Danish mysteries are not often published for american readers. I am happy to report that being a major fan of thrillers I was delighted to read this one. There are some typos that need to be addressed but the characters and plot lines were both well drawn. Jeppe, the main protagonist, was a sympathetic police officer whose life was devastated by divorce. He struggled to solve the multiple murders and come to terms with his own loss. Overall, I recommend this book to fellow detective fiction lovers. Copenhagen makes for an interesting backdrop to the novel.

I'm not sure why I'm drawn to Scandinavian crime fiction, but this was a great one! Jeppe and Anette are detectives who are called to the scene of a murdered young woman, Julie who has odd markings on her face and has been brutally killed. And it appears the woman who owns the house she's been living in is writing a book about a crime very similar to this. What's the connection? All I can say is it's multi-layered and has many suspects--all of whom play a role in this novel to some extent. I almost needed to take notes until I just decided to immerse myself in the drama and let it play out. It was incredibly satisfying and I hope there's a sequel as the detectives were well-drawn and so very human!

The Tenant by author Katherine Engberg is a fast paced and character filled thriller that does not disappoint! Absolutely recommend, full review to come closer to release date.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for an arc copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I am purposely sparing any details of this tantalizing book to avoid spoilers. It’s a book that begs to be read. An absolutely fabulous mystery, told in the spare yet delicious style of the best Scandinavian writers, The Tenant weaves a gruesome tale of seemingly senseless murders with a despicable, debased, and virtually inhuman, backstory..

Every character in this book, even those dead by the time we meet them, leaps off the page and lands firmly in the reader’s face. They are simply brilliant, those who are good and those who are evil . Even the characters who play the smallest of roles in the hunt for a depraved killer who carves up the victims’ faces, apparently just for the fun of it, sing in the harmonious chorus that makes up this story.

And, thankfully, The Tenant is not solely death. In the surface, a brutal and mystifying crime is solved. But at its core, the story is about life - what it means to be truly alive; to hit rock bottom and then climb back up into the light; to experience the wealth of feelings that define our essential humanity. To create this core of caring humanity and humility entwined in this dark and dangerous tale is the mark of an exceptional writer. I look forward to reading more by this gifted author.

I received this book as an ARC from the publisher and NetGalley.

An excellent police detective mystery that takes place in Copenhagen, Denmark. The murder victim is a young woman. The lead detective, Jeppe Korner, and his team embark on an intense effort to find out who murdered her and mutilated her face. An interview of Esther de Laurentis, the victim's landlady and a budding author reveals to the police that the murder is eerily like that portrayed in her only partially completed manuscript. Admittedly, Esther freely incorporated the story of her psychologically scared tenant who became pregnant some years ago at age 15 into her novel, but it was her imagination she claims that then made her tenant into a fictional murder victim. Who then carried out the details of an unpublished fictional murder for real? Recommended!

Copenhagen detectives Jeppe Korner and Anette Werner have been assigned the bizarre murder of a woman who has had a series of lines cut into her face. They become very interested in Julie’s landlady, Esther, famous for loud parties and her ambition to become a writer. In fact, Julie has made in appearance in Esther’s unfinished novel…as a murder victim. Is the crime that simple to solve? Was Julie’s death a literally experiment or is there something else at work? This work of Nordic Noir will be popular with fans of the genre