Katrine Engberg

Katrine Engberg (b. 1975) had already attained the status of acclaimed dancer and choreographer when she began writing. Honing her voice and authorship while simultaneously continuing to contribute to the Arts, both as a director and a choreographer, Engberg soon emerged as a virtuoso of sensitive portrayals and ingeniously intertwined plot threads. The #1 international bestseller The Tenant (2016) was Engberg’s crime fiction debut and the first book in the bestselling Copenhagen series, hailed around the world for its refreshing style and lovable characters. In 2022, The Writing on the Wall was published, the first installment in her new, highly anticipated series starring investigator and private detective Liv Jensen. The second book in the series, The White Nights, was published in 2023.

“Katrine Engberg is an absolute star!”
Camilla Läckberg

“A stunning debut. Katrine Engberg’s unforgettable characters and brilliant plot twists will captivate readers of suspense fiction.”
#1 New York Times bestselling author Kathy Reichs

“There is a humor to Katrine Engberg’s prose. I think it’s wonderful how her crime novels make you laugh and pause. She’s a master at it.”
Nele Neuhaus

Awards

The Martha Award 2021
Shortlisted for the Mofibo Awards (Best Crime & Suspense) Denmark – Isola The Sanctuary 2021
Shortlisted for the People’s Choice Award Denmark 2020
Shortlisted for the Great Audiobook Award - Mofibo Awards Denmark – Vådeskud The Harbor 2019
Shortlisted for Author of the Year Award Denmark 2019
Shortlisted for the Martha Award Denmark 2019
Shortlisted for the People’s Choice Award Denmark 2019
Shortlisted for the People’s Choice Award Denmark 2018
Shortlisted for Plusbog’s Author of the Year Award Denmark 2017
Shortlisted for the BogForum Debutant Prize Denmark – Krokodillevogteren The Tenant 2016
Shortlisted for Plusbog’s Author of the Year Award Denmark
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Bibliography

Liv Jensen

The Copenhagen series

Related news

‘The White Nights’ No. 1 in Denmark

Katrine Engberg’s just published The White Nights is No. 1 on the Danish book retailer Bog & idé’s Top 10 list. It is also No. 1 in the “crime” category.

‘The White Nights’ published in Denmark

One spring morning, teenage girl Shirin wakes up in a tent on the island of Vorsø. Her big brother is still asleep when she gets up to wash off down by the water. The beach is deserted, and it is far too quiet. Their father, Tami, wanted them to get up early so they could begin fishing at the crack of dawn, but the sun is already high in the sky. She goes to her father’s tent to awaken him, but finds him with his throat cut open, covered in his own blood.

Shirin flees the island to the only family she knows, car mechanic Nima Ansari. The Southeast Jylland’s police receive help from the homicide department in Copenhagen to solve the murder of Tami, who many years ago came to Denmark, escaping the Iranian regime. The case ends up on the desk of investigator Petter Bohm. Feeling stressed and forgetful, Petter asks Liv for help to solve the case and to find Shirin and her brother before the killer does. From Liv’s residence in the basement apartment at Vesterbro, the leads branch out to both the past and present and to the residents of the backyard, who gradually must realize that silence always has a price.

The White Nights is the second installment in the bestselling and critically acclaimed series about investigator and private detective Liv Jensen.

Photo: Les Kaner

Katrine Engberg shortlisted for Author of the Year Award

Katrine Engberg has been shortlisted for the 2023 Author of the Year Award by the Danish book chain Plusbog for her success with her two bestselling crime series, Copenhagen and Liv Jensen.

The winner will be announced at Bogforum in Copenhagen on November 3rd.

 

‘The Harbor’ No. 5 in Iceland

Katrine Engberg’s The Harbor is No. 5 on the official Icelandic bestseller list for the month of January, 2023.

Zentropa acquires the film rights to Katrine Engbergs’s ‘The Writing on the Wall’

Zentropa film has acquired the film rights for Katrine Engberg’s new crime series. Together with the author, producer Peter Aalbæk Jensen, is planning a series of three to five films.

