THE BUTTERFLY HOUSE
Katrine Engberg; translated by Tara Chase
Scout Press/ Simon & Schuster
ISBN 078-1-9821-2760-2
Hardcover
Mystery/Thriller

It seems as though Scandinavian mystery novels recently have not been appearing quite as quickly in the United States as they once did, and more is the pity. That state of affairs makes one appreciate all the more the ones that do show up. We accordingly herald the appearance of THE BUTTERFLY HOUSE by Katrine Engberg (with a fine translation assist from Tara Chase). THE BUTTERFLY HOUSE is Engberg’s sophomore appearance in this country (though the third in a series), following 2020’s THE TENANT, and succeeds in meeting and exceeding the promise of its predecessor.

Engberg introduced Copenhagen police detectives Jeppe Korner and Anette Werner in THE TENANT. Both return in THE BUTTERFLY HOUSE, though their partnership is somewhat tenuous. Werner is on maternity leave for the entirety of THE BUTTERFLY HOUSE, a state of affairs that leaves her out-of-sorts on several different fronts. Korner’s personal life is a bit in stasis. He is recovering emotionally from a painful divorce and is living with his mother while awaiting a move-in to a new apartment. Korner is also tentatively taking some giant steps into emotional involvement with another member of the detective squad. A puzzling case is dropped into the midst of this cauldron. Someone is committing a series of murders around Copenhagen, draining the blood from each victim and leaving them on successive nights in a body of water. Two things quickly become evident. The first is that each victim is connected to The Butterfly House, a private treatment facility for troubled teens that closed after being in operation for only a couple of years. The second is that Werner realizes that she knows one of the victims. Kerner and his team don’t lack for suspects once they start investigating people with ties to the facility. Their problem is that each possible suspect is also a potential victim. Korner, given the high public profile of the killings, is under the gun to either resolve the investigation quickly or be replaced as the head of the team. Werner, meanwhile, remains uncomfortable with the inaction that comes from being on maternity leave and is not fitting in well with her new role of parenthood. She begins taking a few hours here and there to do her own investigating, something which she does very well even as she puts her relationship with her husband --- not to mention her own life --- in jeopardy. The matter is ultimately resolved, though not without some difficulty, and a surprise or two which will keep readers going until they finish just one more chapter, and then another.

The most impressive element of THE BUTTERFLY HOUSE is the mystery which forms the red-hot core of the book. There is truly no logical way of ultimately discerning whodunit, if you will, prior to the big reveal which occurs near the end of the book, after which a number of the sub-plots which have developed along the way are satisfactorily wrapped up. We will hopefully see BLOOD MOON, which precedes THE BUTTERFLY HOUSE in the Korner/Werner series, to get more of the same. In the meanwhile, it is my fervent wish that author Engberg continues writing and never stops. Strongly recommended.

Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub
© Copyright 2021, The Book Report, Inc. All rights reserved.

This is book #2 in this series of Scandinavian thrillers translated to English. It is the story of gruesome muders by a serial killer. The murders were gruesome and the story was a little confusing for serveral chapters.There were lots of characters to keep track of. Although the story comes together, I would only recommend this to someone who likes to read thrillers with graphic murders.

I received an advanced readers copy of this book for my unbiased review.

I loved the first title in this new series, and the second did not disappoint. I look forward to reading whatever comes next!

Honestly, I wanted to love this, but was unable to keep track of everything in the beginning. There were too many characters and stories introduced at once and because they didn't seem connected, it felt more confusing that anything. I didn't finish the book; I lost interest. I wish the author had stuck to one story longer and allowed me to fully understand those characters before introducing more.

When bloodless bodies start to appear in fountains around Copenhagen Detective Jeppe Korner and his team is tasked with solving this crime with the utmost priority. However, Korner is feeling handicapped without his partner Detective Annette Werner, who is out on maternity leave, living at home with his mother still recovering from addiction and an ugly divorce, Jeppe is not really sure he can put the pieces of this puzzle together with his temporary new partner. Werner is feeling just as handicapped at home suffering from postpartum depression, she misses her job and wants to go back to a time where there is more to life than just feeding a baby and changing her diapers, so when she reads the story of the recovered bloodless bodies in the paper, Anette decides she just may do a little sleuthing of her own. Can Korner and Werner solve this case independently of each other or will their quest to catch this crafty killer be hampered without one another, well I suggest you pick up The Butterfly House and find out.

