This is a who dun it while racing against the clock to find a minor. At first this seems like a simple abduction case until all the threads unravel. Set in Copenhagen the atmosphere is drawn so well you can picture yourself at the statue of the little mermaid. Mostly concentrated on the harbor, it delves into the lives of a prominent family and their missing child. The two detectives drove the story and whole sometimes things fell into place too easily, it was still an intricate story. It kept me guessing until the end and while it was a great story I wish there had been more to the ending. I would have liked more of what happened after it was solved.

It's no secret I love Nordic Noir. I picked up Engberg's The Tenant last year and I loved the whip smart detectives Korner and Werner and quirky Esther de Laurenti. This new crime story is just as compelling and we get more of the characters we love. When a young teen goes missing and a body is found in the state of the art trash dump, the detectives are on the race to figure out the connection and if they can find the missing boy before it's too late.

I think I liked this more than The Tenant simply because I was much more invested in the characters. The crime was convoluted and more complex than ever. I really enjoyed collecting the clues and trying to solve it. I did peg one of the culprits but not the reason why. If you love a good mystery and you don't need the frenetic pace of a modern thriller, then check this one out.

Thanks to Netgalley for advanced access to this novel. All opinions above are my own.

The 4th book in the Danish murder/mystery series of the police officers Annette Werner and Jeppe Koener. (I believe that only books 1, 3, & 4 have been translated into English) This was the story of a missing boy, his murdered teacher and the lengths people go to to keep horrible secrets. Esther and Greggers also make an appearance in this fourth installment, and, as usual, Esther has inadvertently helped out the investigation. I enjoyed this one immensely. My only wish with this series is that the second book would also be translated into English. I felt like I was missing something once I read the third book but luckily, since this is the fourth, it picks up where the third one left off.

*Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the e-arc of this novel.*

Once again the Copenhagen Violent Crimes Division team of Jeppe Korner and Anette Werner are called on to investigate a case. Oscar Dreyer-Hoff is missing and his parents have found a cryptic note. Has Oscar been kidnapped or left on his own volition? The Dryer-Hoffs are a well to do family and aren’t completely forthcoming with information. When a body is found at the waste treatment plant things really start to boil over. A well done police procedural that brings the Copenhagen Harbor to life. While this is book four in the series, it can be read as a stand alone.

Thank you to Gallery Press and Katrine Engberg for the opportunity to read this wonderful book early. It is a Scandinavian crime thriller starting with a missing teenager. I love reading crime thrillers set in other countries because I learn about their police system. I especially loved this book because Scandinavian names are kept and even the letters are unique.

Besides the plot, the cover is beautiful! It is very appropriate because the harbor is central to the story. I loved the writing and could picture the setting and story as it was happening. This story has a lot going on so there is always a piece of the puzzle to put together.

It’s a pleasant Saturday morning when our heroes, Violent Crime Unit Detectives Jeppe Kørner and Anette Werner, are called in from their day off to investigate the disappearance of a teenager. Both detectives are baffled by the summons, as teenagers are notorious for disappearing on a Friday night only to show up somewhat the self-inflicted worse for wear later in the weekend. But fifteen year-old Oscar Dreyer-Hoff is the son of a prominent Copenhagen family, and not the kind of kid to just take off without telling anyone. Even more seriously, a cryptic ransom note has been found, spurring the local authorities to take action:

QUOTE
First wave of the search operation was up and running. A team of officers was looking through digital channels, doing door-to-door searches in the neighborhood and calling Oscar’s relatives and classmates. The second wave would take an hour or so to activate. Canine patrols, helicopters, and media assistance all took longer to set in motion. They had decided to sit on the letter and their suspicions regarding kidnapping, at least initially. Until one knows the kidnappers’ demands, it can do serious harm to involve the rest of the world in the situation.
END QUOTE

As the hours pass without any hint of Oscar, our detectives begin to fear the worst. Both are hampered somewhat by their personal troubles, though. Jeppe is trying to navigate his relationship with his co-worker and now girlfriend, Sara Saidani, and perhaps more importantly with her two young daughters. Eleven year-old Amina, in particular, seems determined to be as obnoxious to him as possible.

Meanwhile, Anette finds herself inexplicably attracted to Mads Teigen, the solitary keeper of Trekoner Sea Fortress, one of the islands where Oscar may have disappeared to. Since the birth of her daughter Gudrun, her relationship with her husband Svend has changed, and not necessarily for the better. Is her insistence on keeping Mads company while they head search and rescue teams in the Øresund strait strictly professional, or the harbinger of events that could shatter her family life for good?

