Title:	The Sanctuary
	Author:	Katrine Engberg
	Published:	February 7, 2023, Gallery/Scout Press
	No. of Pages:	333
	Cover Price:	$12.99 Kindle

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The Sanctuary is the fourth installment in the popular Kørner/Werner series by bestselling Scandinavian author, Katrine Engberg.

Jeppe Kørner, is on leave from his duties to heal from a personal tragedy, and has traveled to the island of Bornholm for the winter and finds one of the supporting characters in the series, Esther de Laurenti, who is a writer working on the biography of a woman who previously lived on the island. Anette Werner is still in Copenhagen solving some murders.

Engberg’s style is to have two or three distinct storylines in her novels, that are tied together in the end. This novel is no exception. However, the sections about de Laurenti are absolute boring and many readers (me included) will have trouble staying awake and finishing the novel. While her previous novels have been edge-of-the-seat thrillers, this one isn’t.

Engberg has done an excellent job of developing her characters, and the team of Kørner and Werner works well. However, de Laurenti isn’t as good of a character and her scenarios make the novel one that will probably not be enjoyed by even the most avid Katrine Engberg fans. Actually, the portions of the novel that have to do with the writing of the biography upstage the thriller parts of the novel by the protagonists, and make this one not worth reading.

All told, this is one to skip. Hopefully the next installment will be more readable and be back to Engberg’s style from her previous novels.


Special thanks to NetGalley for supplying a review copy of this book.