I am becoming such a big fan of Nordic Noir, but my taste leans more toward character driven literary fiction so Katrine Engberg's Korner & Werner series quenched my need for both. I thoroughly enjoyed the first translated book in the series, The Tenant, I loved The Butterfly House even more. In my opinion, Engberg gives the reader a simple murder mystery, supplies them with the perspectives of sly suspects, and then has the reader navigate the detectives' chaotic and complicated lives while they try to solve a murder investigation at the same time. The Butterfly House is a very good Nordic Noir and for me personally really gratifying read, where even if you clever enough to figure out the who the killer is, the shocking why will not be revealed until literally the very end. 4.5 stars.

The Butterfly House is the second book by Danish author Katrine Engberg that features detectives Jeppe Korner and Anette Werner. After reading her bestselling book The Tenant, I have been looking forward the second installment. This time, Anette is home on maternity leave, feeling sidelined and restless. Meanwhile, Jeppe, who is dealing with his recent and painful divorce, and now living temporarily with his mother, is named lead investigator in a gruesome murder case. The victim has died as a result of exsanguination and it is only the beginning of what appears to be a work of a serial killer.

With a variety of characters and sub-plots, The Butterfly House is a complex police procedural that also encompasses a variety of emotions and situations, as well as several twists that most readers won’t anticipate. This novel is suspenseful, well-written, well-plotted, and fast-paced, and the characters are very well-developed. Overall, this book will definitely capture a reader’s attention.

I thoroughly enjoyed Ms Engberg’s newest book and I’m already looking forward to her next one.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a copy of this book for review.

In the second installment of the Kørner and Werner series by bestselling Danish author Katrine Engberg, The Butterfly House detective Anette Werner is on maternity leave, and Jeppe Kørner is temporarily staying at his mother’s house until his new apartment is ready to move in. Anette, who didn’t ever want children, has a new baby and is struggling to accept motherhood and a new lifestyle. She wants to get back on the job, and stays in touch with Jeppe to update herself on cases. The main case Jeppe is working is a series of murders where the suspect uses an antique scarificator, which punches 12 holes in the victims and lets them bleed out over a long period of time - a very torturous death. He then dumps them in fountains around the town square and near hospitals. Early on, Jeppe and other detectives working the case, discover that all of the victims worked at a psychological care center that was closed two years prior after one of the counselors drowned and a patient committed suicide. There are also some sub-plots where supporting characters from the first installment, Gregors, staying with newly retired and bored, Esther DeLaurenti, is put in the hospital where a nurse appears to be killing off patients who are complaining.

While Engberg is an excellent storyteller, and the story, as well as the sub-plots flow and keep readers on the edge, there are a few errors in translation; however, they don’t really affect the story or characters. Engberg could use a good editor who is a little more familiar with the Danish/English languages. However, the characters are very well developed – not only Kørner and Werner (she isn’t quite so likeable in this novel because she doesn’t appear to care much about her baby), but the supporting characters, and they are actually intriguing due to the Danish culture which isn’t particularly familiar to most Americans. There are twists and turns in this novel, and Jeppe is under a lot of pressure from his superiors to solve the case, which is getting a lot of attention in the news. Both Jeppe and Anette, as well as some of the other detectives put themselves in grave danger in a few scenarios, and that makes the novel even harder to put down. There are several tenable suspects, and readers don’t find out who the actual murderer is until the dénouement at the very end.

Highly recommended, this novel gives readers insight into an alternative culture as well as plenty of suspense. Most readers will anticipate the next installment.

