While the book started out a bit slow with many characters I struggled to keep straight, it picked up at the end and I enjoyed the dark setting of the book. Looking forward to reading more in this series!

This book blew me away! I was unable to but it down. Perfect, dazzlingly, very well written. The details the author described throughout the book was so amazing. The characters and storyline were fantastic. The ending I did not see coming Truly Amazing and appreciated the whole story. This is going to be a must read for many many readers. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! No spoilers. Beyond amazing I enjoyed this book so very much. The characters and storyline were fantastic. The ending I did not see coming Could not put down nor did I want to. Truly Amazing and appreciated the whole story. This is going to be a must read for many many readers. Maybe even a book club pick.

The Harbor
Katrine Engberg
reviewed by Lou Jacobs

readersremains.com | Goodreads

An atmospheric police procedural that is dark and gritty and written in literary prose. This rare complex and twisted murder mystery is the fourth in a series, following the unique team of Copenhagen police detectives, Jeppe Korner and Anette Werner.
This tale as the others can be enjoyed as a standalone, as Engberg flawlessly provides the necessary backstory. However, reading all sequentially will allow the reader to appreciate the evolution of the character, foibles, and motivation of this intriguing pair. Jeppe is cuckolded and divorced, although still dealing with grief is trying to make a burgeoning relationship work with fellow team member, Sara and her two daughters. Anette at age forty-six, is a new mother of one year and nine-month-old daughter, Gudrun, and has become the parent she has strived for, for so long, She finds herself in a body that actually, after nursing and exercising, is more sleek and attractive than she can ever recall. She now questions the worthiness and desirability of her twenty-five-year long relationship with her husband, Svend. Engberg became a Danish crime author sensation in 2016 with the release of her debut novel, The Tenant (Korner and Werner #1). It was translated and published in the US in January of 2020.
Jeppe and Anette have been assigned the investigation of a missing fifteen-year-old boy, Oscar Dreyer-Hoff, who disappeared after school. He was supposed to stay overnight at his best childhood friends house to study for an upcoming exam. He does not show up the next morning at home, and Iben says he never showed up at her house. She has no idea where he is. Was he kidnaped or did he run away? Within hours a typewritten letter arrives at the Dreyer-Hoff house. The letter is somewhat obscure, and certainly is not a ransom note. Somewhat later, a friend of the investigative team, Esther de Laurenti, reveals that it is a quote at the end of Oscar Wilde’s book, “The Picture of Dorian Grey” Could it be some type of oblique and literary suicide note? –in as much as Dorian Grey, inadvertently kills himself by slashing the painting. The Dreyer-Hoff family although prominent and wealthy, have received threatening letters in the past, due to their questionable financial dealings at the online auction house they own, which deals with art and antiquities.
A multi-faceted investigation ensues, using all members of the task force, including Sara Saidani (computer whiz) and ambitious Detective Thomas Larsen, extensive interviews and interrogation reveal many potential clues and correlations. The Search and Rescue Team scour the multiple islands and forts that make up the harbor, without success. Engberg brings to life the setting of the harbor… as the sights , smells and sounds ooze off the page. Inexplicable events start to pile up. A teacher, at Oscar’s school, Malthe Saether, is bizarrely discovered in the waste silo of the incinerator plant, by two employees of the ARC (Amager Resource Center), and one of them is Kasper Skytte. He is the process engineer at the plant and also the father of Iben. His job is to not only monitor the harmful emissions of toxic substances from the burning process, but also to optimize the use of the energy that the incinerator produces. The team interviews Lis Christensen, a fellow teacher of Malthe’s, only to have her die the next day at the train station. Did she fall under the tracks or was she pushed? Are these events a coincidence or do they bode a more sinister solution?
Engberg proves to be a master storyteller and weaves a convoluted narrative involving greed, deceit, friendship, and love that propels into a thrilling and unexpected denouement. Engberg manages to interconnect the web of spun lies, into a propulsive and suspenseful slow burn tale that is satisfying but yet has the reader yearning for more Korner and Werner mysteries.
Thanks to NetGalley and Gallery Books / Scout Press for proving an Uncorrected Proof in exchange for an honest review.

"When fifteen-year-old Oscar Dreyer-Hoff disappears, the police assume he’s simply a runaway—a typically overlooked middle child doing what teenagers do all around the world. But his frantic family is certain that something terrible has happened. After all, what runaway would leave behind a note that reads:

He looked around and saw the knife that had stabbed Basil Hallward. He had cleaned it many times, till there was no stain left upon it. It was bright and glistened. As it had killed the painter, so it would kill the painter’s work, and all that that meant. It would kill the past, and when that was dead, he would be free.