Family matters are foremost in everyone’s mind as Jeppe and Anette seek to untangle the web of half-truths surrounding what was going on in Oscar’s life that might have compelled him to run right into the arms of someone willing to exploit him for personal gain. But when a body is found, nearly crushed in the compacting claw of Copenhagen’s newest high-tech municipal incinerator, all personal issues must be set aside at least temporarily in order to uncover the truth surrounding the disappearance of this troubled young man.

Ably translated by Tara Chace, Katrine Engberg’s The Harbor continues the terrific Kørner And Werner series with both a chilling tale of crime and a sensitive exploration of troubled souls under immense pressure to hide their weaknesses. One such person is Kasper Skytte, the process engineer who finds the body alongside his crane operator co-worker. He already has way too much on his mind even before a corpse at his workplace complicates matters almost unbearably for him:

QUOTE
He shouldn’t. He had promised himself he would lay off. But the idea of turning the computer on grew in his head, until he could hardly read the numbers on the paper in front of him. If he logged in, it would be easier afterward, then he could stay off it for a while. Kasper felt a burning sensation in his body like an inflammation that spread from his stomach through his bloodstream out into his skin, making it tremble. He fetched his laptop, breathlessly logged in, and felt the world falling back in place.
END QUOTE

Ms Engberg knows how to depict deeply flawed yet still eminently human and relatable characters, even as she brings us on a non-stop thrill ride through Copenhagen’s seamy underbelly. Another of her fictional creations, writer Esther de Laurenti, reappears here to unwittingly assist our detectives in their investigations, even as she too grapples with what it means not only to age but to watch a loved one succumb to illness. This series perfectly balances Scandi-noir crime with heartfelt family drama (even if I do think that Jeppe needs to try a little harder!) Highly recommended for fans of the genre.

This is the 3rd book in the Korner and Werner series which is set in Copenhagen Denmark. Fifteen-year-old Oscar Dreyer-Hoff disappears. The police think it is a typical runaway case but his family fear the worst as Oscar left a peculiar note. I found the reference quote to Oscar Wilde's Picture of Dorian Gray interesting. Detectives Jeppe Korner and Anette Werner uncover lots of secret happenings which keep the pages turning. Jeppe and Anette also have to deal with their personal relationships which sometimes interferes with their investigations. I'm looking forward to the next book in the series. If you like fast-paced thrillers then I am sure you will enjoy this series. I would like to thank NetGalley and Gallery/Scott Press for a copy of the ebook for an honest review.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Gallery Books/Scout Press for gifting me the next installment in the wonderful police procedural series by Katrine Engberg - 4.5 stars!

Detectives Jeppe Kørner and Anette Werner are working the case of missing teenager, Oscar Dreyer-Hoff. While some say it's just the case of another runaway, the strange note left behind gives the detectives pause. When a body is found in the community incinerator plant, it lends even more strangeness to the case.

While this book can certainly be read as a stand alone, my favorite part of a series such as this is the personal relationships behind the stories. I love seeing how Jeppe and Anette's lives have been - it feels like falling back with good friends. Add that to a compelling mystery with lots of strange characters that keep you guessing, and it's definitely a win for me. I'm anxiously awaiting the next book in this great series!

Copenhagen investigators Jeppe Korner and Anette Werner are assigned to the case of missing 15-year-old Oscar Dreyer-Hoff, son of a prominent family. His best friend Iben Skytte seems to be hiding something, and his parents strike both of Korner and Werner as a bit off.

While trying to find the boy alive, other bodies turn up, each with a connection back to someone in the missing boy's life. Is he at the heart of it all? Did he stumble into something he shouldn't have? Or is he just a missing boy, off on a lark, while people he has ties to are dying?

Korner and Werner have their work cut out for them on this one. Their personal lives, and their working relationship also add to this interesting, solid police procedural. An enjoyable read, I rate this 3.5 stars rounded up to 4 stars.

My thanks to the author and Gallery/Scout Press for allowing me to read an e-ARC of this novel via NetGalley. All opinions stated in this review are my own and are freely given.

A solid entry into a solid series. Nordic thrillers are slow burning and I think that having some connection with the characters helped with the pacing of the book. This could definitely have been a standalone but I think it is hard to connect with these characters. For me it took two books.

Last year I borrowed The Butterfly House by Katrine Engberg from the library and fell in love with the Nordic noir genre! The Harbor is the third book in this series that has been translated to English and picks up with a new case. This case starts when a boy from a prominent family goes missing, along with the family’s boat. Detectives Korner & Werner explore the Copenhagen harbor for clues that lead to many twists and turns. If you have read The Butterfly House and The Tenant, I recommend reading The Harbor to keep up with the detectives and other characters as they tackle another complicated case.