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

Too many characters, awkward translation

This is the second book in the Korner and Werner series. I have not read the first. There are a lot of unhappy people in this book. Young people with dangerous psychiatric problems. Medical workers who are so over-stressed that they develop dangerous psychiatric problems. Police officers who are being driven crazy by their family situations. Lonely elderly. These lives are tangled together by a series of murders Someone among them is killing people who once worked at The Butterfly House, a small, private residential facility for severely troubled teenagers.

I don't like books with too many characters and stories crammed together and I don't like jumping from POV to POV so this book is not one I can recommend very highly. I found the translation awkward, as presented in this ARC, and wonder how much will be smoothed out in the final edit.

The Butterfly House opened in a hospital room, where a nurse was taking matters into her own hands with a patient. From there it spun into a seemingly unconnected series of events when a body was found in a local fountain, and a hunt for a murderer began. The cast of characters was vast and as the book connected them all together, a sad, tragic picture emerges.

There were numerous plot twists and turns, and misdirections, with the outcome completely unexpected. I was very surprised at the end and enjoyed the fact that I did not guess at who the murderer was. It was unexpected, yet ended up making complete sense.

I recommend this to anyone who enjoys murder mysteries and psychological thrillers. I look forward to more of Katrine Engber's novels. Thank you to the publisher and #NetGalley for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

From my blog: Always With a Book:

This is the second book in Katrine Engberg's Korner and Werner series and one of my most anticipated books of January. I was so excited to see that this second book was being translated here in the US as I really liked the first book, The Tenant last year and have been eagerly awaiting this next installment.

This book is an incredibly atmospheric, fast-paced Scandinavian crime thriller. A serial killer is on the loose and the method of killing is quite unusual. But it seems all the victims have a connection...and the suspects seem plentiful the more the detectives dig into the case.

I have to say I think this book is even better than the first one. There is continued character development on both our beloved detectives, something that I think was a little lacking in the previous book, which seemed to be primarily focused on Korner. In this book, I feel it's a bit more balanced. We have our detectives working independently on the case...with Korner having to take on a new partner for the time being. I loved that even though Werner is supposed to be on maternity leave, she decides she cannot sit around and do nothing, so she does her own sleuthing, off-the-record, because she just happens to still have her police scanner.

This book takes a hard look at the mental health system and how overworked and understaffed some places are. There are many twists and turns throughout the book and it really keeps you engaged and on the edge of your seat as you try to keep track of all the moving parts and figure out how they all come together. I had my guesses as to who was behind the murders but I was completely wrong!

I loved this latest edition and am quite eager to continue on with the series. I am glad to see this book was translated into English...hopefully that means the rest of the series will be as well!



Audio thoughts: I went the audio route this time around and it was super fun...this book really translated well into audio and the narrator, Graeme Malcolm really did a great job bringing the book to life. He did a good job with the voices and his pacing and intonation were spot on. He was a new-to-me narrator and I would love to see him continue narrating the rest of this series as I would definitely consider listening to the rest of it if he did!

Following the same Copenhagen detectives from her first book, The Tenant, The Butterfly House delves into another grimy Nordic mystery that is fast-paced, intriguing and worth your time 100%. Detectives Jeppe Kørner and Annette Werner are both dealing with their own personal struggles; Jeppe is suffering through a painful divorce while Annette is on maternity leave and itching to get back in the game. In comes a series of similar murders, all of the victims connected to a mental institution known at the Butterfly House (there’s the title!). Honest characters, gripping mysteries and speedy writing, you’ll find yourself reading this into the late hours of the night to make it to the shocking finale!

The Butterfly House by Katrine Engberg is an excellent police procedural set Denmark.
This is the second book in the Jeppe Kørner and Anette Werner series.

The book opens where a nurse is planning on killing a patient with a fatal injection.
The story then goes back to six days before that and that's where the narrative unfolds.

The characters were well written with a perfectly paced chilling plot.

This is an excellent police procedural thriller which I enjoyed as much as the first book in the series, The Tenant.