It’s not much to go on but it’s all that detectives Jeppe Kørner and Anette Werner have. And with every passing hour, as the odds of finding a missing person grow dimmer, it will have to be enough. "


By far my favorite book of the series yet! Thank you so much for this copy! This series is one of my favorite police procedurals! Loved how atmospheric the writing was, and the character development!

When a teenager goes missing, the parents call the police to investigate. But when the teenager is Oscar Dreyer-Hoff, and his parents own an auction house that had some rumors of dirty dealing, then you need the masterful Copenhagen detectives Korner and Werner on the case.

Annette Werner is back from her maternity leave and fit and ready to go. She is excited to be back at work and ready to take on this case. Jeppe Korner is almost living full-time with his girlfriend, fellow investigator Sara, and her two daughters. He’s been assigned to lead the investigation into the missing teenager, but he doesn’t yet know all the twists the case will take.

When Korner and Werner go to interview the parents for the first time, they find out that the family is a little unusual. Malin Dreyer-Hoff, Oscar’s mother, is an artist as well as working at the auction house. Oscar is 15, with an older brother and a younger sister. His father, Henrik, works a lot, trying to salvage the business after the rumors and lawsuits accusing them of impropriety. Friday night, Oscar was supposed to be out with his friend Iben, but he never showed up at her house. When they interview her, she says that she thought he’d just changed his mind. It wasn’t until he didn’t come home on Saturday that his parents realized something was wrong and called the police.

As the detectives start to investigate Oscar’s life, where he may have gone on Friday and who he may have been spending time with, they find themselves drawn into other crimes that could potentially be related. There was a letter left behind that Malin thinks is like the threats they had gotten back with all those legal problems with the auction house. A small boat belonging to the Dreyer-Hoffs goes missing. One of Oscar’s teachers shows up in an unexpected place. There are rumors of a possible sexual assault and bullying at the school Oscar and his brother go to. It seems like the more time goes by without them finding Oscar, the more potentially twisted the possibilities become. Will Korner and Werner be able to put all the pieces together in a cohesive plan? Will they find Oscar before it’s too late? Or will they put themselves in the crosshairs of a killer?

The Harbor is Katrine Engberg’s third novel with these stalwart Danish detectives, and it’s my favorite so far. These twisty procedurals stand alone or can be read in order, but either way they are fantastic. They are beautifully plotted, with realistic characters, and suspenseful crime-solving. These detectives have lives outside of their investigations, and readers get drawn into their lives and their minds, giving these main characters depth and humanity.

There is so much more that I wanted to say about the plot of this book, but these twists go deep. The copy from the publisher doesn’t give much away, so I didn’t want to either, but please understand that the missing teenager is just the tip of the iceberg of what’s going on in this story. There are so many levels of conflict and drama, so many suspects and questions, that going into more detail here would probably just confuse you. You have to sit with this lovely book, chapter by chapter, and let it all unfold slowly or you will end up feeling like you have whiplash. Instead, make yourself a hot chocolate (maybe with a drop of something more than marshmallow), and get ready for a Danish trip that you will not forget.

Egalleys for The Harbor were provided by Gallery Books through NetGalley, with many thanks.

The Harbor is a Nordic noir police procedural which centers around the case of a teenager who disappears off the streets of Copenhagen on his walk home from school. While this is the third in the Kørner and Werner series, you don’t have to read the first two volumes to understand this one.

Our story begins at a plant where garbage is turned into energy. A crane operator realizes that the lift has picked up a shoe, and with growing horror notes the shoe is attached to a foot – and then an arm flops out as well. The crane is shut down and the police are called..

We then go back in time several days to meet up with detectives Jeppe Kørner and Anette Werner as they are assigned the case of missing fifteen-year-old Oscar Dreyer-Hoff. He’s only been gone for twenty-four hours, a fact which would normally have the police convinced “ he’s simply a runaway—a typically overlooked middle child doing what teenagers do all around the world” but his moderately wealthy family has received death threats in the past and are deeply concerned Oscar’s disappearance is related to the most recent missive which read:

He looked around and saw the knife that had stabbed Basil Hallward. He had cleaned it many times, till there was no stain left upon it. It was bright and glistened. As it had killed the painter, so it would kill the painter’s work, and all that that meant. It would kill the past, and when that was dead, he would be free.

