My Name is Jensen by Heidi Amsinck

Guilty.

One word on a beggar’s cardboard sign. And now he is dead, stabbed in a wintry Copenhagen street, the second homeless victim in as many weeks. Dagbladet reporter Jensen, stumbling across the body on her way to work, calls her ex lover DI Henrik Jungersen. As, inevitably, old passions are rekindled, so are old regrets, and that is just the start of Jensen’s troubles. The front page is an open goal, but nothing feels right…..

When a third body turns up, it seems certain that a serial killer is on the loose. But why pick on the homeless? And is the link to an old murder case just a coincidence? With her teenage apprentice Gustav, Jensen soon finds herself putting everything on the line to discover exactly who is guilty …

About the author

Heidi Amsinck, is a writer and journalist born in Copenhagen. She was London Correspondent for the Danish daily Jyllands-Posten. She has written many stories for BBC Radio 4, including the story sets Danish Noir, Copenhagen Confidential and Copenhagen Curios, all read by Tim McInnerney. She was previously shortlisted for the VS Pritchett Memorial Prize. Heidi lives in London. Last Train to Helsingør her first collection of stories, was published in 2018.

Review

‘My Name is Jensen’ is a brilliantly compelling debut from Heidi Amsinck. This book was a slow-burning narrative, but with a complex plot with numerous twists and turns. It is an example of Nordic Noir at its finest. Simply put I adored this book.

Jensen has just returned to Copenhagen after being a correspondent in London for numerous years. But she has lost her mojo and hasn’t written an article in weeks. On her way to work she comes across a homeless young man who has perished in the snowstorm from the previous day. What is weird though is he was holding a card which only had one word written on it - Guilty! This encourages Jensen to find out more about the man and how he ended up on the streets. She soons find connected murders, estranged families and much more! She also is given an intern in the shape of her boss’s nephew and initiates contact with one of her exes DI Jungerson, who just happens to be running the case.

Jensen is a character that you will fall in love with straight from the get go. She is spunky, fiery, passionate, loyal, nosey, excellent at her job and highly intelligent but also useless at her personal life with no home, hardly hanging on to her job and don't even start with her love life! I love her paired up with the nephew Gustav as they really bounced off each other! I certainly hope this is a relationship which develops further.

Copenhagen almost felt like a character and who doesn't love a book when it comes with a map. It's definitely the place I am visiting first after I'm allowed out the country again! This book was brilliantly plotted, rich with character and emotion, and was so captivating I devoured it in two sittings. Amsinck tackles some big themes in her work - homelessness, mental health, social service procurement and the government in general and they fitted seamlessly into the plot.

I thoroughly enjoyed this exciting debut! If you pick it up please let me know your thoughts.