The Tenant is coming to the US in January 2020 and I see fans of Lars Kepler and Joe Nesbo fawning over this nordic noir crime-fiction novel. What starts out as a standard murder mystery, the story begins to unfold drastically to provide an over-the-top, yet definitely enjoyable, sinister master plot. I read this e-book during my commute home from Thanksgiving (thank you Dramamine for preventing motion sickness) and I read it in one-sitting! While the story is definitely bingeworthy, the characters really weren't super developed for me to really care what happened. As I said earlier, I definitely see Nesbo fans eating this story up and I see big things for Katrine Engberg!

A very complicated crime story taken place in Norway. I found the story quite slow and wanted the detectives to move along with their investigation. Lots of characters, many of which were unappealing and red herrings throughout. The story was a little too farfetched for me but I'm sure many will enjoy the mystery.

Thank you GoodReads for this ARC of #thetenant by Katrine Engberg. This mystery thriller tells the story of a brutal murder investigation of a young woman by a couple of detectives. The detectives work hard to find out who committed the murderous crimes. I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys reading mystery thrillers.

This book was received as an ARC from Gallery/Scout Press in exchange for an honest review. Opinions and thoughts expressed in this review are completely my own.

I love thriller mysteries especially murder mysteries and this story had such an exciting back story that peaked my interest immediately and I did not want to stop reading this book. I also loved that the victim was an author and more importantly a mystery author and the murder just happened right after she finished her novel. The relationship Jule and Esther had with eachother and the parties Esther threw quite often made it compelling to read and shocking to see. I know this book will do well with our community because everyone loves a good mystery here and there.

We will consider adding this title to our Mystery collection at our library. That is why we give this book 5 stars.

I could not get into The Tenant. I'm sorry but it just wasn't for me. I got it as a Read Now from Gallery Pocket Books. Thank you for my honest opinion.

I really enjoyed this crime thriller. I thought the pace was well done, and everything felt like it fit - nothing was forced. And there were so many twists, s I dont know how Engberg kept them all straight, but she did! A very enjoyable read, if you like this genre.

Calling all Scandinavian Noir admirers!
It is August 8th, and Detective Jeppe must lead the investigation into a young woman’s horrifying murder.

Who would want to inflict such despicable harm on Esther’s 21-year-old tenant Julie?

Readers encounter their first horror scene upon the description of the girl’s body, which emphasizes how the killer has “a message” they’re trying to communicate and that their motive is greater that one could imagine. Paired with Detective Anette, the duo must put on their detective hats and bring our killer to light.

I love a Scandinavian (Danish, in this case) setting. This mystery might not have taken place in the captivating Norwegian or Icelandic countryside (as I usually love my noir mysteries to occur) but the author used clever locations in Copenhagen, Denmark to add in the right suspenseful and dramatic effect.

What also made my skin prickle is how the author lets us into the way the killer operates. The perpetrator’s killings are chilling and you’re compelled to want to know the “who” and the “why” behind these killings.

So far, Scandi Noir authors haven’t let me down; and besides Jo Nesbo and Ragnar Jo, I’m delighted to add Katrine Engberg as a new favorite author in the genre.

3.5 stars

This is the first book in a Nordic police detective series and I liked this one enough that I'm looking forward to reading more of these books in the future. There was a pretty solid mystery in this one although it got a bit messy and complicated towards the end. I feel like I got a bit of a taste for the two police detectives and I'm curious to learn more about their pasts as well as what's next in store for them.

Copenhagen police detectives Jeppe Korner and Anette Werner are assigned the case of a woman, Julie Stendar, who was brutally murdered in her apartment. There's not a lot for the police to go on but there might be some creepy link between Julie and her landlady, Esther de Laurenti. Esther is in the middle of writing a murder mystery novel and the victim in the book is a character based on Julie. Strange right? Is Esther a real-life murderer or is someone else playing some sick and twisted game?

Normally when I read a mystery I put on my amateur detective hat and am usually able to come up with a few possible theories. I'll admit I was pretty clueless when it came to this book and just sat back and watched everything unfold without any strong guesses. I do think the story loses a bit of steam in the last third as it almost felt like I got all the pieces of the puzzle but still wasn't entirely sure of the big picture and how everything was linked. The book does finish strong though and things do make more sense at the end.

It looks like this series will feature both the male and female detectives. Anette Werner was a part of this book but Jeppe Korner was a more fully developed character. I didn't mind that I don't know that much about Anette right now but I do hope she is featured more in future books.