Jeppe and Werner are unsure what the cryptic message is. It’s far too enigmatic to be a ransom demand but seems rather obscure for a death threat. They begin the boring but necessary work of talking to Oscar’s school friends and acquaintances, all the while keeping a skeptical eye on Oscar’s rather peculiar family. Something is wrong in the Dreyer-Hoff household but is the problem that a child is missing or that the parents are attempting to hide their own role in the murder of said child?

Nordic noir tends to be very literary in nature and to have a far slower pacing than the average American suspense novel. That is certainly true here. Much of what happens is conversations with witnesses and following up those conversations with more conversations. Experts – whom our detectives call upon to search through computers or help physically search locations – lurk in the background but Jeppe and Werner mostly stumble about talking to people who have secrets of their own that they are desperate to keep hidden.

Characterization can often be lost in police procedurals but the author does a nice job here of creating a clear picture of each detective’s personality. Werner recently had a baby. She’s the primary breadwinner of the family, her husband being the one who’s stayed home with the child, and she’s at a stage where she’s evaluating everything about that decision. Werner can’t help but critique the Dreyer-Hoff family and compare what they are doing to her own choices. She is also shown as the impatient, brasher, more maverick member of the duo and Ms. Engberg does a nice job of highlighting both the positives and negatives of that.

Jeppe is also in the midst of familial issues, since his partner Sara has kids, and that has proven to be a larger hurdle in their relationship than he expected. He spends the time he is not working on the case trying to work out how to reconcile the fact that he loves Sara but has no interest in her children, wondering if he really can be a part of their lives given those conflicting emotions. He also wonders at the impact any decision he makes will have on his career since he and Sara work together.

Like most Nordic noir novels this one takes lots of twists and turns before arriving at the denouement. Those turns aren’t action-based but perspective-based; much like looking at an incomplete puzzle where you don’t know what picture is being built, each clue here changes what you think regarding Oscar and his disappearance. However, the tale isn’t so much about that mystery as it is about taking a rather rambling look at the complexities of family life and how love, marriage, and children impact the individual. This slows the pacing considerably and the literary aesthetic of the tale further drags at the tempo of the narrative. Around the halfway point we have enough information for the tale to accelerate towards its conclusion but some readers might not be invested enough to give it that long to get going.

If you are a fan of the series or a huge fan of the Nordic noir genre, then it might be worth giving The Harbor a try. However, if you like the fast paced, emotionally riveting mysteries that make up so much of today’s mystery/thriller market, this probably won’t work for you.

In THE HARBOR by Katrine Engberg, fifteen-year-old Oscar Dreyer-Hoff, the son of prominent art auctioneers, disappears, and Detectives Jeppe Kørner and Anette Werner have only a single clue, a enigmatic note reading: “He looked around and saw the knife that had stabbed Basil Hallward. He had cleaned it many times, till there was no stain left upon it. It was bright and glistened. As it had killed the painter, so it would kill the painter’s work, and all that that meant. It would kill the past, and when that was dead, he would be free.”

Unclear if it is a suicide note, a prelude to a ransom demand, or totally unrelated to the missing teenager, the detectives begin their investigation assuming the worst and start tracing Oscar’s last known contacts, including his best friend, Iben Skytte, whose father, Kasper, acts skittish—possibly because he is hiding something, if only his drinking problem; Malthe Saether, a teacher whose student advocacy at time blurs boundaries; and Mads Teigen, a taciturn island caretaker who always seems to be skirting the sidelines of the case.

Although Kørner and Werner chase down all possible leads to find Oscar before it’s too late, they are both distracted by friction in their personal relationships that bleed into the investigation and compromise their judgment.

This thriller includes all the elements that make Nordic Noir one of my favorite subgenres: complicated, morally gray protagonists; complex, multi-layered plots; and unexpected connections. I suspected everyone at a different point, yet even so, I was completely wrong and totally surprised by the ending. At the beginning of the book, I really couldn’t imagine how some of the characters and plot lines would converge, and it came together in a much more satisfying way than I expected.

Highly recommended for thriller fans, particularly those interested in Nordic Noir!

3 stars

You can read all of my reviews at Nerd Girl Loves Books.

This is an ok mystery thriller set in Copenhagen, Denmark. It begins with the 15 year old son of a wealthy family who is allegedly kidnapped. Two detectives are assigned to the case, who doubt the boy has been kidnapped, but rather perhaps run away. As they look into the circumstances of the young boy's life just before his disappearance, several people die under mysterious circumstances - each one with ties to the young boy. As the detectives peel back the layers of the family's life, it's clear that more is going on other than a young boy's disappearance.

