DET BRÆNDENDE BLAD – THE WRITING ON THE WALL
By Katrine Engberg
INVESTIGATOR LIV JENSEN is at a loss. Unpleasant circumstances force her to quit her job at Aalborg Police and return to her childhood home. Fortunately, she quickly finds a rental in the basement of a house in Vesterbro with retired picture framer Jan Leon and his adult daughter Hannah. Two people who share a great sorrow.
LIV DREAMS OF a place at the Homicide Department in the capital, but for now she has to settle for work as a private detective – and for the cold case she gets from her friend and mentor, Petter Bohm at the Copenhagen Police. The old case is about a journalist who was strangled three years ago.
THE CASE FORCES Liv to revisit the past, travel to the west coast of Jutland and into one of the darkest chapters in Danish history. Everything seems to be connected and everyone is running from something. Will Liv be able to solve this case, erase the memories of Aalborg and return to the police force once again or is she destined to run forever from her past?
ABOUT THE BOOK
First published by Alpha, Denmark 2022
RIGHTS SOLD
Denmark, Alpha
Estonia, Eesti Raamat
Finland, Otava
France, Fleuve Editions
Germany, Piper
Iceland, Ugla Útgáfa
Italy, Marsilio
Norway, Bonnier Norsk
Portugal, Minotauro
Sweden, Forum
REVIEWS
Engberg is one of the best Danish crime writers.
–Berlingske, Denmark
Engberg is a true storyteller.
– Politiken, Denmark
The suspense arch is high and the book is impossible to close before you reach the last page.
–Litteratursiden, Denmark
A strong plot with a psychological nerve from the first lady of Danish crime fiction (…) Katrine Engberg has put together a complex intrigue that is interesting until the very last moment.
–NRK, Norway
Katrine Engberg has constructed a complex and exceptionally interesting plot (…).
–Dagens Nyheter, Sweden
Engberg skillfully ties together the fates of the various characters and links the past with the present in a believable way. (…) The tension lasts until the dramatic denouement, and one can sense that new missions await Liv.(…) Other relationships in this crime novel are also carefully depicted with details that linger.
–Göteborgs Posten, Sweden
Engberg has, as usual, a large gallery of characters and creates a winding labyrinth with many tricky side tracks. (…) The strengths lie in the language, the environmental descriptions, and the very believable characters. And skillfully, without using simple solutions, she manages to tie up all the loose ends.
– BTJ, Sweden
The Writing on the Wall is a captivating story about a freelancing private detective. Katrine Engberg is truly one of the most critically acclaimed of all the many Nordic crime writers.
– Icakuriren, Sweden
There is some kind of wonderful insanity here that I really love. /…/The author is very skilled at nurturing even small supporting characters, quickly giving us a sense of who they are. (…) There are many threads, but the author keeps good order and skillfully weaves them together to a dramatic resolution with some surprising twists. Katrine Engberg is hard to beat when it comes to intelligent plot construction that makes us readers happy.
– Kapprakt, Sweden
Katrine Engberg writes lively, and she cleverly brings together different narrative strands. (…) she leaves so much in the dark about Liv Jensen that you are eagerly awaiting for it to be revealed in the next volume.
– WDR, Sweden
One of Denmark’s most skilled suspense authors paints a teeming gallery of characters in the first part of her new crime series. (…) Engberg convinces in the way she successfully portrays the character’s inner lives with her ingenious wording, and as a reader, you immediately become emotionally invested in them.
– Amelia, Sweden
Engberg skillfully links the stories of different people together and always allows the theme of escape to shine through. Exciting until the end.
– Freundin, Germany
Exciting from page one!
– TV Hören und Sehen, Germany
BOOKS
Fiction