Overall, a good start to the series although it's definitely not a perfect read. I think the potential is there for this to turn into a very solid Nordic mystery series and so I feel comfortable recommending this book if you are interested in that genre.

Electrifying. An aspiring author, a brutal murder and so many secrets. Easy read with many twists and turns to the plot. Everyone is a suspect and you are kept guessing as to what will happen next.

Thank you NetGalley, Katrina Engberg and Simon & Schuster for this advanced reader edition and hearing my honest review. Looking forward to reading more with you
#partners

2.5 Stars

“Writing a murder mystery is like trying to braid a spiderweb, thousands of threads stick to your fingers and break if you don’t keep your focus.”

A young woman is found brutally murdered in her apartment with no signs of a forced entry. Clues continue to point in various directions leading Police Detectives Jeppe Korner and Anette Werner struggling to put pieces of a puzzle together to solve a murder…

The Tenant starts off with a bang in the opening pages…a gruesome murder with no apparent motive grips the reader into getting the little grey cells working to discover who could have possible done it. But…the pacing was a little slow and so many stops and starts with different points of view, it made the story a little difficult to follow. For me, Detective Korner was not a likeable character and some of his personal extracurricular antics made me scratch my head as to why it was even included. Perhaps it was the author’s way to develop the characters storyline for future books; I’m unsure. Even with all the misdirection, I was still able to ferret out the killer mid-way through, which made for a disappointing ending.

Mystery novels are difficult to review in that I always worry over giving too much away and spoiling the adventure for other readers. While this was not a fav read for me, it could be for other mystery fans. With that being said, give The Tenant a read if you are a lover of this genre.

**I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book that I received via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own. **

Julie is murdered. She is found in her apartment in Copenhagen with mysterious marks on her face. Jeppe and Anette, detectives, are trying to solve the crime which is a very difficult case. Someone confesses to the crime but they don't think it is true. The case is not going anywhere and they need to solve it before it's too late. This was my first Nordic Noir crime story. I rather enjoyed it. Thanks to the publisher for the advance ecopy!

This starts out strong with a man literally stumbling onto a crime scene. Fans of international mysteries and police procedurals with mismatched partners might enjoy it.

This story had a lot going for it. The plot was extremely creative, concerning an aspect of life I’m well familiar with, but don’t remember ever reading about. The use of the story within a story was also very creative (although certainly not unique). Everything was nicely tied up in the ending.

The book, itself, was really tedious to read. I’ve read a fair number of novels set in Scandinavia, but don’t remember having had this much trouble with the names of people and places. It was very difficult to keep the characters straight. The place names were simply impossible – and the story jumped around all over the place. Perhaps the fault was in the translation.

The characters, themselves, were not at all likable and the two main detectives did not inspire confidence nor even make me want to root for their success.

I appreciate this ARC from NetGalley and from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. I wish I could give more stars to this very talented writer.

This was a superbly written thriller, the latest I've read in the Scandinavian genre. While there are a lot of moving parts in this book, and so many characters, I found it quite easy to keep track of who is who and who is doing what, which is sometimes an issue for me.

I was happy to find out that this book has been out in Denmark for a while, and there are two more books in the series. I will be reading them as soon as I can.

Thank you to much NetGalley and Gallery/Scout Press for the ARC.

I would like to thank NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for the opportunity to read this ARC.
I love mystery/thriller/cop novels. This novel was published in Denmark in 2016 and has been translated to be released in the U.S. January 2020. The novel takes place in Cophenhagen and is about two detectives investigating the savage murder of a young woman. I loved the detail in the book and the descriptive writing of the crime scenes. I was unable to connect with the main characters and at the time I thought the two main detectives were underdeveloped but I later read that this is the first book in a series so I'm sure they well become more well rounded as the series goes on. I was able to figure it out early on which took some of the thrill away while reading. I enjoyed the story but had a hard time getting through it. I'm not sure if that had to do with translation or because this was the first nordic noir novel. I will read the second one.

I'd been hankering for a good Nordic Noir novel, and "The Tenant" hit the mark. Thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for the egalley.

An elderly tenant of a Copenhagen apartment building stumbles going down the stairs while taking the garbage out and falls through the open door of his downstairs neighbor, landing on her dead body. The young woman has been murdered, a strange pattern cut into her face.

The detectives assigned to the case are Jeppe Koerner and Annette Werner. Jeppe has recently fallen apart following his divorce and we don't know much about Annette except that she and her husband have border collies and adore each other. They learn that the building owner, a recently retired professor who lives on the third floor, is writing a novel that describes the crime scene quite accurately.

