This engrossing book begins with a young woman’s murder in her apartment in Copenhagen. She shares the apartment with a roommate, and two other people live in the building: an elderly man who stumbles over her body, and a retired woman, the owner of the building. The author offers vivid descriptions without being overly wordy in this clever whodunnit. Ms. Enberg is a very talented writer. I can’t wait to read more!

The Tenant
Katrine Engberg
January 14, 2020

This is the newest book from Katrine Engberg in the Korner/Werner detective series. Her Danish novels are centered in Copenhagen. They are lead detectives in the department. Although opposite in personality they inevitably end up heading difficult cases. This is one of Engberg’s first books for me to read but her writing style is not unlike other Scandinavian mystery writers. The stories tend to have odd characters with interesting crime mysteries to solve. I first saw films of books by Henning Mankell and became engrossed with his stories was my intro to Scandinavian fiction.
Ms. Engberg’s Prologue to The Tenant drew me right into the plot of the novel. The opening scenes were the intro to the crime however, Gregers Hermansen, an elderly man struggling to take out his garbage before his coffee was ready was not what a reader expected to introduce the novel. From the discovery of the young tenant’s murder each slice of the detectives links to solving the case I found it to become more complex, more inventive. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. Complex at times? Yes but the mystery became so compelling. I encourage mystery readers to find a copy of The Tenant. It will be published by Scout Press on January 10, 2020.

This book was just okay for me. I have grown to love a great Scandinavian thriller, but this one lacked enough thrill to be the push to really absorb me as a reader. I really enjoyed the "book within in book" aspect of this novel. I think this was one of the best features of this novel. The relationship between the two main detective duo wasn't as compelling as I would like in a police procedural.
A decent debut but I think this author has a lot more great writing ahead.
#TheTenant #NetGalley #GalleryPocketBooks #GalleryScoutPress

The Tenant had a really good premise and kept me interested enough to want to finishing the book. However I found that the story was a bit all over the place and at times was losing my interest. I do enjoy Scandinavian novels and usually do not have an issue with the translation and I am not sure of that was part of the issue. If you enjoy a police procedural story that answers all the questions then this book is for you. Just do not expect any big wow moments. Thank you to NetGalley and Gallery, Pocket Books for the ARC.

I received this book complimentary from NetGalley but all opinions are my own.
Ugh. This was so so good!!! I had to take my time with it as it was pretty grotesque but it was so detailed and twisty. It was just packed full of interesting characters and sharp turns where you don’t necessarily expect them. Oh this was so so good. I’m going to have to find some light reading to make sure I don’t have nightmares tonight but holy moly this was so good. The setting is one of my favorites. If you like Camilla Lackberg, you will like this. It is a little harder to read and more dense, but good like Lackberg. I will definitely be waiting for future books from this author.

This was a debut novel by Katrine Engberg. It starts out strong with a murder mystery but I found too many competing story threads and the characters were all over the place. I could not empathize with any of the characters and was not fully invested in the outcome. The two lead detectives investigating the murder are sloppy and incompetent, jumping to conclusions or just negligent in their duty. Jeppe and Annette were both wholly unlikable for me and I just felt they had no redeeming qualities. As for the murdered tenant, Julie Stender, you almost feel sorry for her until you realize how many lives she ruined with her lies. The landlady, Esther de Laurenti is a failed writer drowning her traumatic past in drink. The author attempts to wrap up the conclusion neatly but the ending just fell flat for me with too many unsatisfying conclusions. Although I am a fan of Nordic crime stories, this one did not resonate with me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for the opportunity to read the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was my first Scandinavian crime book that I have read and I don’t think this type of book is for me. The plot sounded really good, but I found it a little slow and had trouble following it. I didn’t really connect with the characters, but probably because I am not used to translated books.
Many thanks to Netgalley for allowing me the opportunity to read this.

Translated very well

I enjoyed this one. It had a great cast of characters and setting. It’s the start of a series and it was a good introduction.

The story does throw in some curves. Some I think most will see coming, but not all. The story was well paced. The conclusion was satisfying. I would recommend this and read the next.

Thanks to NetGalley, the author and Gallery, Pocket Books for a copy in exchange for a review.

“Tell me, are we in the middle of some f***ing crime novel, or what?”
“I don’t know, Werner. Is that what we are?”

