, this story twists and turns and weaves like they all do and it is such a fun roller coaster of a ride. I always judge a mystery thriller book by the outcome of the story and while I won't spoil anything, I loved how it all concluded!

I would put this book in the Scandinavian sub genre of mystery and with that I believe is a little more gore and murder. While I can handle it, I wanted to warn and I like to sparse these reads throughout my reading life and don't tend to read them back to back!

I am excited to see that book three is in the can, but just waiting for it to be translated and released here.

I love Nordic Noir and this is no exception. This was a great follow up to The Witch Hunter, and the book was atmospheric and dark. I love Jessica Niemi as the investigator and can root for her as a flawed character. I can't wait to see what happens next in this series!

From my blog: Always With a Book:

Last year, I read The Witch Hunter, Max Seeck’s first book in his Jessica Niemi series and I absolutely loved it. I have been waiting for this second book to be translated into English and am so glad that it finally has…this series is just so good!

Nordic Noir crime fiction is definitely one of my favorite genres to read and this second installment once again grabbed me and didn’t let go. I found myself completely invested in the story and loved how atmospheric and dark it was. I am a big fan of police procedurals and this one is so expertly written that it really keeps you engaged throughout. There were so many twists and turns to this one that really kept me guessing all the way through and I never guessed where it was all heading.

I continue to be a huge fan of Investigator Jessica Niemi. She is such a flawed character and I felt like she really needed to prove herself in this latest installment with her new boss. But I do love all the interactions she has with her team, and there are a few moments when you see a more vulnerable side to Jessica and I just love those. We continue to get flashbacks of Jessica’s past and I really love these scenes, as dark and ominous as they tend to be. I have a feeling we have only scratched the surface on all the skeletons in Jessica’s past.

This book moves fast and the short chapters only help move that along. I found myself completely addicted to this dark, twisty, and at times, chilling story and once I started reading, I could not put it down. I am definitely looking forward to reading book 3, which I hope will be released in the US sooner rather than later.

The Ice Coven is the second book in the Jessica Niemi series by Max Seeck. A fast-paced, trippy read with surprise twists that is nothing like you have ever read.

This book was a delicate, slow build that gave nothing away.
I did not read the first book in this series - the author gave plenty of background, at times it was slightly repetitive.
The book opens with a graphic exchange between a man and young woman. This becomes relevant later in the novel - it is a quite shocking revelation, as well as it took me a few minutes to put the information together.
An influencer, Lisa, goes missing after attending a record drop party - a post on Instagram of a desolate light house the only clue. The same night her ex-boyfriend, Jason, also an influencer disappears.
Jessica is brought on the case, with her team to locate the missing people.
With her nemesis, known as Hellru, is determined to use this case to end Jessica's career as she is granted personal information.
Many complexities in this book - lots of kernels of information to track as the plot builds. I enjoyed the multiple points of view, the seamless transition of using chapters to pass along the narration.
Though longer than I like my thrillers, this plot was worth the time.

Another imaginative story for Max Seeck.

The Ice Coven is a second book in Jessica Niemi series. It is a police procedural set in Finland. And just like the frigid and overcast country, this book is dark, melancholy and full of creepy characters.

What I really like about this series, is the creative killers. Not only is it an unexpected killer, they are sadistic, clever, dark, and oh so psychopathic.

Though the story at times seemed a bit messy, and I didn't like the pace of it, in the end with all the twists it was worth the read and will be a go-to series in the future for sure.

Jessica, the main character and the detective is really growing on me. She is definitely flawed but trying to make it work with all her personal demons. Add the weird little group of side characters, a building up to something big and personal for Jessica and I'm hooked on this series.

Can't wait to see what personal demons keep haunting Jessica in the next book.

My first novel with a Finnish setting. LOVE the atmosphere, the frigid dark winter of Helsinki!

A woman's body in a manga doll costume washed up near Aurinkolahti beach. The medical examiner found a marking on her arm that could point to something sinister. Jessica Niemi, investigator of Helsinki police delves into a homicide case while tries to locate two missing Instagram influencers. This is a classic detective story and social media investigation.