“After 20 pages of Katrine Engberg’s new novel, The Writing on the Wall, I knew that this was the film project with which I must end my long and conflicted career. This book series will be my epitaph! I am deeply captivated by the characters and the exotic stories, weaved together in a clever way in a magnificent drama. Genuinely excited to turn the next page. Read the book, look forward to the movie!” says Peter.

For the first time, Katrine Engberg writes a story rooted in her own family history. The Writing on the Wall questions what a good person is, and what it is that we are running from. The need for escape is the overarching theme which both our main character Liv, and two supporting characters Nima and Hannah tackle. They are all running from something, or from their selves. And this does not exclude the murderer!

For Katrine, the film adaptation is a dream come true: “I was standing in my study looking out at a snowy Copenhagen when Peter Aalbæk called, and I knew immediately that we were ‘meant to be’. Seeing my own family history rewritten into a movie script and played by actors was a wild thought. I couldn’t imagine leaving it to anyone but him.”

The Writing on the Wall is the first installment in Katrine Engberg’s new crime series about private detective Liv Jensen.

The 2023 Mofibo Awards

The Danish audio and e-book service Mofibo has announced this year’s nominees in the Mofibo Awards. Competing for the title of Best Crime & Suspense is Katrine Engberg with The Writing on the Wall. In the Translated Fiction category, Lars Kepler, Liza Marklund, Stefan Ahnhem and Hjorth & Rosenfeldt are vying for the top spot. Kepler with The Spider, Marklund with The Mire, Ahnhem with The Final Nail, and Hjorth & Rosenfeldt with As You Sow.

To cast your vote, click “Read more” below. Voting closes on January 29.

Read more

The 2022 Petrona Award longlist

The Petrona Award’s jury has just presented its longlist for the 2022 Petrona Award for ‘Best Scandinavian Crime Novel of the Year.’ The list of twelve nominees include Katrine Engberg with The Butterfly House, Jørn Lier Horst & Thomas Enger with Smoke Screen, Anders Roslund with Knock Knock, and Antti Tuomainen with The Rabbit Factor.

The shortlist is to be announced on 16 November 2022.

Katrine Engberg No. 1 in Denmark

Katrine Engberg’s novel The Writing on the Wall comes in at No. 1 this week on the official Danish bestseller list for fiction.

‘The Writing on the Wall’ published in Denmark

Investigator Liv Jensen is in a frenzy. Unpleasant circumstances force her to quit her job at the Aalborg police and return to her childhood home. Fortunately, she quickly finds a lease in the basement of a house in Vesterbro with the retired frame maker, Jan Leon, and his grown-up daughter Hannah. Two people who share a great sadness.

Liv dreams of a position at the homicide department in the capital, but has to settle with working as a private detective with the case she gets from her friend and mentor, Petter Bohm from the Copenhagen Police. The case is about a cultural journalist who was strangled three years ago, the perpetrator was never caught. Maybe Liv can solve that case, erase the memories from Aalborg and return to the police again?

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. It all ties together. Everyone is running from something, and no one can feel safe.

The Writing on the Wall is the first installment in a new crime series starring investigator and private detective Liv Jensen, car mechanic Nima Azour and psychiatrist Hannah Leon.

All of Katrine Engberg’s novels on the Norwegian bestseller list

Katrine Engberg’s entire Copenhagen series dominates the official Norwegian bestseller list for paperbacks this week. The Tenant comes in at No. 2Blood Moon at No. 3The Butterfly House at No. 4Isola at No. 6 and The Harbor at No. 12.

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Horst, Engberg and Holt on Bok365’s Top Ten Crime Novels of 2021

The Norwegian book industry publication BOK365 has released a list of the ten bestselling crime novels of 2021 and Jørn Lier Horst’s A Will to Serve comes in at No. 1The Tenant by Danish author Katrine Engberg grabs the No. 3 spot and Anne Holt’s The Eleventh Manuscript claims No. 9.

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