This book had such a creepy and mysteries story. I couldn't get enough! A perfect story that will not let you put it down.

This book was a little slow on the start, but I’m glad I stuck with it. Full of suspense and in the author’s own words “depravity”. The main character, Jesper, is flawed, but he finds a way to work through it. A story full of twists and turns that will keep you guessing. This is a book I will recommend.

When Julie Stender is murdered in a style that reflects the events of an unpublished manuscript, detectives Jeppe Korner and Anette Werner are put on the case to solve the mystery. The investigation explores all aspects of Julie's life, including her landlord, who wrote the manuscript that seems to be a guide to Julie's murder. While there are many suspects and interconnecting links, this plot moved a little too slowly for me, even though I thought the premise was interesting. It's very grisly, well plotted although slow for me, and I will recommend it at our library for fans of murder mysteries, especially fans of Jo Nesbo. I found the detectives intriguing, and will read more in the series.

While most of us are used to thriller novels being set in London and other familiar European cities, as well as America, Scandinavia is still a mystery in itself to those of us who haven’t visited. Katrine Engberg, a former dancer and choreographer has become a popular crime novelist in Denmark, and her debut novel, The Tenant in the Kørner/Werner Series has become a bestseller. Esther de Laurenti, a drunk who likes to party with her artist friends, has lived in the same building her entire life; she owns the building and Gregors Hermansen has been a tenant on the second floor for over 20 years. As he takes his trash out, he sees that the door to the bottom floor apartment was open. He isn’t sure if Julie or Carolyn, the renters, were just drunk and left the door open, or if there was a break-in. Gregors has a heart attack and is rushed to the hospital before learning what has happened, but it turns out Julie has been brutally murdered. Her rich and influential father is called to the city and Jeppe Kørner and Anette Werner with the Copenhagen Police are the lead detectives on the scene.

While her characters are well-developed, they have personal problems of their own that they are trying to work through, and they don’t particularly like each other or work well together. Readers probably won’t like them either, and it seems that the murder case would be solved faster if they acted professional and worked together. However, the story flows well and will keep readers on the edge as the pieces to the puzzle come together. There are several suspects, and other players that aren’t suspects at all; some of the key players are in danger, and there are surprises at every turn.

Understandably foreign authors have the extra burden of translation from their native language to English, but this novel has very few mistakes and flows in a way as if English was Engberg’s native tongue. The fact that it is set in Denmark adds to the charm and gives readers more than just a murder mystery to ponder over; it introduces a whole new culture to become familiar with.

This novel is the first in a series, and those readers who like the detectives will definitely want to read this novel as it is an introduction to Jeppe and Anette. The novel is good, but since the characters are at odds with each other, may not be one for everybody.


Special thanks to NetGalley for supplying a review copy of this book.

The Tenant is raw, it's suspense, it's thriller and everything I need it to be as I cozied in bed with a cup of coffee. I read this in just a few hours, because I could not put this book down!

The Tenant by Katrine Engberg is a police procedural murder mystery/thriller set in Copenhagen. The novel begins with an older man literally stumbling over the death of a neighbor in his apartment building. Police detective Jeppe Korner is assigned to the case and assisted by Annette Werner. Jeppe's character is well developed. His back story includes a recent divorce and inability to work for a time due to his depression. This results in a certain pressure to solve the case. There's a writer's group that factors into the plot as well, and Jeppe and Annette are soon investigating a number of suspects and leads.

Overall, I enjoyed this read, a first for this author for me. I found it difficult to understand some of the other characters, but appreciated how things began to tie together. As a reader, it was hard for me to decide if certain revelations were a "red herring" or were foreshadowing how the killer(s) would be found.

Copenhagen as a setting was lovely for me, especially given that I am reading it during the Pandemic. I would have liked more atmospheric detail to engage me even more in the beauty of this city.

I'm grateful for the opportunity to review this Advanced Reader's Copy of The Tenant from NetGalley and I would read another novel by this author.

While the tone of this novel was off-putting to me, I recognize that there are a plethora of mystery readers that eat these up. Since I'm not a fan of Scandinavian noir, I'm always pressed to find something suitable to recommend to readers who are fans of Tana French and Jo Nesbo. I'll gladly pass this one along to them.

You never know how tangled your life can be with others who you thought were strangers. Julie is murdered and sets off a set of events that connects many people and uncovers many secrets.

The premise of the Tenant sucked me in from the start. I am not sure if it was the translation bc the book didn’t flow like I expected. The synopsis is amazing and I love a good murder mystery thriller so I’m not going to discount the author overall. Maybe my own expectations were too high for this one and that’s okay, it happens sometimes. Thank you NetGalley for this eARC!

The Tenant is the promising first entry in Katrine Engber’s new series featuring Copenhagen detectives Jeppe Kørner and Anette Werner, a typical “odd couple” who rub each other the wrong way but also complement one another. It begins when a woman named Julie Stender is found brutally murdered in her apartment with bizarre carvings on her face. In her early 20s, Julie appears to have been a pleasant young woman who would not have inspired the kind of passion her murderer seems to have shown. The mystery only deepens when it is discovered that the circumstances of the murder match those in an unpublished novel by her landlady, Esther di Laurenti, an eccentric retired professor, which has only been shared with a few people. Who is Julie’s murderer? Is it her irrationally possessive father? A young man Esther has treated as a son? A member of Esther’s writing group?