Thanks to NetGalley and Gallery, Pocket Books for sending me an ARC of The Tenant in exchange for an honest review. The Tenant is the first book in a series originally published in Denmark that is now making its debut in the States. The main character is Copenhagen Police investigator Jeppe Kørner. He is at the end of a divorce he did not want, and in pain both physical and mental. Shortly after his return to work, he is tasked with heading the investigation into the brutal murder of a young woman. Unsure whether he is capable of completing this assignment, Kørner reminded me of David Tennant’s character in the BBC series Broadchurch.

I enjoyed the plot and mystery of this story. There’s a novel within a novel element, and some red herrings. The solution to the story is complex, but satisfyingly so. The writing is good, especially for a translation. My biggest complaint would be that Kørner is the only fully developed character. Perhaps his partner, Anette Werner, gets more attention in future entries in the series.

A clever, entertaining mystery. Recommended.

The Tenant
My thanks to #NetGalley for this ebook in exchange for an honest review. Filled with lots of names I could not pronounce, The Tenant, by Katrine Engberg was a well-paced police thriller set in Copenhagen. The characters were well flushed out and the storyline was well developed. There are a few twists and turns, a few red herrings, and a couple of surprises. The ending left me thinking a series might be in the works.

So this was a really good thriller. I have never read a book taking place in Denmark before. Or at least I don't think I have. It was interesting to see how the partners in this book (Jeppe Korner and Anette Werner) deal with the murder of a young woman and then the twists and turns the murder case takes. We do get to see more of Jeppe in this one, or least his emotional state. The main reason why I didn't give this five stars though is that I wish that we had gotten to see Anette's home life. We hear how happy she is with her husband via Jeppe or her from now and then. Engberg chooses to delve more into Jeppe and his emotional state after the divorce from his wife. I definitely would like to read more about these two in the future.

"The Tenant" follows Danish detectives, Jeppe Korner and Anette Werner. Jeppe has been out on medical leave while also mourning the end of his marriage. His first day back though he and Anette are called into a brutal murder scene. The young woman, Julie Stender's life seems to be a mystery until the detectives realize that Julie's murder may have links to a mystery writer's group.

Jeppe we find is mourning his ex-wife and their marriage. I ended up feeling pity for him though Engberg gives us enough clues that he may be interested in someone that he works alongside. Anette is blunt, but does what she has to in order to not only back up Jeppe, but to solve Julie's murder. The two of them work well together, they are definitely opposites and seem to know what buttons to push on each other as well as when to not take offense about things.

Engberg also introduces others who work with Jeppe and Werner as well. The way the detectives are set up it seems as if everyone is the same rank, but each of them take turns in being leads. I do hope in the next book we get to see Werner in charge as well as her home life.

We also get a different insight into Julie via her landlady, Esther de Laurenti, who has quit her university job in order to pursue her dream of being a murder mystery writer. Esther's points of views I thought were good. We get a different sense from her about the loss of dreams, and regrets that she has over things that occurred when she was younger. We have her fearing she has inadvertently caused someone to seek out Julie to kill her and the wonder of why someone would.

The writing was really good though there were a few translation issues here or there. Not enough to take me out of the story. Engberg does a great job with keeping you guessing about the murderer and why they killed Julie. I thought it was a great reveal that we slowly got and the ending to the case was a shocker.

The flow works with the book bouncing back and forth between Jeppe, Werner, the landlady of the building that Julie lived in, and another detective working with Jeppe and Werner.

The book takes place in Copenhagen and besides reading about some of the bars/food that Jeppe and Werner eat, I still wanted to get more of sense of the city.


The ending leaves things on a slightly okay note with Jeppe, but once again, we don't get any insight into Anette.

Thank you NetGalley and Simon and Schuster for the ARC of this book. I fully enjoyed reading it and it would keep me intrigued page after page! 21 year old Julie is found brutally murdered in her apartment with a very distinctive pattern carved into face. The two detectives assigned to the case, Korner and Werner have their hands full in trying to figure out what Esther, the party loving Landlady and the victim have in common! Esther is also an up and coming writer with Julie turning up in her novel! The Detectives need to figure out is Esther the culprit or will she be the next murder victim?!?!? Korner and Werner take you through some real twist and turns until the case is solved! Very well written book that kept me intrigued from beginning to end!!

