There’s nothing more exciting to me than learning about an up-and-coming Scandinavian crime writer, and today I’m absolutely thrilled to be able to spotlight one such author for CBTB readers! I first learned about Danish crime writer Anne Mette Hancock through social media, where I began to notice all the buzz surrounding her (then brand-new!) Kaldan & Schäfer crime series. Hancock’s debut novel, The Corpse Flower, was awarded the Danish Crime Academy’s debutant prize in 2017; in 2018, Hancock was named “Author of the Year” in Denmark. And to top it all off, two Danish crime writers whose work I love and opinions I very much trust—Sara Blædel and Katrine Engberg—have both raved about Hancock’s work. It’s safe to say I’ve been quite eager to be able to give Anne Mette Hancock’s work a try for myself, and I’m absolutely thrilled that, this fall, Anne Mette Hancock’s debut novel will be published in the US! THE CORPSE FLOWER is the first installment in Hancock’s Kaldan & Schäfer crime fiction series, and today I’m thrilled to be able to reveal the book’s cover exclusively for CBTB readers!
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Book Review: IF I DISAPPEAR by Eliza Jane Brazier
It’s been quite a while since I read a book quite like Eliza Jane Brazier’s IF I DISAPPEAR. This book is sure to be a polarizing one, and I’ve spent many days since I finished reading it trying to gather my thoughts into some sort of a coherent review. Did I love this book? No, to be honest, I can’t say I did. Were there elements I loved about it? Absolutely. IF I DISAPPEAR weaves a dark and hypnotic spell—this story is cleverly constructed and beautifully written, drawing readers into the dark heart of a family with terrible secrets. In IF I DISAPPEAR, readers follow a young woman who is obsessed with a true crime podcast and its host. When that podcast host goes missing, our protagonist believes she is uniquely prepared to solve the mystery, and sets off on an ill-advised mission to find her missing idol. I was riveted by this unsettling book for about 3/4 of it, until an out-of-left-field conclusion left me both unsatisfied and not insignificantly confused. I am, honestly, still of two minds about this book. There was so much I thoroughly enjoyed about it, and I also had significant frustrations with how the story ultimately tied together, so much so that it did impact my enjoyment of the book as a whole. I’m quite confident this book won’t be for everyone, but it’s sure to spark lots of discussion as it makes its way into readers’ hands this month.
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CBTB's Most-Anticipated Early 2021 Crime Books
A new year is upon us, and it’s bringing with it some very exciting new crime, mystery, and thriller releases to devour! In today’s blog post, I’m rounding up my most-anticipated crime fiction releases publishing between January and March 2021. A few of these books I’ve already been fortunate enough to read, and the others are all on my TBR list as we head into the new year! From new psychological thrillers to suspense novels with horror movie-worthy plots to Nordic Noir and more, the first few months of 2021 have so many thrilling reads in store for us, and I hope this list will help you find a new book (or two, or three!) to look forward to in the coming months!
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Book Review: THE BUTTERFLY HOUSE by Katrine Engberg
Danish crime writer Katrine Engberg broke onto the scene in the US in 2020 with her debut crime novel THE TENANT, the first in a new series about two Copenhagen-based police officers, Jeppe Kørner and Anette Werner. This week, Kørner and Werner are back in THE BUTTERFLY HOUSE, the second installment in Engberg’s crime fiction series—and what a fantastic installment it is. There’s something particularly exciting as a reader about following an up-and-coming author’s career and seeing their growth and development, and THE BUTTERFLY HOUSE is proof positive that Katrine Engberg is on an upward trajectory. While I enjoyed her debut novel THE TENANT, I loved THE BUTTERFLY HOUSE, and would highly recommend this engaging, inventive Danish crime novel for fans of Nordic Noir and police procedurals. In THE BUTTERFLY HOUSE, the quirky personalities of Engberg’s protagonists are once again front and center, and this time, the pair find themselves operating independently of one another. With Anette Werner on maternity leave, Jeppe Kørner finds himself assigned a new partner with whom he must tackle a series of disturbing crimes that seem tied to a local Copenhagen hospital. But Anette isn’t one to be left behind, and she sets out to conduct her own off-the-record investigation into these very same murders. As she and Jeppe close in on the truth at the heart of a complex web of intrigue, they discover shocking abuse of power at an institution that is meant to help, not harm. THE BUTTERFLY HOUSE is an engaging, fresh take on Nordic Noir, a procedural brimming with personality, eccentric characters, and plenty of mystery and intrigue.
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Book Review: BLOODLINE by Jess Lourey
If “small-town suspense-meets-horror” were a genre, Jess Lourey would be its queen. The author of 2020 standout UNSPEAKABLE THINGS returns on January 1 with her next work of dread-inducing rural horror, BLOODLINE. Set in 1960’s Minnesota, BLOODLINE draws readers into the heart of a picture-perfect town harboring unthinkable secrets. For pregnant journalist Joan Harken, her fiancé’s hometown of Lilydale represents a bright future: a place where their unborn child can grow up with all the safety and security that a tight-knit community has to offer—the kind of safety and security that was missing from her own upbringing. But as Joan settles into her new home, she can’t shake the feeling that something is just a bit off. Her neighbors have taken a keen interest in every aspect of her life, her fiancé is growing distant, and she swears someone is following her in the town. Joan is right to be suspicious—but even her wildest imaginings could never have prepared her, or the reader, for what is in store. Evil is lurking in the town of Lilydale, and Joan is going to have to rely on all her wits and inner strength to make it out with her life. BLOODLINE is a spine-tingling, up-all-night-reading psychological suspense novel-meets-horror story worthy of the comparisons to Rosemary’s Baby that it is receiving. If small-town scares are your cup of tea, BLOODLINE belongs on your 2021 reading list.
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