Thank you NetGalley and Gallery Books for allowing me to read this book ahead of publication in exchange for my honest review.

Detectives Korner and Werner are on a new case in atmospheric Copenhagen, Denmark. I have so enjoyed this Scandinavian crime drama series. Never been to any of the places described and the writing makes me want to hop a flight. A good story transports the reader, this did that for me and I hate cold and rain! The personal lives of the characters continues to evolve with Anette as a new mother. Her twenty-five year marriage to Svend is in a slump and she experiences an unexpected attraction to a person of interest in the case.
The investigation spans seven days in April with Jeppe Kørner and his partner, Anette Werner, trying to find a missing fifteen-year-old boy, Oscar Dreyer-Hoff. There is a note which quotes author Oscar Wilde. Is it a possible suicide note or totally unrelated? Was he taken or did he just run away?
Meanwhile, there is a grisly discovery at the Amager Resource Center (ARC), fancy name for the new energy conscience garbage facility. The engineer, Kasper Skytte, is responsible for tracking CO2 emissions and quotas. His daughter, Iben, is a good friend of Oscars. There is a body in the trash claw apparatus. Lots of interesting information on recycling and emissions.
Oscar's parents, Malin and Henrik Dreyer-Hoff, run Nordhjem’s auctions. There is plenty of family drama, shady business dealings, and siblings with their own hidden secrets. Jeppe and Anette follow leads and conduct repeated interviews to find Oscar. There are many secrets, lies and omissions which hinder them at every turn.  Finding Oscar alive seems unattainable.
Esther de Laurenti is still attempting to write her novel. She and Jeppe continue to keep in touch while Gregers health deteriorates. The author keeps the characters interesting by including details of their relationships, love life, kids, and everyday struggles outside the job.
The investigation leads Korner and Werner down a path of dark subject matter, unexpected twists and an unpredictable conclusion.
This is number 4 in the Korner and Werner series, (not three as listed on Amazon). It is correctly listed on Goodreads. I highly recommend all in the series, wish the second would be translated,  and would certainly read next in series.
Many thanks to NetGalley, Katrine Engberg and to Galley Press for the advance digital copy of "The Harbor". These are my personal thoughts and opinions given voluntarily.

2.5 stars rounded up.

This book needs trigger warnings! Had I known them, I would not have requested to review this.

Going in, I was not aware it was part of a series. Even so, this book still worked as a standalone title. However, I could not connect with the characters as much as I might have if I had read the entire series. There were also a handful of characters introduced relatively quickly. (Again, maybe if I had read the other books, I would have been able to follow along a bit better) But as-is, it took me some time to remember them all.

This is a bit of a slow burn. At times I found myself skimming pages and reading just the dialogue.

Sadly, I just couldn't get into this book, and the triggers left me feeling uncomfortable and upset.

Trigger Warning (and spoiler alert) below
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Pedophilia, child abuse, suicide, alcoholism

Find the boy…solve the mystery before it is too late…where is he? Parents distraught…a town frightened…detectives looking…this book moves slowly at times, but comes to a conclusion that…wait…read it and discover…this book was sent to me by Netgalley for review.

By Katrine Engberg
⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2

Akin to a “meh” episode of Law & Order - something to watch and you’ll be entertained, but not 🤯.


⏰ 𝐒𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐒𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐫: Copenhagen. 15-year old Oscar has gone missing, so of course everyone is asking, “Did he run away?” Or did something nefarious happen? Enter Jeppe Korner and Anette Werner, the persistent duo of detectives on the case who swim through family secrets, hidden notes, and clandestine messages, and oops…. Some really dead bodies.

💡𝐓𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬: The word I would use for this police procedural mystery is “basic.” It’s basically good. Basically quick. Basically written. It’s basically effective and basically plot-driven.

I wasn’t wowed, but I wasn’t turned off. It’s what I affectionately call a “meh” read (that’s Gen Z for “ok” however I’m Gen X but I’m fluent) which is perfect for when you want to brain-wander, lost in a book but not quite up for any heavy thinking. The highlight is the plot - one that surprised me a few ways, along with some well-thought red herrings thrown in for fun.

The characters are plentiful though I didn’t feel attached to any of them (hence the 3.5); there really isn’t anyone to “cheer” for (not that this is necessary, but merely noteworthy) because they enter and exit pages quickly. Anette is by far the most interesting in the book, and the reader gets a peek into her life as a working mom detective, but it’s a mere glimpse… something that filled some pages but didn’t warrant intense or sustained FEELING.

