It seems that Scandinavian mystery novels have not been appearing quite as quickly in the United States as they once did, which makes us appreciate all the more the ones that do show up. Thus we herald the appearance of Katrine Engberg’s The Butterfly House, which is ably translated by Tara Chase ... The most impressive element of the book is the mystery that forms its red-hot core. There truly is no logical way of discerning whodunit prior to the big reveal that occurs near the end, after which a number of the subplots that have developed along the way are satisfactorily wrapped up ... it is my fervent wish that Katrine Engberg continues to write and never stops.
... 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 ... The Butterfly House is an engaging, fresh take on Nordic Noir, a procedural brimming with personality, eccentric characters, and plenty of mystery and intrigue ... consider Katrine Engberg’s The Butterfly House the perfect book with which to get your armchair sleuthing fix and your armchair traveling fix, all in one gripping package.
I cannot even begin to tell you how relatable Anette’s boredom was to me as a mother ... Ms. Engberg’s portrayal of this was refreshing, even as she and I are both advocates for flexible parental leave that centers on the needs of the family. Ms. Engberg also writes with compassion of the people doing their best to navigate an imperfect health and social system ... I really enjoyed reading this layered tale of killers and victims, all hiding behind the masks society has handed them to wear. Jeppe and Anette are wonderful protagonists: smart, flawed, and relatable all at once. The subplot with the aging author Esther de Laurenti was also really well done, particularly in the epiphany she had regarding Alain at the end. Overall, The Butterfly House, translated from the original Danish by Tara Chace, is a terrific addition to the Scandinavian noir genre and one not to be missed by genre fans.
As Americans, we often lift our weary eyes to Scandinavia and weep hot tears of health care envy. The Danish author Katrine Engberg tries to disabuse us of that jealousy in The Butterfly House ... The philosophical issues are worth debating, but can’t distract from the sheer horror of imagining oneself at the mercy of a medical system that considers its most vulnerable citizens as so much trash to be hauled off to the dump.
In Engberg’s well-crafted sequel to 2020’s The Tenant, Copenhagen homicide detective Jeppe Kørner investigates the murders of three people connected to a now-closed teen psychiatric facility, the Butterfly House ... Readers will be pleased to see Falck playing a heroic role at the climax. By addressing the issue of society’s treatment of the mentally ill, Engberg brings the complexities of life into this superior Danish police procedural. Fans of Scandinavian noir will hope this series has a long run.
