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A review by justinkhchen
The Tenant by Katrine Engberg
3.0
3.5 stars
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.
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.