When fifteen-year-old Oscar Dreyer-Hoff disappears in this "masterpiece" (Booklist, starred review), the police assume he's simply a runaway—a typically overlooked middle child doing what teenagers do all around the world. But his frantic family is certain that something terrible has happened. After all, what runaway would leave behind a note that reads:
He looked around and saw the knife that had stabbed Basil Hallward. He had cleaned it many times, till there was no stain left upon it. It was bright and glistened. As it had killed the painter, so it would kill the painter's work, and all that that meant. It would kill the past, and when that was dead, he would be free.
It's not much to go on, but it's all that detectives Jeppe Kørner and Anette Werner have. And with every passing hour, as the odds of finding a missing person grow dimmer, it will have to be enough.
-
Creators
-
Publisher
-
Release date
February 22, 2022 -
Formats
-
Kindle Book
-
OverDrive Read
- ISBN: 9781982127657
-
EPUB ebook
- ISBN: 9781982127657
- File size: 3719 KB
-
-
Languages
- English
-
Reviews
-
Publisher's Weekly
December 13, 2021
The disappearance of 15-year-old Oscar Dreyer-Hoff drives Engberg’s engrossing third novel featuring Copenhagen police detectives Jeppe Korner and Anette Werner (after 2020’s The Butterfly House). When Oscar’s affluent parents, who own an auction house, find a cryptic, threatening note addressed to them in their kitchen, they’re convinced Oscar is being held ransom. Soon, Oscar’s Danish teacher, Malthe Saether, is found strangled. Convinced that Oscar’s apparent kidnapping and Malthe’s death are tied together, Jeppe and Anette begin their investigation, aided by a large cast of supporting characters, all of whom, like retired academic Esther de Laurenti (who had a lead role in 2019’s The Tenant), are delightfully fleshed out. Meanwhile, Jeppe struggles to maintain an amicable relationship with his girlfriend’s daughters, and Anette becomes attracted to one of the witnesses. The plot takes some unexpected turns as the detectives unearth some shocking secrets involving fraud and pornography en route to the satisfying conclusion. Readers will eagerly await Jeppe and Anette’s next case. Agent: Niclas Salomonsson, Salomonsson Agency (Sweden). -
Booklist
Starred review from November 1, 2021
Police detectives Jeppe K�rner and Anette Werner are called in when a 15-year-old Copenhagen boy goes missing. His wealthy parents are frantic with worry, assuming he has been kidnapped, but he has left behind a piece of paper with a quote from Oscar Wilde that leads the detectives to think it may be a suicide note. The mystery deepens after one of the boy's teachers is found dead in the jaws of a crane at an energy plant, and another dies on train tracks. The police and the reader embark on an all-out search through Copenhagen, by land and sea, in one of the best armchair travelogues in ages. (Never mind that The Little Mermaid statue is smaller than you expected.) Off the job, Jeppe is struggling to establish a relationship with his partner's daughters, and Anette, in the "sanctimonious parent phase of her life," finds her fidelity to her husband surprisingly challenged. The investigation leads to a high-level crime, but it is the absolute humanity of the storytelling that makes the book a masterpiece of Nordic noir. Engberg is now one of the most widely read and beloved crime authors in Denmark. This is book three of the series (after The Butterfly House, 2020) and fans will be desperately waiting for book four.COPYRIGHT(2021) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
-
Loading
Why is availability limited?
×Availability can change throughout the month based on the library's budget. You can still place a hold on the title, and your hold will be automatically filled as soon as the title is available again.
The Kindle Book format for this title is not supported on:
×Read-along ebook
×The OverDrive Read format of this ebook has professional narration that plays while you read in your browser. Learn more here.