Review | The Tenant by Katrine Engberg

When a woman is found murdered and marked in her apartment, Detectives Jeppe Korner and Anette Werner seek to uncover what happened to her. The victim’s landlady, Esther de Laurenti, is a budding novelist whose manuscript is suspiciously similar to the case. Is she the culprit or another victim?

The hangover haze she had been walking around in the whole day suddenly lifted as focus was shifted off herself. A murder in my building, she thought. Oh, how terrible! Far too terrible to wrap one’s head around. 

The Tenant is the start of a brand new Nordic noir series! I really liked the mystery plot. It follows the Nordic noir template with a unique murder case, atmospheric location (this time in Copenhagen), hidden motives by the perp, and chilling moments involving witnesses. The story takes its time to play its cards but ultimately the reveals are done well with some surprising developments.

The book does a good job of handling tough issues and creating morally grey characters. I thought Esther is an appealing and relatable protagonist and her scenes are my favourite. The other side characters are well-developed too. I did find the writing a bit stilted at times and I’m not sure how much of it is due to the translation. The tone is a bit strange at times, where the detectives would be joking during serious moments.

I have to say I didn’t warm up to the detectives until almost the end of the book. Korner is a recently divorced man with issues and unprofessional behaviour, and Werner comes across as brash and unfeeling. Their relationship is like an old married couple without the fuzzy warmth so it felt awkward at times. I did appreciate that the book shows how flawed they are, and I liked the rest of the team. This is a dark, atmospheric noir where happy endings are not guaranteed so I liked that the book stuck to the landing at the end.

The Tenant is an interesting addition to Nordic noir and Danish lit. If you’re a fan of this genre or procedurals, be sure to add this book to your list!

CW: statutory rape, physical violence

About the author: Katrine Engberg

Photo by Daria Nepriakhina