Copenhagen Police Detective Jeppe Korner has retreated to beautiful Bornholm Island to nurse a broken heart. So has Esther de Laurenti. She’s also researching the life of the late anthropologist Margrethe Dybris.
Esther is staying in Margrethe’s old home. The anthropologist’s daughter, Ida, is there, and she’s worried because her brother, Nikolaj, seems to have disappeared.
Meanwhile, back in the big city, Jeppe’s partner, Anette Werner, is dealing with a chopped-up body found in two suitcases in a public park. The man appears to have been cut in half with a saw.
Her trail leads Anette to the island, where there’s both a lumber mill and an abattoir, both with fearsome-looking saws. Jeppe reluctantly gets involved in helping Anette.
Esther, who’s reading through Margrethe’s letters to her sister, discovers that Nikolaj had a troubled past. And there was a tragedy that haunted the Dybris family. Could it have played a part in the gruesome murder?
That question can’t be answered until Anette figures out who the dead man is.
This is Katrine Engberg’s fourth outing with Jeppe, Anette and Esther. I have enjoyed them all. Although there is a typically gory aspect to the murder, it is balanced by the explorations of the inner lives of the characters and their relationships with each other. In The Sanctuary, Bornholm Island provides a picturesque yet menancing atmosphere.
At first, I wondered where Margrethe’s letters were leading, but they provide essential clues that lead to a surprising, yet satisfying, ending to this well-written mystery.
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