It's good. The detectives need to be better developed but there's enough there to carry the reader along. The end is a little convoluted but not absurdly so. "The Tenant" lacks that piece of creepiness that makes Nordic Noir so weird, but from page one to the end, it will draw you along.

~~Candace Siegle, Greedy Reader

I don't know what it is about Scandinavian authors that make them so good at writing "dark" fiction, but "The Tenant" is a quality representation. A young woman, Julie Stender, is found brutally murdered in her apartment, but the murder is even more disturbing when the police see that a symbol has been carved into her face. In the efforts to find the murderer, it is discovered that the murder bears striking similarities to a draft manuscript by Esther de Laurenti, who owns the apartment building, lives on the top floor, and based the victim of her manuscript on Julie. However, the existence of the manuscript was only known to a few people. As the detectives, led by Jeppe Korner and Anette Werner, dig deeper into the lives of Julie and Esther and their associates, things become stranger and stranger, especially when a mutual acquaintance, Kristoffer, appears to be the guilty party and then meets his own demise.

The book is full of twists and turns and surprises. Even if you think you have figured out the killer or the motive or the hidden secrets, you are probably only partially correct. I thought the characters were well developed and interesting. While I have never been to Copenhagen, and therefore cannot verify the accuracy of the author's descriptions of parts of the cities, the author does a good job of describing various parts of the city and surrounding area and how that influences the residents. The book deals with the power of secrets, the search for belonging, the manipulative powers of a domineering personality, and the lengths people will go to protect their reputations and their family.

"The Tenant" is well worth reading and I hope there are future books in the series.

I received a copy of the e-book via NetGalley in exchange for a review.

This one kept me guessing til the end. Suspenseful & thrilling! Recommend to anyone who enjoys thrillers.

The Tenant is the first in a police procedural series set in Copenhagen. I wish there was more information about Copenhagen because I don’t read a lot of novels set in that city. Jeppe and Anette, police detectives who are often partnered together, have an almost sibling-like relationship; they grate on each other’s nerves regularly. Jeppe is a complicated character we learn quite a bit about. I don’t feel like I got to know Anette as well but maybe the author will dive deeper into that character in the next book.

The inclusion of a main character with psychosomatic pain could have been really great but I don’t feel like I learned much about the condition; ultimately I ended up with only a vague understanding of what psychosomatic pain meant to this character. If a medical condition is used it needs to be explained well enough so that it’s an accurate representation. In this case it reads like the character is taking pain meds for no reason, that his pain is not real. Although I don’t have psychosomatic pain (so someone else can certainly address this better and I would defer to anyone more knowledgeable), it’s my understanding that for sufferers the pain is very real. This is of course my opinion and others may read this novel differently.

Content Warnings: racist language

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the ARC. The opinions in this review are honest and my own. #TheTenant #mystery #suspense

The Tenant by Katrine Engberg is a Nordic Noir novel that takes time to develop, but after all that build up it is a complex and savory thriller/mystery. The setup is relatively simple, Detective Jeppe Korner and Anette Werner are put on the case of a young woman found murdered in her flat. What unravels next is a series of dead ends, strange clubs, manipulations and deceit. The young woman, Julie, is not murdered in the usual crime of passion or intruder suspect. In fact, the scene is clearly pointing to well organized, pre-meditation. With a body that has been particularly mutilated, Jeppe and Anette unravel a list of suspects, from doting, obsessed father to scorned lovers.

Jeppe takes most of the lead in the pages of the novel. He is a bit of a wet noodle at the start and we learn of recent events that have left him a bit wrung out. His partner Anette, on the other hand, is a vibrant sharp-tongued woman with a minimal patience. At the start neither one of them was exactly ideal, I didn’t find myself liking or hating them. It was only as the story progressed that their characteristics made themselves known and in fact, Jeppe kind of grew on me. Their relationship is clearly the kind that somehow works, but doesn’t really feel like it should. The realism there couldn’t be more spot on, and both act as professionals with a history with one another that trumps the difference.

The Tenant is a complex web, with huge kudos going to Katrine Engberg for keeping it all straight and wrapping it in a delightfully dark little bow. It’s the kind of mystery that has you reading everyone as a suspect, and that can lead to an unsettling, creepy feeling that I thoroughly enjoy with such genres as this. I am highly intrigued to find out what sort of cases this duo might take on next. I hope they remain as dark, if not diving a little darker into the depravity of human minds.