The Tenant

De: Katrine Engberg

Narrado por: Graeme Malcolm

Selected as a Most Anticipated title by People, Parade, Bustle, CrimeReads, She Reads, and more!

An electrifying work of literary suspense from internationally best-selling author Katrine Engberg, The Tenant - heralded as a “stunning debut” by number one New York Times best-selling author Kathy Reichs - follows two Copenhagen police detectives struggling to solve a shocking murder and stop a killer hell-bent on revenge.

When a young woman is discovered brutally murdered in her own apartment with an intricate pattern of lines carved into her face, Copenhagen Police Detectives Jeppe Korner and Anette Werner are assigned to the case. In short order, they establish a link between the victim, Julie Stender, and her landlady, Esther de Laurenti, who’s a bit too fond of drink and the host of raucous dinner parties with her artist friends. Esther also turns out to be a budding novelist - and when Julie turns up as a murder victim in the still-unfinished mystery she’s writing, the link between fiction and real life grows both more urgent and more dangerous.

But Esther’s role in this twisted scenario is not quite as clear as it first seems. Is she the culprit - or just another victim, trapped in a twisted game of vengeance? Anette and Jeppe must dig more deeply into the two women’s pasts to discover the identity of the brutal puppet-master pulling the strings.

Evocative and original, The Tenant promises “dark family secrets - and a smorgasbord of surprises” (People).

©2020 Katrine Engberg (P)2020 Simon & Schuster Audio

Good listen

Ambitious book. There's character development, a more complex story line and the narrator makes it all work. But as a painting can be overworked and a bit contrived, found the beginning to be so, hence story a bit tedious but picked up in the middle to a more spritely end that was satisfying.

An entertaining story that kept me guessing

A fun “who done it” set in Copenhagen. Definitely relies on some tropes common to the genre — world weary detective with a functional drug problem going through a divorce — but the story was interesting enough to keep me listening. Pulpy Danish entertainment for fans of crime novels.

Great Story, slow start

Maybe this was a case of listening to my first translated audiobook, or maybe it is the story, I felt it hard to get into. after about a third of the way in, I started getting hooked as the story unfolded

The Tenant

This book was a nice listen when riding home. I wish the ending had been different, but none the less it was a good book.

Confusing

I made it through the book. Had to rewind a couple times. I found the story hard to follow, and hard to keep the characters straight. Great narration by Graeme Malcolm.

Life can be complicated

The characters are brought to life, you like them and you dislike them - they are real. You see that the flap of the butterfly’s wings do make a difference.

A decent Nordic police procedural thriller

A decent Nordic police procedural thriller that is heavy on characterization rather than murderous thrills. Going into this knowing The Tenant is the first book of a series will help understanding some of its meandering narrative choices; the story has the tendency to put aside its case solving, and instead focuses on personal lives of the department staff. While it is nice to have a well-defined group of core characters, many of the information introduced don't come to fruition by the book's end, and are clearly meant to be continued in later stories.

Aside from a few glaring plot conveniences (though worth noting they are still within my level of logic tolerance), the case presented here is decently thrilling, with some intriguing scenarios and intense moments; but the underwhelming revelation, both in term of the perpetrator's identify as well as the reasoning, leaves the whole debacle feeling overly convoluted for very little gain. Another highlight is the peripheral 'sightseeing' of Copenhagen, with the constant references to real life landmarks.

In the end, I find myself being more drawn to the intimate character development of The Tenant than the actual crime solving; in particular the protagonist inspector Jeppe Kørner, an emotionally broken, yet sarcastic individual who's remerging from personal tragedy. Even though the central crime presented here is mediocre at best, the book has succeeded in making me wanting to return and joining the gang for their next case.

Loved it!

This is a good crime novel with a Scandinavian twist. The characters are extremely likable and believable. The narration is excellent although it doesn’t sound very Danish. This is more than worth your credit.

The Tenant

I’ve found a new series! Fun, well written plot, relatable characters, perfect narration. I can’t wait to read the next book.

Didn’t finish.

I listened to the first several chapters but couldn’t get into the story. I had trouble keeping the characters straight.