Jessica is a flawed individual who has been through so much as a minor. Her family died in an auto accident. Jessica appears to hear things from the beyond. Office politics also plays a role in her mental being as her new boss isn't fond of her.

This is a story with many Japanese influences, manga dolls, schoolgirl uniforms, and Japanese characters. While I appreciate the police procedural side of the story, the hashtag investigation just doesn't click with me personally. I had thought there would be more witchy things to the story, with the "Coven" in the title. We're also reminded more than necessary how wealthy she is from her inheritance and that she's living in a crummy studio as a facade to her real opulent flat. Jessica's background isn't really touched on until about 40% into the novel. This is probably best to read after the first in the series, "The Witch Hunter".

That being said this is a fun thriller and I was wrong with my prediction. I do like it when that happens.

Helsinki homicide detective Jessica Niemi is hunting for Lisa, a missing social influencer and artist last seen at a launch party for a rap star's album when the body of a young woman washes up on shore dressed like the teens girls in Lisa's manga paintings. Jessica, her partner Yusef, and ace computer researcher Russe find themselves wrapped up in a mystery that has tentacles reaching to Japan and elsewhere in Europe but the real action is close to home. Jessica doesn't really trust anyone- no one knows where she actually lives or her true backstory- but now her much disliked new supervisor has been informed of one of her issues. This is classic Scandi noir in some ways but it also has unique twists. I liked the Helsinki setting (yes, there is a Sea Horse Restaurant in Helsinki) and the character. I missed the first book but that wasn't a problem - I might have missed some nuance in Jessica's relationships but Seeck explains the crises they experienced. It's a very twisty- no spoilers- read where the answer seemed so obvious until it wasn't. Good job on Seeck's part to surprise me. Thanks to netgalley for the ARC. Great read.

The second book in the Jessica Niemi series finds our Finnish police detective on the trail of two missing persons, all while struggling with professional and personal issues. Translated into English by Kristian London, it’s an absorbing and clever police procedural with unexpected, unsettling twists.

It’s been several months since Jessica lost the man who was not only her boss but also her father figure, Erne Mikson. His eventual replacement, Helena “Hellu” Lappi, is a far cry from the grizzled old veteran detective:

QUOTE
Hellu, on the other hand, doesn’t appear to be going anywhere. She exudes enthusiasm for the position and the self-assurance endowed by her new status, which unfortunately make her an infuriatingly pedantic boss. Jessica has worked under Hellu for only a couple of weeks, but it’s already plain her new director loves punctuality, protocol, paramilitary discipline, and principled bureaucracy. There has been friction between the two of them since day one, and Jessica isn’t sure what the cause is. In any case, the corridors at police HQ have grown narrower and narrower by the day--it’s as if Hellu and Jessica weren’t meant to walk them together.
END QUOTE

Jessica is determined to put aside any differences, however, when Hellu assigns her and fellow Violent Crimes Unit detective Yusuf Pepple a brand new case. Two popular social media influencers, Lisa Yamamoto and Jason Nervander have recently gone missing. Their last known sighting was at the album launch party for Kex Mace, Finland’s biggest rap star. Lisa had been on the guest list but her ex-boyfriend Jason hadn’t been allowed inside. While their disappearance immediately after might have raised more eyebrows than concerns, several cryptic posts on their Instagram pages indicate that foul play may very well have been involved.

Meanwhile, junior detective Jami Harjula has caught the case of a seeming prostitute, Olga Belousova, found dead on the outskirts of Helsinki, washed ashore on a frigid beach. While her cause of death is yet unknown, she was found wearing a distinctly manga-like schoolgirl outfit. When Jessica and Yusuf learn not only that Lisa was a manga artist but that she’d previously painted an outfit eerily similar to the one Olga was wearing when she died, the cases combine, leading our team of investigators to a vast criminal conspiracy with a deadly, unexpected killer at its heart.

