Book Review: The Butterfly House by Katrine Engberg translated by Tara F. Chase (Korner and Werner, #3)

My Rating:

4.5⭐

“Remember, feelings are never simple. Revenge is inextricably linked to a bad conscience; guilt goes hand in hand with resentment at having felt pressured to do the thing one feels guilty about. A double-edged sword, which makes the bearer both victim and executioner.”

Three bodies are discovered floating in different fountains across downtown Copenhagen in quick succession. Autopsy reveals all the victims bled out from symmetrical wounds inflicted across their arms and legs- wounds caused by a mysterious weapon. As the narrative progresses, it is revealed that all three victims were connected through their association with “The Butterfly House “, a residential psychiatric facility for children and teenagers which closed down two years ago. Copenhagen homicide detectives Jeppe Korner and Torben Falck are assigned to the case. Korner’s partner, Annette Werner, on maternity leave and itching to resume active duty, adds to the efforts and conducts her own investigation based on information Korner shares with her. 

The team conducts a deep-dive investigation into the psychiatric facility- the administration, the patients, and the caregivers. It seems that quite a few of the people linked to the facility have both motive and opportunity. There was also a fair share of corruption, secrets and cover-ups within the internal workings of the facility. The investigators must determine whether anyone among the former patients and employees could be the killer and who could be a potential victim and in the process stop the killing spree before anyone else is murdered.

The Butterfly House is the third installment (second book translated in English) in Katrine Engberg’s crime thriller series featuring investigators Jeppe Korner and Anette Werner. I’m glad that I did not give up on this series after the first book which was an average read for me. With its crisp writing, fast-paced narrative and engaging mystery, The Butterfly House by Katrine Engberg is a smart, gripping Nordic noir that kept me guessing till the very end. The author explores the issue of treatment of mental health , unethical practices, insufficient funding of facilities and how patients are treated with negligence by people who are not professionally trained or qualified. There are quite a few characters to keep track of but given the clear and concise writing, it is not too difficult to do so. I also enjoyed the descriptions of downtown Copenhagen including the “underground” network. Parallel to the main plot is a nurse with links to the case, injecting an elderly patient with unauthorized medication with malicious intent in the cardiac care unit of a hospital. Another sub-plot with Esther De Laurenti (from the previous book, The Tenant) did not seem entirely necessary though it was great to catch up with her once again. Overall, I enjoyed this novel and look forward to reading the next book in the series.