Kørner and Werner start digging into Julie's life, and as usual, secrets begin to emerge, as well as connections between the people who knew her that had previously been unknown. The murder is revealed well before the end of the book which then becomes more suspense as the detectives race to save another character's life. I found a mystery to be interesting and intriguing and the characters to be well drawn, although I could have stood a little less of Kørner’s angst over his recent divorce. I would definitely read more books in the series or by this author.

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

I really enjoyed the premise of this book - a murderer is killing people based on one of the main character's novels she's working on! Super suspenseful and lots of twists and turns - I devoured this one in a day or two. Excellent summer read - creepy and unique.

I received an advanced digital copy of this book from the author, publisher and Netgalley.com. Thanks to all for the opportunity to read and review. The opinions expressed in this review are my own.

The Tenant is a suspenseful thriller that will keep you on the edge of your seat. Excellent read!

5 out of 5 stars.

Nordic Noir at its finest. Love the police procedurals set in other countries. Unfortunately, for the main Esther a killer is committing murders based upon a novel she is writing. Who, would do this? Who, would kill people close to her based upon a fictional story and then taunt her with it? The twists to get to the answer are really good.
Thank you Netgalley for a copy in exchange for an honest review.

BOOK REVIEW: The Tenant by Katrine Engberg

Genre: Thriller

A debut novel by a new author, who was previously a dancer and a choreographer with experience in theater and television… Which will not be surprising to you when you read this book!

There's actually tons of visual imagery in this book that is very theatrical, which really adds to the mystery crime thriller as you experience this book.

I understand this is going to be a series and I look forward to the next ones as well…

The Tenant by Katrine Engberg
2020 Book Release | January

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All my reviews can be seen at This Is My Everybody | Books & DIY Home Ideas | Denise Wilbanks at www.thisismyeverybody.com ... Including my video tutorials for DIY home ideas inspired by recommended books to support you in bringing your favorite books to life in your life and home.

You can see my full review for The Tenant by Katrine Engberg at https://www.thisismyeverybody.com/books/reading-wrap-up-january-2020


✨😎✨A big thank you to Katrine Engberg, Simon & Schuster – Gallery Books | Scout Press and NetGalley for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed in my review are my own.

This one was really good and super suspenseful. Thank you for the chance to read and review such good books as this!

Gritty, intricately woven...
A dinner party, a manuscript, a young tenant, an older power-hungry man, a pregnancy...
This has many intricate facets. Grab your notebooks, you might want to write some of this down.

Thank you to the publisher, Scout Press, for the ARC. All opinions and reviews are my own.

I'm growing very fond of Nordic noir and can add The Tenant to the list of such books that I've read in the last year or so. Now that I've read it, I wish I could read the next three books in this series but from what I can tell, they haven't been translated into English so I won't be able to follow detectives Jeppe Korner and Anette Werner further along in their careers. We don't really get to know Anette very well but we get to be in Jeppe's head, as the lead detective on a murder case, just six months after his nervous breakdown. 

Jeppe's wife had served him with divorce papers and moved on with someone else while Jeppe is still reeling from the breakup and has now come back from a medical leave, due to his breakdown. When there is a grisly murder of a young woman, in an apartment building, Jeppe's superintendent takes a leap of faith and names him the lead detective on the team. Even Jeppe knows he can be too sensitive, too soft, but he wants the job and to prove he's over his breakdown. Plus he has his partner, Anette, to back him up. 

There are a lot of suspicious people who could have killed the young woman and her landlady, Esther, an elderly budding novelist, has even written a manuscript about a young lady, murdered in an apartment building, in the exact grisly way this woman was murdered. Ester wrote her story weeks before the girl was murdered and has no idea how anyone would know what she has written. Soon there is another murder and all sorts of interconnecting links that make little sense. The murderer is still out there and Jeppe feels responsible for keeping Ester safe from whoever used her writing to plot the woman's murder. 

The violence in this story is gruesome, the pace is very slow, even though the story takes place over just a few days. We spend time in Jeppe's head and there is humor in his thoughts, despite his broody and gloomy demeanor. His partner can barely tolerate him at times and he can barely tolerate her and they resemble an old married couple more often than not. The plot is twisted and tangled and just when I and the detectives had thought we had the murderer, something would happen to throw us off the trail. I know not everyone liked this book as much as I did, but this is the kind of story I like to get lost in and I'm sad that the series ends here for me. 

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

***Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing with a digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review***

I started the audiobook and sadly was being put to sleep. Maybe I'll give the print version a try, but life is too short to force read a book.

Esther de Laurenti owned an apartment building and she was a budding writer. Little did she know that her murder mystery would be used to kill people in her building. Who could know her and her tenants so we’ll and why are they killing people that are close to her?
The characters are very relatable and interesting.

I’m not sure why I waited so long to read this one, but I’m glad that I finally did. This was full of twists and turns and kept me on my toes until the very end. It kept me guessing throughout. I like how all the characters became intertwined with one another, giving any of them a reason to want to kill Julie. I like when you can’t guess the ending of a thriller because the mystery is so well woven and you are constantly changing your mind about who the killer could be. I know that some people don’t like reading thrillers from the point of a detective, but I actually really enjoy that perspective. So if you like detective thrillers, this is a perfect book for you!