4.25 grisly stars

This is the second in the series and I liked the first one but this second one was more of a hit with me! Dark Nordic noir set in Copenhagen with Detectives Jeppe Korner and Anette Werner reunited in a way! Anette is on maternity leave and I thought it was so realistically portrayed. She’s desperately bored taking care of her daughter and secretly listens to the police scanner and is investigating cases when she is supposed to be picking up diapers. Striking out on her own is not always so smart though! There’s even the return of Esther de Laurenti from the first book.

Jeppe Korner is stuck living with his mother while he wraps up a divorce and saddled with an overweight partner until Werner returns to the force. He soon has some grisly murders to investigate. The victims have had all the blood drained from their bodies. The investigation is hitting all sorts of dead ends as more victims turn up.

At the heart of the story is a former home for mentally ill young people, The Butterfly House. The victims are all connected to the home and Korner is scrambling to figure it all out. It was interesting to read more about mental health treatment in Denmark and how it is a universal challenge no matter in what country you reside. Also true that these patients can be mistreated anywhere.

This one has some grisly scenes and a powerhouse ending that had me wondering how it would all turn out! I see that there are three more installments in this series, but they haven’t been translated to English yet.

The Butterfly House by Katrine Engberg is a highly recommended police procedural set in Copenhagen, Denmark, and the second book in the Jeppe Kørner and Anette Werner series. The first novel is The Tenant. (The English translation was published 1/14/20.)

After an opening scene where a nurse is planning to give a patient a fatal injection, the narrative jumps back to six days earlier. Lead investigator Jeppe Kørner has just been told of a body found in a fountain with small incisions on her body. He later learns that she died from exsanguination, or the draining of all the blood in her body. Since Anette is off and at home on maternity leave, Jeppe is working with Detective Falck, who is decidedly more low energy compared to Anette. When another body is found in a foundation who died the same way as the first, a connection between the two victims leads back to the Butterfly House, a now-closed teen psychiatric facility. The murder weapon is even more bizarre, it was a bloodletting device called a scarificator.

At the same time, Anette is not doing well on maternity leave. With a newborn, she is exhausted all the time, and likely experiencing some postpartum depression. She misses working. When she hears about the murders, she goads some information out of Jeppe and begins assisting with the investigation on her own.

Engberg further develops the characters of Jeppe and Anette and again provides interesting supporting characters. Jeppe is still a reserved and reticent character, but this time out Anette is also keeping quiet about her activities until she has something to share with Jeppe. Her husband doesn't know she is investigation on the sly at all. Again, the two complement each other's strengths and weaknesses. Falck, who is almost portrayed as a joke also comes into his own. The suspects are numerous and all of them are interesting individuals. You will have several predictions, but won't really know exactly what is going on until the end. The final denouncement of the investigation is surprising and worth the lead up to it.

Again, and qualms I had about the writing (some odd word usage, grammar, punctuation etc.) are certainly due to the translation. And since I have an advanced readers copy many could be all cleaned up in the final edition. My review rating is based on the plot and characters. Apparently this is a longer series that is being translated so hopefully we will see more of Jeppe and Anette.

Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of Gallery/Scout Press
After publication the review will be posted on Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

The second in her Korner and Werner series, The Butterfly House, Katrine Engberg comes through with another solid Scanidavian mystery. Partners Investigator Jeppe Korner and Dectective Anette Werner return as featured characters, but they aren't partners this time around as Werner is on a maternity leave; one she didn't expect and wasn't prepared for.

In her absence, Korner temporarily is partnered with Falck, an older detective just back from a long, stressed-related disability. Falck's slow, plodding, unenthusiastic manner is completely opposite that of Werner, who missing her work finds ways to become dangerously involved in the new case.

A man has been found floating face down in the pool surrounding a famous fountain. His body, discovered by a newspaper booy in the early morning, is bloodless, and has three sets of strange parallel markings on it. Early the next morning, a woman is found dead in the early morning in another fountain. Her body carries the same markings. Tapes show that each of the victims have been transported to the drop scene by cargo bike, but it is impossible to tell if the rider is a man or a woman. What is the connection between the two, what was the murder weapon, and why were they killed? Tension mounts as the victim count rises. Korner must soon figure things out, or he will be replaced on the case.

