I loved the premise of this one and was SO excited to get the chance to read it since I enjoy mystery and Nordic noir is new to me. However, I mostly found myself bored. 😬 I don’t know if it’s just me or what. But I just didn’t click with this one. Which is disappointing l, cause I was really looking forward to it.

The Tenant is a Scandinavian noir thriller set in Denmark. The mystery is a slow burn and the murder itself is intriguing…but not intriguing enough for me to keep reading. I read the first part of this book before I realized that I didn’t care about the characters or the plot.

The Tenant is not atmospheric or eerie. There is no tension or suspense. It’s all so…flat and lowkey. I don’t mind lowkey, but I need some sort of suspense at the very least. Scandinavian thrillers generally tend to be noir in tone, but I don’t think I would categorize this book as a noir thriller.

I listened to the audiobook and the narrator was fine, but he came across as monotonic because the story itself lacks any kind of suspense. This was just not for me unfortunately.

This was a great debut book. Touted as a gritty crime mystery, it did follow all those tropes and expectations. However, this genre isn't really for me. I felt it was a bit forced/stereotypical at times. Like something I've read before. But for a debut novel - I can say I would recommend this to people who like this genre. It's just not my preference.

This was dark and creepy ...
soooo many suspicious characters!

I enjoyed the storyline and the police detectives, Jeppe Korner and Anette Werner. I'm hoping we learn more about Anette in the next book as this was mostly focused on Jeppe.

Thanks to Simon and Schuster Canada and Netgalley for my review copy!

A quick read thriller in the Scandi-noir theme. Well-written interesting debut, look forward to more from the author.

The narrative is split between multiple characters. The main points of view are told from the perspectives of the mystery writer and the main police detective.

I struggled with the writing--I don’t know if it was the translation or if because I recently read a similar mystery with too many shared components, that I found this book boring. I found the pacing uneven, the characters flat, and the narrative lacking. I love this genre and had high expectations going in, but unfortunately, this book was a bit of a struggle for me

The Tenant is a police procedural murder mystery. I liked the idea of the story, the interactions between the police officers, some of the characters and the fact that I could not easily figure out who did it. I disliked the pace because it was too slow, and my attention wandered. The story was confusing at times, and in the end, I felt like I was missing something. Overall, this is an average mystery, and I can take it or leave it.

This police procedural is the first of four novels in the Danish crime fiction series set in Copenhagen featuring Danish detectives Jeppe Kørner & Anette Werner. So far, this is the only one that has been translated to English, and I can assure you the translation is seamless.

The characters were portrayed very sympathetically and I really enjoyed the intricate plotting. Of the two lead detectives, Jeppe Kørner was by far the most prominent in this book, though subsequent books will no doubt feature Anette Werner more prominently. The pair are unlikely. They seem antagonistic and have little if anything in common beyond a begrudgingly mutual respect.

"Apparently the two of them complemented each other in a way they themselves failed to see."

The murder case they are investigating was well plotted and involved many interesting characters and vivid imagery. The action of the novel takes place during a hot Copenhagen summer, and the meticulously planned murder presents some unique challenges for the police team.

The cogent ending was very satisfying which makes me want to pursue the remainder of this excellent series as soon as they are translated into English. Recommended!

I found this one a touch slow. And a a bit too long. Perhaps it’s because I found the language flat. Possibly because of the translation.

2.5-3 Stars
This was a slow building mystery with a somewhat interesting premise, but it failed to fully captivate, wow, or surprise me.
The two lead detectives within the story had an interesting dynamic, but the character development as well as the dialogue fell flat.
I did finish the novel but I think overall the execution needed some fine-tuning.


_____

**Complimentary copy for review provided by Simon and Schuster Canada and Scout Press/Gallery Books. All opinions expressed here are honest and entirely my own.**

Set in Copenhagen, THE TENANT begins with the brutal murder of a young woman in her own apartment. An elderly neighbour makes the gruesome discovery.
The case is assigned to two detectives. Jeppe Korner is named the lead and will be assisted by his partner Annette Werner. They soon discover a link between the victim Julie Stender and her landlady Esther de Laurenti a retired university professor. Esther has begun to write a murder mystery and the details of the unpublished novel are eerily similar to the actual murder.
I enjoyed reading THE TENANT. It is one of the better thrillers I have read of late. I thought the characters were well developed especially Jeppe. The pace was excellent. There were enough clues and the odd red herring to keep the reader interested.
Thought this was an excellent debut. I would love to read another book featuring these two detectives. Hopefully the next book will have Annette as the lead and we will learn more about her backstory.

Thank you to @netgalley and @gallerybooks for a copy in exchange for my honest opinion.
-
When a young woman is discovered brutally murdered in her own apartment, with an intricate pattern of lines carved into her face, Copenhagen police detectives Jeppe Korner and Anette Werner are assigned to the case.
-
Set in Copenhagen Denmark this was a suspenseful read. A bit police procedural, a bit thriller, a bit family drama... it was a hit everything while being entertaining and unique. In all honesty it took me a while to connect to any characters, but eventually I appreciated the banter between our two protagonists, as well as the character growth of the land lady. Overall I really did enjoy the story. There were SO MANY suspects and so many directions that when we finally found out who and why it was a shock to me. Maybe I’m gullible and naive lol.
-
It took me a while to figure out the WHO, and I did... but the WHY I never did figure out on my own lol.
-
I enjoyed this and would read the translated sequels if they happened

Thank you for the opportunity to read and review The Tenant. Such an entricing read and it just sucked me right in. You think you have your thoughts on who was behind the murder of the girl and I was wrong about it most of the time. Loved the way this one wrapped up and can not wait to check out more books that are released by Katrine Engberg.

