This reader’s guide for The Tenant includes an introduction, discussion questions, and ideas for enhancing your book club. The suggested questions are intended to help your reading group find new and interesting angles and topics for your discussion. We hope that these ideas will enrich your conversation and increase your enjoyment of the book

Introduction

When a young woman is discovered brutally murdered in her own apartment with an intricate pattern of lines carved into her face, Copenhagen police detectives Jeppe Kørner and Anette Werner are assigned to the case. In short order, they establish a link between the victim, Julie Stender, and her landlady, Esther de Laurenti, who’s a bit too fond of drink and the host of raucous dinner parties with her artist friends. Esther also turns out to be a budding novelist—and when Julie turns up as a murder victim in the still-unfinished mystery she’s writing, the link between fiction and real life grows both more urgent and more dangerous.

But Esther’s role in this twisted scenario is not quite as clear as it first seems. Is she the culprit—or just another victim, trapped in a twisted game of vengeance? Anette and Jeppe must dig more deeply into the two women’s pasts to discover the identity of the brutal puppet master pulling the strings in this electrifying literary thriller.

Topics and Questions for Discussion

1. Compare and contrast Jeppe’s and Anette’s personalities, attitudes, and working styles. Do you think their differences make them a good or a bad team? Why?

2. Discuss the development of Esther and Gregers’s relationship. Do you think they would have formed such a close bond if not for Julie’s murder? Why or why not?

3. When Julie was murdered, who did you first suspect was her killer? Did that change once Kristoffer was found? How did your suspicions shift throughout the novel? Did you ever suspect David?

4. Does the atmosphere of Copenhagen—the theater, the cafés, the sea—affect the story in any way? Do you think the novel could have taken place in any city? Would the novel have been as effective if set in a different city?

5. Jeppe’s divorce has a profound impact on both his personal and his professional lives. Discuss how the aftereffects of his divorce blur the line between the personal and the professional and how his ethics are then challenged. Do you think Jeppe is ethical? Do you think anyone in the novel is? Discuss why or why not.

6. On pages 130–31, Esther says, “People who carry around grief or who have faced great challenges are more interesting than the ones with easy, happy lives.” Discuss the various characters in the novel dealing with grief, loneliness, regret, and the loss of emotional connection. Do you agree with Esther that these characters are more interesting? Why or why not? Then discuss people in your own lives who have overcome challenges. How did those experiences change them?

7. Reread the passages the killer wrote on pages 162 and 218. What is their significance in the greater context of the plot? Did these help inform your suspicions as to who the killer might or might not be?

8. On page 233, Esther ponders that “writing a murder mystery is like trying to braid a spiderweb, thousands of threads stick to your fingers and break if you don’t keep your focus.” Discuss the mystery at the heart of the novel and if you think the plot twists and red herrings were effective. Were you guessing until the end of the novel, or did you predict the ending early on?

9. Discuss the meaning of the name Star Child in both Esther’s manuscript and David’s note to Julie. Why do you think the author chose this name? How would you react to someone giving you a slip of paper with the words Star Child on it? Do you think you would have reacted the same way Julie did?

10. “There’s a very fine line between seizing an opportunity and doing something that you know is just downright stupid” (p. 307). Discuss instances in the novel where the characters walked this line and whether they seized an opportunity or made a mistake. If the latter, do you think anything in the novel would have changed if they had had better judgment? Would you have made the same decisions these characters did? What would you have done differently?

11. On page 334, Jeppe muses, “You think you know a person.” Discuss the characters in the novel, their motivations, and how they surprised you throughout the book. Then, if you have a story to share, tell the group about a time a friend or family member did something extremely out of character and explain why it caught you by surprise.

12. After the killer is revealed to be David, you are given a glimpse into his young life and what eventually pushed him to murder. If he had had a different childhood, do you think he would have still become a killer? Or was he inherently evil? Discuss his motives for the killings and why you think he spared Esther. If he wasn’t caught, do you think he would have continued killing?

13. Scandinavian crime fiction is becoming more and more popular in the U.S. Compare The Tenant to American thrillers—books, TV shows, and movies. What qualities, if any, distinguish Jeppe and his team from detectives portrayed in American media?

14. One of the major themes in the novel is revenge. Discuss who seeks revenge, what motivates them, and what the consequences are.

15. Discuss the social criticisms made in the novel. In your discussion, consider violence against women; patriarchal societies; abortion, specifically forced or regulated abortions; and life in foster care.

Enhance Your Book Club

1. Plan your book club meeting as a potluck dinner party worthy of Esther de Laurenti. Buy Danish pastries, like wienerbrød, for dessert, and don’t forget the wine!

2. “There was consensus that not enough children were forcibly removed from violent families in Denmark and that far too many had to live with daily abuse and incompetent parents” (p. 235). Do you think this statement applies to children in the United States as well? Discuss with your group.

3. Before your book club meeting, read Science’s online article titled “This psychologist explains why people confess to crimes they didn’t commit” and discuss what you learned with the group. Do the findings mentioned in the article apply to Christian Stender’s confession? Why or why not?

4. With a fast-paced plot, a multifaceted setting, and relatable characters, The Tenant has all the makings of a blockbuster movie. Discuss with the group who you would cast in a movie adaption and why.