Even as Jessica and her team race against time to try to find the missing influencers, she must fight her own personal demons. It isn’t just that Hellu seems to have it in for her. The mental and physical ailments that have plagued her since the accident that claimed the lives of her entire family continue to make her life a misery. While that’s nothing she’s not used to handling, what’s new is the increasing strength of her guilt at hiding her real life -- one of surprising wealth and privilege -- from her team.

Before he died, Erne tried to encourage her to open up to the people she was finally starting to see as family:

QUOTE
“You shouldn’t have to be worried they won’t like you because of all this… or that having money somehow makes you a worse human being. Or any different. Different from whom they’ve known…”

“Maybe it’s better not to find out.”

“Jessie, I’m just afraid you’re alone for no reason. A lot of people are lonely because they don’t have a choice. Because they’re ugly, crusty, cranky old bastards like me. Decrepit in body and soul after a lifetime of accumulated secrets and mistakes...You still have time to open up your life to someone you trust, Jessie.”
END QUOTE

Jessica will have to figure out who to trust, and fast, as a ruthless psychopath seeks to stop her from uncovering the truth in her latest case. Even worse, the witch cult that threatened to destroy her several months ago comes back… but only for a menacing moment towards the end, promising plenty of chills in books to come.

This book, however, had plenty of thrills on its own, particularly in the clever folding and unfolding of the main murder mystery plot. Jessica makes for a compelling heroine as she struggles with mental illness, as well as with the shades of her past. The casual diversity of the cast was also a big plus for me. I would probably have felt even more deeply immersed in the novel had I read the first book in the series, but it does stand well on its own. And even if I was a little exasperated at the climactic fight scene -- folks at home, please don’t try to protect yourself from a sledgehammer swinging for you by attempting to block the head with your hands -- overall, I found The Ice Coven an enjoyable police procedural with an unusual heroine and some really fine plotting.

Max Seeck is a master at unique settings and completely unique plots. I love the fact that this is from a police procedural point of view because it is so much more in depth than similarly written novels in the same genre.

I also love the fact that he puts his stories into the frozen cities of Northern Europe. The locations for the reader may be foreign but that just adds the additional layer of atmosphere to every part of the mystery.

This story is somewhat of a continuation which follows a detective with big secrets of her own, and while there are multiple references to past cases, I’m pretty sure a reader could definitely read this as a standalone. Although the first novel, The Witch Hunter, was great too and not one to be missed!

The Ice Coven is incredibly different from any other novel in the police procedural or crime genre. There are multiple twists that you don’t expect, fabulous character development, and many layers built into this murder mystery. I could not stop reading!

Seeker is a fabulous author with a unique imagination. This is one trippy book! Nothing like you have ever read! I will definitely continue to look forward to his novels and twisted crime novels.

Thank you Berkley for this outstanding widget! It was an honor to read book two! 😘

I haven’t read much of the Nordic Noir genre. But I think I've found my new favorite Nordic Noir writer!.
The story is incredibly engaging and the occult elements made this a great spooky read. I enjoyed the flawless writing!
A deliciously dark, chilling, gripping thriller, amazingly plotted, paced and written, this is one of the best mystery/thrillers I have read in years.
I loved the characters and story-line and I was guessing right up until the end.
Full of wonderful brilliant characters!

Thanks again NetGalley, Publisher and Author for the chance to read and review this amazing book!
I'll post to my Social media platforms closer to pub date!

Detective Jessica Niemi is a detective in the Helsinki Violent Crimes Unit. Her mentor and boss, Erne, has died and a new chief has been brought in who really wants Niemi out of the way. When she uncovers a psychiatric evaluation showing Niemi may be mentally unfit, she is determined to make use of it. However, dead girls are showing up all around Helsinki, and Moscow, and other big cities, all dressed as manga girls and murdered in a particularly brutal manner. Niemi is called in to look for a missing blogger who is linked to the dead girls through social media. The exposition is slow and deliberate and very complex, which has a tendency to slow down the reading. However, the plotting is tightly paced and the culprit is quite a surprise. If you like Nordic noir, this is a good book, however, I will always judge Nordic noir against Maj Sowall and Per Wahloo, who are the best around.

