Try It, You Might Like It #11: Nordic Noir

"Try it, you might like it" - it's what someone says when they present you with some food you've never had before or your mom wants you to try on some clothes she picked out for you.  I'm using it here on the blog as inspiration to choose books in genres I don't normally read; to branch out from my reading comfort zones; and to maybe find some new favorites!  One of my goals this year is to bring this feature back, so here we go!

 

For this edition, I'm exploring Nordic Noir, sometimes also referred to as Scandi Noir or Scandinavian Noir.  It's a subgenre of crime fiction that's set in Scandinavian countries.  They are usually from the police's point of view and feature a troubled protagonist; the reader really gets to know the inner workings, memories, and feelings of the protagonist more they would in other mysteries or thrillers.  Nordic Noir books are often very atmospheric - bleak and ominous - and feature disturbing or violent cases.  I was inspired to try this genre when I came across this article on Book Riot - interestingly, I had one of the books on my TBR, so it worked out perfectly!

 

I read The Tenant by Katrine Engberg, originally published in 2016.  It's the first book in the Korner and Werner series.  Korner and Werner are two Danish police detectives whose most recent case involves a woman found murdered in her apartment, with a distinct pattern carved into her face.  They then discover that the victim's landlady is writing a murder mystery with the same premise and they work to discover what the connection is.  I've read a lot of mysteries and thrillers, but this definitely story definitely falls more into the crime fiction genre.  We follow the case along with the detectives, as the evidence is dissected and witnesses and suspects are interviewed.  Although there are twists and turns, there's not a ton of action or explosive scenes.  Engberg's writing, however, flows nicely and keeps the reader involved in the story.  We mainly follow detective Jeppe Worner; he's recently divorced and just returning to work after an injury.  He seems to have a love/hate relationship with his partner, Werner.

While there were a lot of the elements I was expecting from a Nordic Noir (police POV, troubled protagonist, disturbing case), one thing I was missing was the bleak atmosphere.  The story takes place over a few days in August, so it's bright, hot, and sunny in most scenes (although it does contrast nicely with some of the scenes in police headquarters).  However, I thought there were some great descriptions of Denmark, and Copenhagen in particular, so it was fun to kind of get a little tour of the area.  I think if the story had taken place in winter, it might have helped elevate the dark, creepy factor.  But, I did really enjoy this book - Nordic Noir is definitely a genre I would read again, and I would seek out more books from this series.