This is a thriller/mystery set in Copenhagen. It was a different one for me. As I read through, I found the names difficult to pronounce. Other than that, I found it to be fast paced as there was lots of info being thrown at you as the murder investigation is ongoing. There were several suspects to choose from and made the story a more enjoyable read.

When a young girl, Julie, is found brutally murdered by one of the other tenants in the building, it is up Detective Jeppe to solve the case. Detective Jeppe has recently fallen on hard times when his wife left him after they were unable to conceive a child. When other murders start taking place it is anyone’s guess who is responsible.
.
For the most part I really enjoyed the story. There were so many plot twists that you could never figure out what was going on and it almost seemed like they would never figure it out.
.
The ending fell a little flat for me and was disappointed that the murder was solved in a rushed sort of way. The motive for the murder was tied up at the end in a reasonable way. If your a fan of murder mysteries I think this is worth the read.

Thank you to @simonschusterca and @netgalley for providing me with a copy of this ebook!
-
This was a fast paced thriller that was engrossing from start to finish! It followed two detectives in Copenhagen, who were investigating the murder of a young woman. They are trying to find connections to the young woman, and the woman who owns the building she was renting from has a very mysterious connection!
Some of the twists and turns were a little predictable, but they still kept me want to continue to read more and figure out the end of the story! I sometimes find it hard to know if a story is predictable, or I was just really good at guessing the twists 💁🏼‍♀️ there is a lot going on in this story as well, but I felt like it was easy enough to keep track of everything that was going on!
I also loved the setting of the book! I don’t usually read books set in Denmark and Northern Europe, so it was fun to read about different places. I kinda felt like I was exploring Copenhagen as a tourist, as the author did a good job of describing the place and where the characters traveled to! Overall a great read!

Are you a Scandi mystery fan? Yes? Then you're going to want to pick up Danish author Katrine Engberg's debut novel, The Tenant, just released in the US.

A young woman is found murdered in her apartment with curious cuts on her face. Her landlady Esther, who also lives in the building, is a budding novelist. And her work in progress just happens to have a murder that is eerily similar to the tenant's death. Is she a murderer? Or is one of her numerous friends a killer? Could someone be targeting her for another reason?

On the case is the police detective duo of Anette and Jeppe. This pair are a large part of my enjoyment of The Tenant. They play well off each other with very different personalities. I found myself a bit more drawn towards Jeppe, as he fights his way back from some hard circumstances. The banter between the two is entertaining. And their sleuthing skills are sharp. I would read another book featuring these two leads.

I thought things were headed one way, but Engberg keeps the reader guessing with additional bodies and further revelations. There was no way to predict the last 'ta-da'. I did find it a wee bit of a stretch by the final pages.

Engberg fleshes out her characters well, not just the leads, but the other players as well, making them more believable and this allows them bring more to the story. The pacing is measured in The Tenant, taking a more circuitous route to the final whodunit. I enjoyed the journey!

The Tenant is the first book in a Nordic Noir series by Scandinavian author Katrine Engberg. It introduces the reader to detectives Jeppe Korner and Anette Werner. This one centers around the brutal murder of Julie Stender. As details begin to emerge, the link between the manuscript of land-lady Esther de Laurenti's developing novel, and the murder seem all too similar. The detectives will have to big deep into the past and uncover some big secrets to track down the murderer.

While this is a novel steeped in mystery, for me it just tried to pack too much into one story. The premise was decent, but the pace was slow, and all over the place. I truly believe some aspects may have been lost in translation. This story failed to hook me, and for that reason alone it was just okay. One thing I did enjoy was the dynamic between the two detectives, so I would be interested in seeing where the next book takes them.

If you're a fan of Nordic Noir stories where the tension builds slowly, and the storylines are complex then this is definitely worth checking out. Otherwise I'd probably skip it.

Thank you to Gallery/Scout Press a division of Simon & Schuster Canada for providing me with a copy via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was a fast paced thriller, but it had some loose ends.

Some of the plot lines weren’t completed at the end. I won’t share which ones, but they were just dismissed as not being important to the case once it was solved. I was disappointed because these parts started out as good twists, but they didn’t turn out to mean anything.

There were also unnecessary parallels between characters. I thought it would connect the characters who had been through similar experiences, but it ended up being meaningless. It was confusing, since multiple characters had the same backstory and it didn’t have anything to do with the plot.

The murder mystery was intriguing, but the lack of answers at the end was disappointing.

Thank you Simon and Schuster Canada for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The Tenant is a first in a new Nordic Noir series featuring Detectives Jeppe Kørner & Anette Werner. .A young woman is found murdered in her apartment with intricate lines carved on her face. As a big fan of this genre, I was very excited to get a chance to read this book!

The main murder plot was well-done with lots of red herrings and many potential culprits. The pacing starts off slow, which is to be expected for a debut book in a series and is commonly found in the genre. Some additional backstory on the detectives would be beneficial as I found them hard to connect to at points. Overall, a good addition to the genre and I will definitely read future books by Engberg.

Thank you to Simon @ Schuster Canada and Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.