My reaction is like that after watching a mediocre Law & Order episode- it was a way to pass some time. I was mildly entertained. So reading the book was a five-hour L&O episode, sans Jerry Orbach… or Ice-T.

𝗔𝗹𝗹 𝗺𝘆 𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄𝘀 𝗮𝘃𝗮𝗶𝗹𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗮𝘁 𝗦𝗰𝗿𝗮𝗽𝗽𝘆𝗠𝗮𝗴𝘀.𝗰𝗼𝗺 𝗮𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗽𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻.

📚𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐫𝐞: Police Procedural Mystery

😍𝐑𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨: If you’re in a rut and just need a quick mystery. Good airplane book. Also if you enjoy foreign mysteries - I did enjoy Googling some Copenhagen locales and now wish to ski on a garbage dump!

🙅‍♀️ 𝐍𝐨𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨: If you’re craving excitement! Wow! Suspense! (Yeah, that’s not this one yo.)

Thank you to the author, NetGalley and Gallery Books/Gallery Scout Press for my advanced copy in exchange for my always-honest review and for making me add Copenhagen to my bucket list (minus the dead bodies!)

I'm always up for a new Jeppe and Anette book!! (I have read books one and three in this series but not two for some strange reason. Was number two translated into English as I'm not seeing it on Goodreads?!? ) Still, I don't think it's absolutely necessary to have read prior books in the series to understand and enjoy this one.

On the personal side, Anette is adjusting to life as a mom and Jeppe is part of a blended family as his girlfriend has two young daughters. On the professional side, the pair is investigating the disappearance of a teenage boy, the son of a couple prominent in the Copenhagen art world.

I thought the plotting of The Harbor was strong and that the professional/personal balance of the main characters' lives was really well done! Hope this great series continues!

Let me start by saying I loooved The Butterfly House by this author and I had high hopes for this one.

Well…In some way it met my expectations.

The first half was a little slow and I thought I’d give it 3 stars. But the second half, wow! I bumped it to solid 4 stars.

The scenery is pretty cool and unique - harbors (duh), forts, and boats in Copenhagen. It makes me want to visit there someday.
Oh! And we have a body found in the waste silo of an incineration plant. I’ve never seen this in a thriller.

This is book #4 of the Kørner and Werner series, but it can totally be read as a standalone book.

The Harbor is the fourth book in the Kørner and Werner Series set in Copenhagen. The English translations are being published out of order, so this is the third book that has been translated at this point. This story find police detective partners Jeppe Kørner and Anette Werner called in after fifteen year old Oscar Dreyer-Hoff disappears. Initially, it seems like this might be a typical teen runaway situation, but when Oscar's parents find an odd note left behind, they start to consider the possibility that Oscar has been kidnapped and the note they find is a threat of some kind. As with all missing persons cases, time is of the essence and as the hours tick by, Kørner and Werner do their best to untangle the mess of connections and ties the Dreyer-Hoff family have - including some less than savory rumors.

TW/CW: alcoholism, child abuse, attempted suicide, death of a child

This is my first Kørner and Werner book but the first in the series has been on my radar for a while. I almost didn't request this one, but when I saw that the English translations were being done out of series order (only books #1, 3, and now 4 have been translated), I decided it was probably pretty safe to jump in the middle. And I'm pleased to report that I was correct - this book almost felt like it could have been the first book in a series. We do get some mentions of past cases but really only in passing so it didn't feel like in other police procedural series where the references to previous books are much more heavy handed. The other characters and relationships, as well, were introduced in such a way that it felt like Engberg was introducing them to us for the first time. For example, I'm assuming that Anette's husband shows up at least a little in one of the previous books so I would have expected his character to be introduced in a way that leans toward the reader already knowing him. However, his character reads like he's being introduced to us for the first time and Engberg does a great job of showing us key moments of him as well as how he and Anette act together.

The characters were great and I especially loved Jeppe and Anette's relationship. They had a great back and forth banter going through a lot of the book and seemed like they had a great working partnership. There wasn't a whole lot of time in this book spent developing any of the relationships, so like most other detective series, that is probably more obvious from the series overall. The story takes place over only 6 days so it isn't surprising that there wasn't a ton of character development in that timeframe. I think there was more of Jeppe and Anette going off in their separate directions and I would have loved to have more of them on page, together, for more of that partner banter. There were a ton of side characters and, for some reason, my brain had such a hard time keeping them all straight. It really felt like it took me until the 40%ish mark to be able to remember who everyone was by name. This is a bit unusual for me, especially since all the characters had very distinct names (there was no Mary/Maria situation here). I couldn't really pinpoint an actual issue in the writing that would lead me to have that problem, so it might just be me not being completely engaged while reading because of other distractions in the room. I did enjoy how often the side characters were used and how much we got to see of them on page instead of them just being introduced in the opening and then almost nothing until the big reveal at the end.

