Book Review: The Tenant

Title: The Tenant
Author: Katrine Engberg
Genre: Thriller
Publisher: Scout Press
Publication Date: January 14, 2020
Pages: 356
Format Read: Book
Standalone or series: Book #1 of Kørner/Werner series
Where I got the book: Goodreads Giveaway
Date finished reading: February 5, 2020

Goodreads Description: 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 in this electrifying literary thriller.

My Review: I want to thank Scout Press and Goodreads for sending me this book. I haven’t won a Goodreads giveaway in a while and was really happy to receive this one.

I am thrilled with the setting of this story, as it takes place in Copenhagen and other areas of Denmark. I don’t believe I have read anything by a Danish author before. Plus, the timing is wonderful, as I hope to travel to that country this summer.

The Tenant is Katrine Engberg’s debut novel. She was a choreographer and dancer, and now I believe that she is a spectacular fiction crime writer. It was a very impressive first novel.

The plot was very well constructed and kept me entertained from beginning to end. This book contains so many twists and turns that you don’t know who the guilty party is – maybe they are all a little guilty. There are lots of interesting components to the murders that take place, including the fact that a fictional story that was written weeks before the murder describes the actual murder. There were so many wonderful pieces of the puzzle that were discovered bit by bit throughout the story, that it truly keeps the reader engaged.

I loved a lot of the supporting characters, especially those that lived in the apartment building where the original murder took place. Gregers and Ester de Laurenti were my favorite characters. The only thing that prevented me from absolutely loving this story was the fact that I didn’t care about the main characters at all – Detective Jeppe Korner and Detective Anette Werner. We learn much more about Detective Korner than Detective Werner in this story, but what was revealed did not interest me. They were a bit boring and just made all the supporting characters look that much more fascinating. I’m not quite sure those are good characters to base a series on.

However, I very much enjoyed the overall story and believe it to be very well written. I look forward to reading more by this author!

My Rating: ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ 

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24in48 Readathon – January 26-27

We are less than two hours away from the beginning of the 24in48 Readathon! After a long and exhausting work week, I could use some good quality time with my books.

TBR:
Here is what I am hoping to read this weekend:

I will be reading in a wide variety of formats, including audiobooks, an ebook and a physical book. This variety should make the 24 hours go by really quickly.

Social Media:
I will be posting updates on multiple social media outlets:

• Litsy – @Morr_Books
• Twitter – @Morr_Books
• Goodreads – @Morr_Books
• My Blog – The Great Morrison Migration

Y’all should join me (or at least cheer me on lol). Go to the 24in48 homepage and sign-up. You may even win a nifty prize!

MY WEEKEND IS ALL BOOKED!!!

WWW Wednesdays – August 29, 2018

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?

Time for another WWW Wednesdays, which is brought to you by Sam @ Taking on a World of Words. If you too want to participate, answer the above questions and post that link on Sam’s page.

Currently Reading

Finished Reading

Due to some extra time reading this week by participating in the Bout of Books Readathon, I was able to finish the following books and also make good progress on the unabridged version of The Count of Monte Cristo.

So Close to Being the Sh*t, Y’all Don’t Even Know by Retta – This is a must read for any fans of Parks and Rec. I listened to the audiobook that was narrated by Retta herself. She had me laughing to and from work. She definitely made my commute much more tolerable. The section about Hamilton was my favorite.

Ordeal By Innocence by Agatha Christie – I was bless to receive a copy of this novel from a Goodreads giveaway. Glad to receive a copy of an Agatha Christie I hadn’t yet read, as her stories never disappoint. She immediate set up a story of intrigued followed by a murder in a house full of potential suspects. Mrs. Argyle, a wife and mother, was brutally murdered and one of her sons went to prison for the crime, where he proclaimed his innocence and eventually died from illness. Years later, a mysterious man comes to town claiming that he just read about the murder and can give the convicted son an alibi. Little time is spent celebrating the unfortunate and now dead son’s innocence, as they all realize that there is still a killer among them. It is slowly revealed too that Mrs. Argyle was not as beloved by her family as it might have seemed. As the story progresses, many characters seem to have some motivation for killing her. It kept me questioning everyone until the very end. This is why Christie is the Queen of Mystery.

An American Marriage by Tayari Jones – I started this book a while ago and made it about halfway before I had to put it down. I decided this past week to actually finish it. I may be in the minority on this, but I was really disappointed in this book. This book has been praised by former-President Obama and Oprah, but I just don’t feel like it holds up to all the hype. The topic was an important one, but I feel like that was lost in horrible characters that I disliked from almost page one. Has anyone read anything else by Tayari Jones?

Reading Next

I just got some library holds last night!!!

What are y’all reading this week? Any recommendations?

Happy Reading!!!

WWW Wednesdays – June 27, 2018

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?

Time for another WWW Wednesdays, which is brought to you by Sam @ Taking on a World of Words. If you too want to participate, answer the above questions and post that link on Sam’s page.

Currently Reading

Beloved by Toni Morrison

I just started reading Beloved for my Classics book club that meets next week. I joined Goodreads in 2010, and I added this book to my TBR list at that time. I’ve held off reading this book for so long, because I try to avoid books that may be devastatingly sad, but as it has also made The Great American Read list, I think it is time to give it a try. I won’t be reading it at work or in public though. I like to ugly cry by myself.

Finished Reading

Girl Waits With Gun by Amy Stewart

I just finished Girl Waits With Gun. Though this is a 400-page book, it is a quick read as the story line keeps moving. Constance, the main character, is based off of a real person and the story is based off of real events from the 1910s. This book definitely takes you back to what life was like in New Jersey 100 years ago. While I enjoyed this book, I didn’t love it. The story was just meh for me and probably won’t stick with me very long.

Reading Next

Roomies by Christina Lauren

After reading Beloved, I thought I would try something a bit more light-hearted and fun. I’ve never read anything by Christina Lauren, so I’m looking forward to this. This came in one of my Bookish Box subscription pages. Side note: I love my book subscriptions.

Let me know what you are currently reading!

HAPPY READING!!!