This book frustrated me. It started off really well and held my attention. About half way through, however, the story became convoluted and became a hot mess. There were too many ideas, too many odd side stories and none of them done well. Had the story stayed with one, perhaps two different storylines, the book could probably be saved. Sadly, that didn't happen. The ending was really weird and with regard to one detective, came out of the blue and didn't make sense. I think this series has promise and the writing was, for the most part, very good. Perhaps some things are lost in translation, but better editing could have made all the difference here.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from NetGalley and Gallery/Scout Press. All opinions are my own.

The Harbor is book 4 in a Nordic noir series from this author and is beautifully translated from the original. (Note: book three has not yet been translated to English).

The story revolves around a teenager who has gone missing, but things get complicated as people close to the case are found dead. The police must answer the question, "what was the motive" to solve the case. There were a lot of characters and several stories within stories, but it was the descriptive framing that took my breath away. The descriptions of the Copenhagen harbor are so vivid you can almost see the boats bobbing on the water, the islands dotted in the distance. There is a lot of technical detail on the operation of the recycling center, but it was fascinating to learn about the Amager Resource Center (ARC), a waste-to-energy plant that integrates a ski slope roof and rock-climbing face to become part of a proposed entertainment complex.

I was also intrigued with the story of the behind-the-scenes auction fraud, the history of death masks, and the way the author tied these into the storyline. I also highly recommend The Tenant, the first in the series from Katrine Engberg.

Thanks to NetGalley and Gallery/Scout Press for an advance reader's copy.

When 15-year-old Oscar Dreyer-Hoff goes missing, his wealthy, prominent family claim that he’s been kidnapped. But the note left behind is cryptic at best and makes no demand for ransom. As Copenhagen police detectives Anette Werner and Jeppe Korner investigate, the mystery only deepens.

A body is found at the city’s waste incineration plant, and Oscar’s backpack is discovered at a dock near the family’s home by the odd caretaker at a fortress island in Copenhagen Harbor. A number of plot twists and no shortage of suspects make the book an interesting and enjoyable read.

‘The Harbor,’ the third installment of Katrine Engberg’s Korner and Werner series, is due out Feb. 22. Set in the perfumed and sunny Danish spring, Engberg’s book is not nearly as dark as the masterpieces that inspired the Nordic Noir genre: The Martin Beck series, ‘The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo,’ and the Wallander books.

The detectives are fully-functional adults who are not alcoholics and don’t torture themselves with guilt of their failings. And although Copenhagen is realistically portrayed through the author’s use of actual places, there is very little criticism of the failure of the state to fulfill its promise of a livable world and a just society.

In this latest Danish police procedural set in Copenhagen featuring the team of Detectives Korner and Werner, teenaged Oscar Dreyer-Hoff has been reported missing and the Violent Crimes Division has been called in. When a body is found at the garbage incineration plant, it is feared it might be the boy's, but instead it only deepens the mystery. Lots of twists and turns and veiled hints kept this reader furiously turning pages.

This is one series where I do recommend readers start at the beginning and read in order as there is some excellent character development. I've come to really like this cast of characters with their complicated personal relationships. As always, it's enjoyable to spend a few hours escaping to Copenhagen and getting a dose of escapism. This author is rapidly becoming a favorite and I will look forward to more.

I received an arc of this new thriller from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Many thanks for the opportunity.

BOOK REVIEW: The Harbor by Katrine Engberg
Series: Korner and Werner | Book 3
Publication Date: February 22

⭐️⭐️⭐️

T.I.M.E. Most Anticipated Books of 2022

CONNECT WITH THIS BOOK | T.I.M.E. SIMPLE LIVING TIP:
The simplest way is usually the best way... ✨😎✨

T.I.M.E. BOOK REVIEW: Katrine Engberg continues to deliver tons of visual imagery in her thriller series that is steeped with theatrical nuance. Not surprising from an author who was previously a dancer and a choreographer with experience in theater and television… And we, as the reader, certainly reap the benefits! If you love Nordic noir, this is an author to keep on your reading list... ✨😎✨

Pages: 352
Genre: Thriller
Sub-Genre: Detective Thriller
Time Period: Present Day
Location: Denmark

IF YOU LIKE THIS BOOK THEN TRY…
Book: Korner and Werner Series by Katrine Engberg
TV Series: Wallander

--------------------

All my reviews can be seen at This Is My Everybody | Simple Living | Denise Wilbanks at www.thisismyeverybody.com

♡ Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC. I voluntarily chose to review it and the opinions contained within are my own.