This book is multi-POV which I really enjoy. I think this choice is able to give the reader a good insight into this whole cast of characters and it makes for some really fun guessing opportunities. However, Engberg does the one thing that I hate with multi-POV mystery/thrillers - she has these characters, in their internal monologues, be extra vague for no reason other than to keep the info from the reader. I 1000% know this might just be a pet peeve of mine, but there were enough times when we'd be in one POV and they'd leave off with something frustratingly vague that will end up obviously being part of the reveal/tie together by the end. These little bits almost act like cliffhangers to pull the reader along with the hope that, in the next chapter from that character, we'll find out what the secret is. Of course, we don't until the very end. I think, for me, the issue is that this particular choice feels like the author is trying to trick me and insert this artificial tension in a way that feels very obvious. It pulls me out of the story and makes me feel like I can see the seams in the story. It won't completely ruin a book (unless it is used in nearly every chapter) but it will pull me out of the story and lower my overall enjoyment because of that. As an aside, I really enjoy when this mechanic is used in a way where the cliffhanger is resolved in the next chapter, but it ends up being a very innocent reason but that is not what happened in this book.

I liked how this was a pretty straight-up mystery. I think a lot of police procedurals, at least the ones I tend to pick up, have a thriller-lite element that picks up in the third act. In this case, however, the main plot is really putting these puzzle pieces together and seeing how some of these other seemingly unrelated aspects are all tied together. There were a lot of moving parts and a pretty extensive cast of characters that all had to come together so the middle did get a little muddy for me - however, I think Engberg pulled it off in the end. I did find the wrapping up and reveals to be a little underwhelming. In most mysteries, even if they don't have any thriller elements added in, the reveal is usually built up throughout the entire book and the detective has some sort of 'ah-ha' moment where everything clicks. In this case, however, we didn't have any moment where we could feel that big accomplishment when everything falls together. Looking back, I think that has to do more with how the story was structured. The main plot line that we're following - the disappearance of Oscar - is pretty much solved at the 70% mark which is pretty early for the main mystery to be closing in a story. The remaining 30% of the book is really seeing how these other plot threads are coming together and seeing Jeppe/Anette each having that sort of sixth sense that the case isn't quite solved yet. And there are some pretty big reveals in the last third of the book but because they're introduced so late in the story there isn't much time to develop them into more concrete threats/suspects so they end up feeling less like a big deal than is ideal.

We also had some interesting, very short chapters, from these un-named characters that gave us an extra peek at some of these events surrounding our main investigation. I think these interludes are used pretty frequently in mysteries but are normally from the killer's POV. In this case, it seems to be from the vicitim's POV but we don't know who that victim is. I think these small chapters were where Engberg was really able to add in some more atmospheric writing and sort of remind the reader what is at stake in the story. We might not know exactly who this mystery POV is, but we know they must be tied to the investigation in some way so they are important to the story.

Overall, this was a really solid Noric Noir story with some really interesting characters and mystery elements. I do think the structure of the plot wasn't exactly working for me but the story came together well at the end. I loved the relationship between our two main detectives and will be reading more in this series for sure.

Thanks NetGalley and Gallery Books for the ARC

Expected publication date is February 22, 2022.

This is my first book by Katrine Engberg and will not be my last! I love police procedurals set in wintery foreign lands and the duo of Jeppe Kørner and Anette Werner working for the Violent Crimes Department Copenhagen do not disappoint.

In this mystery, #4 in a series, Oscar Dreyer-Hoff, a 15 year old high school boy disappears, and his very wealthy parents maintain that he has been kidnapped. Thus begins a fairly complex yet believable story complete with red herrings and multiple layers of conspiracies.

Best yet, you learn much about the two investigators and their private lives and thoughts - I love that about British and Norwegian mysteries.

I highly recommend this story to any British Mystery lover, Nordic Nori lovers, followers of police procedurals and anyone who wants a good thriller #TheHarbor #Gallery #NetGalley

Note: I did not read any of the other books in the series so I was viewing this as a stand alone.

Can you kill your past? The Harbor by Katrine Engberg is an interesting and fast paced book about a missing child. I found the plot creative and enjoyed the author's gift for creating rich atmosphere in her writing. Had a bit of trouble following the characters- this book would benefit from a list of characters at the front. My problem stemmed with unfamiliarity with the unfamiliar Danish names..

A very good read awarded 4 stars.