Katrine Engberg Books In Order

Publication Order of Kørner/Werner Books

Katrine Engberg is a Danish crime fiction author and former choreographer, dancer, stage director and actor. Her debut novel was the novel “Crocodile Guardian” otherwise known as “The Tenant” that she first published in 2016 to widespread popularity. The book became a massive hit among reviewers and readers and got several nominations for a range of prestigious awards. She followed it up with “Blood Moon” an excellent crime novel that the Copenhagen newspaper wrote that crime queens should be shaking in their boots at the upstart soon taking their place. The novel would earn her an author of the year nomination. She would then write her third novel in the series titled “Glasvinge,” which was also a huge success just like her previous two works. The third novel got a MARTHA award nomination in 2018 and 2019.

Katrine Engberg was brought up in Østerbro and still lives in the town with her husband and their child. She has asserted that she was always interested in the crime genre right from childhood. She came from a family that valued reading with her father a linguist that wholly engrossed in his work while her mother was a researcher. As such, she grew up in an environment in which words had significant value and power. Growing up she always has access to all kinds of books from literary novels to science books all of which she voraciously devoured. She learned English from reading the works of Ruth Randall, Dorothy Sayers and Sue Grafton though her first novel was first published in her native Danish. Both she and her father loved crime fiction and they used to read them together. Right from childhood, she would write down interesting phrases, words and ideas that she jot in her diaries for later use and she has never let go of the habit. While she always loved words and stories, she took a roundabout way to become a professional author. She would start out as a choreographer, instructor, and dancer before she decided that she needed to finish her novel. The draft of her debut crime novel “The Tenant” had been gathering dust in her drawers for more than four years and she knew she had to do something about it.

Katrine gets her inspiration from the phenomena of everyday people, life and from reality, particularly things that stand out from the normal. She can turn special phenomenon, places, and people into a plot and story. She often will have fixed supporting elements and the course of the novel most of which follow a sketch. She then develops her characters from the sketch to write an intuitive energetic and fluent novel. The novels contain fragments of Engberg’s life experiences that she integrates into her stories in innovative ways to tackle a variety of themes and create intriguing characters. Her Novels are about three protagonists that include the divorced and sensitive Jeppe who is dealing with a lot of grief, Annette his energetic partner, and Esther the snuffster who is older than the two of them. All three of them have something of Katrine in them. The novels of her “Kørner & Werner” series have been praised for their lovable characters and refreshing style. Katrine has said that she sometimes pinches herself on how she has managed to become a successful author since she never believed anyone would ever read her stories when she was starting out.

“The Tenant” is an electrifying debut novel from Katrine Engberg. It introduces two police detectives trying to stop a maniac hell-bent on revenge while also trying to solve a murder. It starts with the discovery of the body of a young woman brutally killed in her apartment. Jeppe Korner and Anette Werner are in charge of the bizarre case. The killer had carved out intricate lines on the woman’s face which adds to the mystery. The detectives soon establish a link between the property’s landlady Esther de Laurenti and the victim Julia Stender. Laurenti has made a name for herself for her raucous dinner parties and love for drinking. The landlady also happens to be an aspiring novelist and it turns out that one of her unfinished murder mysteries has an uncanny resemblance to the Julia Stender homicide. However, her role in the homicide is not that clear given that the detectives do not know if she is just another victim caught up in a twisted game of revenge or if she is the main culprit. Annette and Jeppe need to dig deep into the life histories of the two women to determine the identity of the maniac driving one of the most intricate murder mysteries.

“Blood Moon” the second novel of the series has the two detectives from the first novel return in another explosive sequel. The novel is set in an icy cold Copenhagen during the wintertime. Jeppe Koner is back from holiday and now has a young girlfriend and renewed courage to fight crime in his city. While he was feeling very good, it is not long before the Copenhagen winter puts a damper on his mood. Then a body is found floating in the debris in Ørstedparken, believed to be a homeless man. The physical evidence points to the man being a well-known man in the city but the police cannot be too sure. Jeppe Koner and his colleague Anette Werner who are the best detectives the city has are assigned to the case. Jeppe never knew the murdered man but Johannes Ledmar his very good friend believes he does and asks to be involved in the case. But things are never as easy or straightforward as they seem and they get even more complicated when Esther de Laurenti decides to join in.

Katrine Engberg’s “Glasvinge” opens to the discovery of the body of a middle-aged woman found murdered. The body has been discovered by a newspaper binder early in the morning and investigative director Jeppe Korner is charged with finding the killer. Korner is now working with an older less energetic and less cunning detective named Flack, since Anette is on maternity leave. Korner finds it strange that the killer dumped the body in such a public place, where he would easily be captured on security cameras. Sure enough the police have the surveillance video of the night that shows the man coming riding a black charge bike, dumping the body into the fountain, staring at it for a few seconds before leaving. But they soon find that several cameras had in fact been destroyed by the perpetrator and hence they cannot follow the victim or perpetrator to the crime scene. The husband of the woman seems a little fishy and Korner wants to look into him. Meanwhile, Anette is bored on maternity leave and when she hears of the strange case she wants in on it. She thinks the husband who has no alibi and seems a little cold and superficial may have been involved.

4 Responses to “Katrine Engberg”

1. joan kahl: 3 years ago

   Please tell me about her books that are available that are transcribed in English. Have read the Tenant (excellent) Does Katrine have an email address as would like to say that her prose is the best and what plans for new books.Understand “The Harbor” will not be out fil 2/22. Is “Blood Moon” available in English?
   Thank you for your time. Joan

   Reply
2. Kathy Romano: 3 years ago

   I just finished “The Tenant” by Katrine Engberg and loved it! Do you know if the second book in the series, “Blood Moon” will be translated into English? I cannot find it. Thanks for your help.

   Reply
   • Tanner: 2 years ago

     Per her publisher’s page, only 3 books are translated in english right now.

     Reply
     • Graeme: 2 years ago

       Yes the third one The Harbor is scheduled for February 2022

       Reply