I really enjoy Engberg's pacing and the way she fills out her characters. Her plaot lines are interesting and hold enough hooks and surprises to keep pages turning. We learn more about Korner and Werner's personal lives in this book. Korner has moved into his mother's home following his divorce, and has started a new relationship. The combination of the three has him going through quite an upheaval which both causes him to try to focus more on his work while distracting him from it at the same time. Werner is trying to figure out how to be a mother and wonders if she can balance her new resposibilities with a job she both misses and loves.

There are plenty of suspects and threads to follow to get to the truth. I enjoyed every bit of the journey and look forward to the next installment in this series!

My thanks to NetGalley and Gallery/Scout Press for allowing me to read a copy of this novel which is scheduled to be published on 1/5/2021.

This is the 2nd book in the Detectives Jeppe Kørner and Anette Werner series which takes place in Copenhagen Denmark. A paperboy discovers the naked body of a dead woman, lying in a fountain. All the blood has been drained from her body. Another body is found again lying in water with the same MO. Are the murders related to The Butterfly House, a psychiatric hospital for juveniles?
Jeppe is recovering from a painful divorce and Anette is on maternity leave. Anette is at home bored and decides to do a little freelance sleuthing. After a series of twists and turns, she ends up helping Jeppe solve the murders. The book kept me guessing all the way through and the ending proved to be a surprise to me. I look forward to reading the 3rd book in the series and highly recommend this one. Thanks to NetGalley and Gallery/Scout Press for a free copy for an honest review.

This is the second book in this series. It’s a police procedural story that tells a story of how Jesper and Annette race to solve a series of murders linked to patients at a Danish hospital. It tells the story of the mentally ill. I enjoyed the story

Many thanks to NetGalley and Gallery/Scout Press for gifting me a digital ARC of this second book in the Korner/Werner Danish police procedural series by Katrine Engberg - 5 stars for a great book that leaves me anxious for the next ones to be translated into English!

This book finds Anette Werner home on maternity leave - struggling with her new baby and missing her old life, including her job as detective. Her partner, Jeppe Korner, is temporarily living with his mom after his divorce and secretly dating a coworker, Sara. The team is thrust into a series of horrific murders - three bodies bled out and left in fountains to die. Their investigations lead them to look at The Butterfly House, a residential home for the treatment of mentally-disturbed teenagers.

There are so many different suspects in this book - I questioned everyone and was still surprised at the end! I love both of these main characters that we met in The Tenant as well as many of the supporting characters, including another repeat from the first book, Esther. There's a lot going on in this book but the author is very skilled at keeping things flowing with just enough information to keep you guessing. This is a highly recommended series to start reading!

2.5 stars

Sadly, this book just didn't hit the mark for me. I'm not sure if it's because it is the second book in a series where I didn't read the first one or not.

The pace was a bit too slow for this genre and my preference, though it did pick up a bit as the story went on. There was a lot going on, which made for a bit of confusion at times, and a few too many characters. There was at least one plot line that really didn't go there. Not sure if it was missed in edits or if it's to set something up for future books. Either way, it may distract other readers, as it did me.

Fans of police procedurals will want to consider this series, but I'd suggest reading them in order.

Copenhagen detectives Jeppe Kørner and Annette Werner are back in Katrine Engberg's follow up to The Tenant. This time, Werner is on maternity leave while Kørner and fill in partner Falck are left to investigate a series of murders where the victims are left drained of their blood in fountains around the city. Esther and Gregers from The Tenant also return and have a subplot as well as a nurse at the hospital who is intentionally overdosing patients.

The characters continue to be well developed as we further get to know them. The pacing is excellent, I was gripped from the first page and read this every chance I had. The plotting is excellent and I liked how Engberg used the weather to increase that hopeless feeling you get as you read. She also does amazing with describing Copenhagen and making the reader wish to visit there. This is a fantastic entry in the series and I hope the rest of the series gets translate in to English.

Thank you to Gallery/Scout Press, author Katrine Engberg, and NetGalley for gifting me a digital copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.