Engberg is a brand new author for me. I love the setting of Denmark. These are all brand new characters for me and I enjoyed getting to know them more. In fact, the array of characters was a broad spectrum. I liked both Korner and Werner, partners, yet having quite different personal lives.
The mystery was entitled, with lots of different angles to explore and it kept my attention.
I really enjoy reading detective series in foreign countries because their procedures and tactics are different yet quite similar to what I’m accustomed to reading.

The Harbor by Katrine Engberg (book #3 in the Kørner and Werner series) is a dark, intense, nail-biting Nordic thriller. A big Thank you to Gallery/Scout Press and Net Galley for the advanced digital copy of the book. A wholly engrossing story filled with some astonishing turns. When a teenage boy from a prominent family goes missing Jeppe Kørner and Anette Werner go on the hunt. With time running out the detectives hit a wall of deceit and lies that just might endanger the teens life and stop them from finding him. An exciting series that’s definitely worth reading. I can’t wait to read the next book.

Wow, I'm so happy I read this book. I love a good crime novel but this nordic noir series has really sucked me in. After receiving this copy, I started the series from the beginning and am fully hooked on Katrine Engberg's work. The detectives are likable and have a really interesting dynamic. The murders can be brutal and content warnings will be needed for some readers, but for those who read crime and detective novels often it's not an issue. I also really enjoy the side characters (Esther) who return and play a role in the plot development. I'll be reading more from this author for sure. Thanks for the copy!

I hate to say it, but I just couldn’t finish this one. I can’t even. Put my finger on exactly what it was, but I just couldn’t get into this book. I do appreciate the author & publisher for providing an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I enjoyed the third in a series that I have followed. I enjoyed the main characters and that they both had their own issues or lives going on at the same time they are hunting for a missing high school freshman. The story moves quickly and settles in at the end. I love a faster paced story!. Thank you #NetGalley#GalleryScoutPress#TheHarbor

The Harbor is Book 3 in the wonderfully crafted series of Copenhagen detectives Jeppe Korner and Anette Werner who always find themselves in unique situations both personally and professionally as they try to solve mysterious deaths. Engberg’s unique plots and plot twists immediately grab the reader’s attention with of course the usual gasp at its unlikely conclusion.

The story also has pop-ins from characters who were in previous books such as roommates Esther and Gregers whose lives the readers are just as much invested in as we are the two detectives.

The story begins with a missing fifteen-year-old named Oscar Dreyer-Hoff who disappeared on his way home from school. His parents who own a profitable gallery think he has been the victim of a kidnapping. There was a note found at the home, but it’s meaning seems to make no sense. Is it possible someone other than a kidnapper could have written it? Something does not feel right about the whole kidnapping scenario to Detectives Korner and Werner. On top of this, Oscar’s family does not seem to be too open to giving out information.

Then it is discovered the Oscar’s father’s boat and boat key are missing from the harbor dock in which it is kept. Could Oscar have taken the boat? Or someone else? Was Oscar trying to get away from someone?

As the clues begin to pile up, it is discovered by interviewing some of the teachers at school that Oscar’s best friend, may have been sexually abused, and Oscar’s brother Victor had been bullying children at school which was squashed somehow and by someone. But what could Oscar’s involvement have been?

Then another body is found. Are too many questions being asked? Could they be getting close to what really happened? As the two detectives are in a race to save Oscar from whatever his fate, and with the family seemingly hiding things, they try to piece together Oscar’s last day and what could have happened.

In the meantime, Korner who has fallen in love is practically living full-time with his girlfriend and her two children, a situation which seems to be giving both of them anxiety as Korner who may be a brilliant detective has no idea about children. And Anette, who had a surprise baby with her husband a short while ago, is not sure she loves him anymore and suddenly feels tempted in ways she never imagined.

As they race to find Oscar, what Korner and Warner discover are chilling lies, secrets and skeletons which have hidden for years. The Harbor has it all! Surprising suspects and an amazing ending with more a personal storyline of the detectives and their friends lives which any reader of the series is now invested in.

The Harbor is intriguing, messy and juicy!

Thank you #NetGalley #Gallery/ScoutPress #TheHarbor #KatrineEngberg for the advanced copy.

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.