This is a Danish book set in Copenhagen. The characters include the landlady Esther, the tenant Julie, and the detectives Jeppe and Anette, with many minor characters who play a part in the darkness of the book. Esther likes to drink and party and is also writing a murder mystery, with Julie cast as the victim. When Julie indeed turns up dead, the detectives try to follow Esther’s novel as well as the twisted clues. They know that there is a person behind the curtain pulling the strings, but the path to find that person is very convoluted and confusing to the detectives as well as to me as the reader. The action was slow-paced, with a lot of attention given to the thoughts of the detectives and those of Esther. I cannot say that I enjoyed this book much because it was hard for me to follow at times and I found myself going back some pages to see if I had missed something. The characters and the plot were too complex for me, but fans of Nordic mysteries would enjoy this one, I think. This is the debut novel by this author, and my hope is that as she pursues her craft, she will get better at drawing the reader into the story rather than leaving us as distant and not so clued-in spectators.

A well plotted, police thriller, The Tenant kept me engaged throughout. It was methodically paced rather than the blistering pace of other thrillers but that allowed the author to fully develop the characters and provide quite a few twists as the story unfolded. Recommended

This was an interesting book, but I had some difficulty reading due to some of the translations from Nordic to English. The story is well written and interesting. Characters are well developed. However you are left missing pieces that you hoped to have answered. Overall though, a good story.
Thank you to NetGalley for a free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley for a free ARC in exchange for an honest review. 
Slow burn police procedural introducing highly unlikable main characters.  Some editing issues, mostly tense, could be due to translation.  Overall, an okay book.  It was pretty twisty but not a standout in the genre.
The final chapter seemed more like the first chapter of the next in a series, which felt strange and a little cliffhanger-y.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read and review this book.

When an elderly man accidentally stumble across the body of a young girl in his apartment building, the wheels are set in motion for a puzzling murder investigation. Set in Copenhagen, the story lays bare the lives of the other tenants in the building, their families, and the police detectives. With very few clues to start with, the detectives must search out all possible connections to the victim, as well as sort out the usual lies and secrets of witnesses and suspects. When a suspect also suffers a gruesome death, and evidence is found in unusual places, the police team must expand the search and determine new motives.

This was a great story with many twists that kept my interest throughout.

Translated to English and taking place in Copenhagen, this was a new experience for me- I don't think I've read any Nordic/Scandinavian Noir as many reviewers have categorized this. Good luck pronouncing most of the proper nouns! It was an interesting setting with theatrical ties, and a compelling murder(s) scene/plot, but for some reason I just couldn't get into this one. To me, the characters weren't engaging, the murder victim was somewhat of an enigma even into the ending,, and I just found myself unable to picture or imagine what was going on, let alone care.. I wasn't transported into the story. I also didn't care for a lot of the language and content. Overall, the plot points seemed well-crafted, but the rest of it did not engage me enough to want to read any of her other books.

Also- the title and cover give off this sinister feeling about who her tenants are, but in reality, the tenants themselves aren't really the focus. One of them was murdered, but we don't really get to know her at all. It's a bit misleading to see the front of the book.

I really enjoyed this book, the characters were well developed. It had an interesting plot. I would be interested in reading more

A strong 4 stars for me. This is a murder mystery set in Copenhagen where the lead detective is recovering from an injury and a divorce/separation and he's just coming back to work and is placed in charge of a gruesome murder. There is a retired professor who owns the building where the tenant was murdered and who is also writing a book. There is her good friend who she treats like a son who had a strong crush on the tenant. There is uncertainty at work about whether the detective is ready to come back to work and ambitious colleagues, as well as his partner, a happily married woman who is as unlike him as black is to white. And yet they respect each other and have found a way to work with each other, even through their annoyances. And of course there are plenty of liars of commission and omission! The feel of this book reminded me somewhat of [book:The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo|2429135] as well as [book:The Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out of the Window and Disappeared|13486632], even though both books are not Danish. It took me a bit of time to get used to the cadence of the book, but once I got hooked, I didn't want to put it down until I finished. I suspected the main bad guy partway through the book, but had no idea of how everyone was involved and it was an exciting ending for me. I also liked what happened with Esther and Gregers and I especially loved the falling stars. I'm a bit sad for Jeppe, but there are hints that things may get better for him. If you're a fan of murder mysteries, especially ones set in other countries, this is a good one to check out. I know I'm planning on checking out some of the author's other books.

Special thanks to #KatrineEngberg, #NetGalley, and #SimonAndSchuster and #ScoutPress for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.