#ATBR2021 Review: The Butterfly House by Katrine Engberg
The Butterfly House
by Katrine Engberg
Translated by Tara Chase
Thank you to Gallery/Scout Press for these gifted copies.
Publisher: Gallery/Scout Press
Publish Date: January 5, 2021
Hardcover
352 Pages
Series: Korner and Werner #2
Genre: Thriller
Detectives Jeppe Korner and Anette Werner return in this thriller as they race to solve a series of sordid murders linked to some of the most vulnerable patients in a Danish hospital.
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….
My Review:
Book 2 in the Korner & Werner series, I left Book 1, THE TENANT, happy Jeppe finally got an erection but otherwise felt it was your standard thriller, crime fiction plot. But then Engberg brings us The Butterfly House and SQUEE!
I'm still loving on Jeppe and Anette's relationship and we get to learn a bit more about both - and we meet more eccentric characters that really are just the stars in my opinion. And I love the nordic setting, which not only gives us great atmosphere but that very suspenseful, keep checking over your shoulder kinda feel. Personally, I liked book one, I loved this one! Engberg does a fantastic job trying to throw us off course. The mental health system, maternity leave, partners still doing things in their own special ways, killers and painful ways to perish.... I mean, SOLD!
I think I'm going to really love seeing Jeppe and Anette grow, individually and as partners. While I don't think you'll need to read these in order quite yet, you may as well. I kinda dig the slow burn on our main characters with the fun of the case to solve to keep us entertained in between. Looking forward to the next.
★★★★
Jessica's Review:
Book two in the Korner and Werner series is here! I think I enjoyed THE BUTTERFLY HOUSE a little bit more than THE TENANT. A darker mystery with more gruesome kills and we get to know our main characters better than we did in book one.
Thanks to this book, I learned about a new cause of death and that was Exsanguination, which is being bleed to death. Talk about an excruciating and slow way to die. A body is discovered in a fountain with small intricate cuts on her arms and thighs. When another body is found with the same wounds, Korner is on the case and needs to find the killer before more bodies appears.
I would definitely recommend starting with book one before picking up this one. I’m curious how the series will continue from here! As these are translated books, I can see there are already two others and can’t wait. I love the writing and seeing the characters grow with each book.
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