Book Review: The Sanctuary by Katrine Engberg

I was genuinely surprised to discover that this novel is the last in Katrine Engberg’s terrific Kørner And Werner series of Scandinoir police procedurals. At only five books (of which this is the fourth translated into English), it seems quite a short series for the genre. That said, Ms. Engberg gives it a terrific finale, with a murder mystery plot that pulls out all the stops while having its main characters really consider what is most important for their lives going forward.

Foremost among our now beloved protagonists is the elderly writer Esther de Laurenti, whose roommate has recently died. Faced with both loneliness and mortality, she thinks back on her own life and wonders if she could have done some of the more important things differently, as she clutches the one piece of jewelry she always wears:

A gold pendant with a date engraved on it, March 18, 1966, in remembrance of the baby she had carried, given birth to, and then given up when she was seventeen. Heavily pressured by her parents, forced, even, to give the illegitimate child up for adoption. Should she have defied her parents? Could she have done anything?

 

She had asked herself that question countless times in an attempt to keep regrets at bay. The answer wasn’t clear. What remained was the consequence, the painful truth:

 

Esther had no one.

 

She had never had more children and never married. Her closest friends were either dead or forgotten.

Police Detective Jeppe Kørner is suffering a related crisis of the soul after his painful breakup from fellow police officer Sara Saidani. Having taken a prolonged leave of absence from the force, he’s moved to the quiet island of Bornholm to chop down trees and otherwise remove himself from society. Even so, he’s pleased to learn that Esther will be moving up there too for a while, as she researches her latest book on award-winning anthropologist Margrethe Dybris.

Two years have passed since the death of the iconoclastic woman Esther had briefly corresponded with. Esther believes that Margrethe would have wanted Esther to write her biography, and has been in contact with her adult daughter Ida to arrange for a visit to the house where they lived for most of Margrethe’s life. Ida has been amenable to the idea despite no longer living on Bornholm herself. The house is usually occupied by her younger brother Nikolaj, but he’s made himself scarce at the prospect of visitors, as Ida and Esther both come to stay and sort through Margrethe’s letters and belongings.

Meanwhile back in Copenhagen, Violent Crimes Department detective Anette Werner is in charge of investigating her unit’s latest grisly discovery: exactly half of a corpse stashed in an imperfectly buried traveling case. As she and her colleagues investigate, they discover connections with Bornholm that will soon have Anette calling on Jeppe, asking for his unofficial assistance. When it becomes clear that something criminal is clearly afoot up north, Anette will travel to the island herself in order to find the answers behind the half-corpse, and to catch an elusive killer.

Anette and Jeppe’s reunion is a balm for both their souls. While Anette has missed her partner’s soothing but brilliant demeanor, Jeppe misses having a robust social life, as she teases:

“Boy, a person can’t turn their back for ten seconds without you growing yourself a depression beard. You’ve got bags under your eyes, Jepsen. Is everything all right?”

 

“Everything’s all right. It’s good to see you.”

 

“Good to see you!” She squeezed his upper arms. “You’ve built some muscle. About time. Come, have a seat, I’m dying of hunger.”

 

“Nothing’s changed, then.” Jeppe sat down across from Anette with a warm tingly feeling. He had completely forgotten how good it felt to have friends.

Will their friendship be enough, though, to lure him back from his self-imposed exile, especially when coming back means he’ll have to learn to live with seeing Sara again on a regular basis? Or will a murderer render the question moot, when our detectives’ efforts put at least one of them in serious danger? And what does all this have to do with Esther, who is busy solving mysteries of her own and unearthing answers that could very well have a permanent impact on all their lives?

As translated by Tara Chace from the original Danish, this was a thoroughly satisfying conclusion to a consistently entertaining series. The fine gossamer threads of loss are dealt with delicately, as the warmth of family and friendship is kindled and strengthened over the course of the narrative. With this series completed, I’m very interested in seeing where Ms. Engberg goes with her continuing literary career. Hopefully, whatever she produces next will be just as, if not more, compelling and empathic as these novels have been.