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kelly_e's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Title: The Butterfly House
Author: Katrine Engberg
Series: Korner and Werner #3
Genre: Crime Fiction
Rating: 4.00
Pub Date: January 5, 2021
T H R E E • W O R D S
Crisp • Original • Gruesome
📖 S Y N O P S I S
Hospitals are supposed to be places of healing. But in the coronary care unit at one of Copenhagen’s leading medical centers, a nurse fills a syringe with an overdose of heart medication and stealthily enters the room of an older male patient.
Six days earlier, a paperboy on his route in central Copenhagen stumbles upon a macabre find: the naked body of a dead woman, lying in a fountain with arms marked with small incisions. Cause of death? Exsanguination—the draining of all the blood in her body.
Clearly, this is no ordinary murder. Lead Investigator Jeppe Korner, recovering from a painful divorce and in the throes of a new relationship, takes on the investigation. His partner, Anette Werner, now on maternity leave after an unexpected pregnancy, is restless at home with a demanding newborn and an equally demanding husband. While Jeppe pounds the streets looking for answers, Anette decides to do a little freelance sleuthing. But operating on her own exposes her to dangers she can’t even begin to fathom.
As the investigation ventures into dark corners, it uncovers the ambition and greed that festers beneath the surface of caregiving institutions—all the more shocking for their depravity—and what Jeppe and Anette discover will turn their blood as cold as ice.
💭 T H O U G H T S
I'd previously read and enjoyed The Tenant, so when I found a copy of The Butterfly House at a secondhand sale I decided to grab it. Investigators Jeppe Korner and Anette Werner return in this third installment (second translated into English) in Katrine Engberg's Danish police series. And I will say it was quite the ride.
Firstly, I appreciated the hospital setting, specifically the focus on mental health institutions. Through its plot, this novel offers insights into the (mis)treatment of people living with mental illness, the unethical practices carried out, the insufficient funding, and the negligence and lack of training for many of the workers. It offers this social commentary in a subtle manner where it doesn't overtake the entire story or sound preachy. Despite this being fiction, much its based in reality and was hard to get through, which is what made this such an engrossing read.
I enjoyed getting to know Jeppe and Anette more, but this installment specifically focuses on Anette's journey as a new mother. Getting to see her struggles, and inability to keep away from her work despite being on leave, made her even more human. Although not often in scenes together, the chemistry between the two investigators can still be left throughout the novel.
One downfall, is that there are a lot of characters to keep track of and I often found myself backtracking to figure out who was who and which plotline they were a part of. These short interruptions certainly took a little bit away from the smooth reading journey I like when reading crime fiction.
And the big issue for me was the ending. It was extremely hard to believe and was so over-the-top when it needed have been. A much gentler resolution would have had the same impact and been much more fitting in my opinion.
Overall, I thought this was an entertaining crime novel, despite being quite graphic and gruesome. I've really taken a liking to Jeppe and Anette as a duo, and am looking forward to continuing on with this series.
📚 R E C O M M E N D • T O
• fans of Nordic noir
• whodunit enthusiasts
• readers looking for a new crime duo
🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S
"Grief permeates all living things and drains out their color. Grief is a nothingness that runs through blood vessels, stalks, and bricks, until only the shell of what has been remains."
"The butterfly that draws the least attention to itself is the most dangerous."
Author: Katrine Engberg
Series: Korner and Werner #3
Genre: Crime Fiction
Rating: 4.00
Pub Date: January 5, 2021
T H R E E • W O R D S
Crisp • Original • Gruesome
📖 S Y N O P S I S
Hospitals are supposed to be places of healing. But in the coronary care unit at one of Copenhagen’s leading medical centers, a nurse fills a syringe with an overdose of heart medication and stealthily enters the room of an older male patient.
Six days earlier, a paperboy on his route in central Copenhagen stumbles upon a macabre find: the naked body of a dead woman, lying in a fountain with arms marked with small incisions. Cause of death? Exsanguination—the draining of all the blood in her body.
Clearly, this is no ordinary murder. Lead Investigator Jeppe Korner, recovering from a painful divorce and in the throes of a new relationship, takes on the investigation. His partner, Anette Werner, now on maternity leave after an unexpected pregnancy, is restless at home with a demanding newborn and an equally demanding husband. While Jeppe pounds the streets looking for answers, Anette decides to do a little freelance sleuthing. But operating on her own exposes her to dangers she can’t even begin to fathom.
As the investigation ventures into dark corners, it uncovers the ambition and greed that festers beneath the surface of caregiving institutions—all the more shocking for their depravity—and what Jeppe and Anette discover will turn their blood as cold as ice.
💭 T H O U G H T S
I'd previously read and enjoyed The Tenant, so when I found a copy of The Butterfly House at a secondhand sale I decided to grab it. Investigators Jeppe Korner and Anette Werner return in this third installment (second translated into English) in Katrine Engberg's Danish police series. And I will say it was quite the ride.
Firstly, I appreciated the hospital setting, specifically the focus on mental health institutions. Through its plot, this novel offers insights into the (mis)treatment of people living with mental illness, the unethical practices carried out, the insufficient funding, and the negligence and lack of training for many of the workers. It offers this social commentary in a subtle manner where it doesn't overtake the entire story or sound preachy. Despite this being fiction, much its based in reality and was hard to get through, which is what made this such an engrossing read.
I enjoyed getting to know Jeppe and Anette more, but this installment specifically focuses on Anette's journey as a new mother. Getting to see her struggles, and inability to keep away from her work despite being on leave, made her even more human. Although not often in scenes together, the chemistry between the two investigators can still be left throughout the novel.
One downfall, is that there are a lot of characters to keep track of and I often found myself backtracking to figure out who was who and which plotline they were a part of. These short interruptions certainly took a little bit away from the smooth reading journey I like when reading crime fiction.
And the big issue for me was the ending. It was extremely hard to believe and was so over-the-top when it needed have been. A much gentler resolution would have had the same impact and been much more fitting in my opinion.
Overall, I thought this was an entertaining crime novel, despite being quite graphic and gruesome. I've really taken a liking to Jeppe and Anette as a duo, and am looking forward to continuing on with this series.
📚 R E C O M M E N D • T O
• fans of Nordic noir
• whodunit enthusiasts
• readers looking for a new crime duo
🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S
"Grief permeates all living things and drains out their color. Grief is a nothingness that runs through blood vessels, stalks, and bricks, until only the shell of what has been remains."
"The butterfly that draws the least attention to itself is the most dangerous."
Content Warnings
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Blood, Murder, Death, Medical content, and Mental illness
Moderate: Violence, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Cursing, Eating disorder, Vomit, Self harm, and Confinement
Minor: Body shaming
anxiety, overdosekyrstin_p1989's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Sometimes you read a book and just think, this was alright, but I just didn’t love it. There’s no real rhyme or reason, It’s just okay. That is how I felt about this book. I didn’t love or hate it. I didn’t really feel anything towards it. It was interesting but hard to get into. Every time I stopped reading, it took awhile to get back into the world that Engberg created. I wanted to like it more but I just didn’t connect with it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Blood, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Dementia, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Mental illness, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Torture, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Self harm, Sexual content, and Suicide
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