Even though I wasn’t crazy about the first book in this series (3 stars), I was interested enough to continue with the story. Glad I did and I liked this one better. The mystery was complex with a good twist at the end, and I felt like I got to know Inspector Jessica Niemi, the main character, a bit better. She’s still strange and unusual and I’m looking forward to learning more about her in the next book.

In 2020, I was privileged to read a pre-release copy of the first book in this series, "The Witch Hunter." So when I had a chance to request a copy of this one, the second in the series, my response in the affirmative was a no-brainer. Now that I've finished it, count me in for the next one.

In the previous book, Violent Crimes investigator Jessica Neimi lost her police department boss, mentor and lover, Erne; now, she must deal with a new and far less friendly supervisor nicknamed Hallu. After a night of partying with a famous singer, a popular blogger named Lisa Yammamoto and her friend Jason Nervander go missing. Jessica, her colleague Yusef and the rest of the team are assigned the case with few clues to go on. Then, police find another woman's body on a beach near a lighthouse; who she is isn't known (except that she's not the missing Lisa), but she's wearing a schoolgirl uniform resembling a Manga character even though she's well beyond school age. Also suspicious is a ring of round marks on her arm that suggest some kind of torture.

As if trying to find the missing duo and a murderer now dubbed the "Phantom," Jessica must deal with her past and a big secret she's been keeping from everyone except Erne. Her supervisor would like nothing more than to discredit her (with an ultimate goal of getting her off the force one way or another). Jessica is still mourning the loss of Erne. Forge on she must, but the only clues point to a rare kind of poison used in "kambo" ceremonies and the aforementioned schoolgirl costumes.

There are some twists as the investigation moves along, and I'll be honest in saying that things got a bit confusing in spots (one character, for instance, was found dead in one chapter by another character and bit the dust again several chapters later, found by a different character). But that aside, it was an adventure I enjoyed very much, and I thank the publisher, via NetGalley, for allowing me to read and review a pre-release copy.

"Investigator Jessica Niemi is in a race against time to find the link between a body with strange markings that has washed up on a frigid shore in Finland and two baffling disappearances in this terrifying new novel from the New York Times bestselling author of The Witch Hunter.

Six months have passed since Jessica's encounter with the mysterious serial-killing coven of witches and the death of her mentor. 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 remote island - as she investigates, and under the picture is a gruesome poem detailing a murder. The nightmares about her mother suddenly seem all too real, making Jessica wonder if the dead woman might be trying to tell her something about the killings. And as Jessica works frantically to solve her latest case, her horrific past comes roaring back and threatens to destroy her."

Scandi witches!!!

*Thank you to Berkley, Max Seeck and NetGalley, for an ARC in exchange for an honest review*

Wow. Jessica Niemi is a force to be reckoned with and now, my favorite female detective. She is flawed but sharp. And mostly just human.

Lisa Yamamoto and David Verlander are bloggers. While Lisa is an artist, David is into the darker side of sexuality. They have disappeared without a trace and the case has been referred to the Helsinki violent crimes unit, where Jessica has been a police officer for many years.

This is my first time reading a "Finnish Noir" genre, and I absolutely loved it. It was modern, fresh, and the characters were very real in their attributes and shortcomings. There were lovely twists and turns but not too much where the reader wasn't sure where the story was going. The descriptions also fascinated me that author wrote about Helsinki and it prompted me to look up pictures of the city.

One of my favorite things about this book is Jessica's relationship with her coworkers. They are a wonderful team and work together flawlessly. They know Jessica's flaws and work around them.

The Ice Coven is 5 dark stars. An absolute must read!

Nordic noir is tricky. And this series has been very tricky. The conclusions to the mysteries make no sense. Not in the first of this series “The Witch Hunters” or in this sequel. I don’t even think I could explain what the resolution was in either book. But the characters at the police station are all great characters you want to stick with. Very well drawn and interesting people. Just totally undefined endings.

This book was difficult to put down!!! I love the use of social media in this book. I was held captive by my feelings and found myself holding my breath. I could not turn the page fast enough!