Books by author Heidi Amsinck, including My Name is Jensen

The Girl in the photo

When ninety-year-old Irene Valborg is found brutally murdered in an affluent suburb of Copenhagen, her diamond necklace missing, it looks like a burglary gone wrong. As two more victims are attacked, the police lament a rise in violence against the elderly, but who is the young girl in the photo found at the crime scenes? Impatient to claim her inheritance, Irene’s daughter hires reporter Jensen and her teenage apprentice Gustav to find the necklace. DI Henrik Jungersenfinds himself once more pitched against Jensen in a quest for the truth – the one woman in Copenhagen he is desperate to avoid.

“A brilliantly clever novel that should not be missed.” Eva Björg Ægisdóttir

“Draws you in from the first page. An excellent Nordic Noir.” Lilja Sigurðardóttir

My Name is Jensen

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 the only person she can think of – DI Henrik Jungersen, her married ex-lover.
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.

‘Compelling, atmospheric and beautifully written, Scandi Noir has a new star’ Louise Welsh

‘A brilliant debut from an author in full possession of the crime writing craft. Heidi Amsinck is hopefully here to stay’ Yrsa Sigurdardottir

‘Intriguing and hypnotically readable’ Andrew Taylor

Last Train to Helsingør

Copenhagen is a mysterious city where strange and sinister things often happen. Menacing and at times darkly humorous, there are echoes of Roald Dahl and Daphne du Maurier in this collection of nineteen stories, many of which were originally commissioned for BBC Radio 4. From the commuter who bitterly regrets falling asleep on a late-night train in Last Train to Helsingør, to the mushroom hunter prepared to kill to guard her secret in The Chanterelles of Østvig. Here, the land of hygge becomes one of twilight and shadows.

‘A great collection of eerie, unnerving stories. In equal measures charming and creepy’ Will Dean

‘A nice slice of creepy Scandi-noir’ Daily Mail

This was a great opening in a new Scandi noir series that left me looking forward to getting to know these characters a lot better. Jensen is a journalist living in Copenhagen after spending several years in London as the British correspondent for a Danish newspaper. She still hasn’t quite found her feet in the city, and knows that she’s very lucky to still have a job considering the job cuts at work.

My first thought, and this was before I read a Q&A with Amsinck, was how much these tales reminded me of The Tales of the Unexpected (TV series from 1979 – 1988). A lot of the episodes were based on short stories written by Roald Dahl. The script writers often wrote endings or conclusions to the tales for the audience, whereas the stories they were based on were more inconclusive, open and mysterious. .

‘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.

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

Mostly set in a strange Copenhagen of shadows, each piece is packed full of storytelling. Never have oak-panelled rooms seemed quite so sinister. These tales abound with ghosts - not always supernatural - and unassuming characters capable of surprising malevolence.

Dark, yes, but shot through with dark humour to match, and always compelling.

This is a gritty police procedural, based in Norway’s capital, Copenhagen. It starts so well you can feel yourself being sucked in. It is a great start to a new series. It is well written with great pace, interesting characters who not everyone will like and a storyline that keeps you guessing.

I can’t wait to meet Jensen in her next adventure.

This is a highly rewarding collection of stories, packed with beautiful and well crafted descriptions, moments of irony and a chilling but subtle darkness throughout. The Bird in the Cage stood out to me as a Sisyphean semi-lucid nightmare, the central character plagued by the perpetual battle between his id and superego. The fallibility of the main protagonists, a general melancholy and the moral complexity running throughout the stories is in the true Nordic noir style. Very enjoyable indeed.

This is a great read that ,once it began to grip me,I thoroughly enjoyed. there are some great characters and while it initially appears to be a "run of the mill" Scandi-noir thriller there is a lot more to the story than first meets the eye.

A great read that is entertaining,quite dark and introduces plenty of fascinating characters for what I'm sure will turn out to be a very popular series.

The winter streets of Copenhagen, the old houses and the curious shops are brought vividly to life in these eerie tales.

The reassuring civility of Danish life is in stark contrast to the dark deeds and unexplainable events that seethe in the shadows of this book.

The Girl in the Photo is the second in the Scandi Noir series, Jenson. This time Jensen and Henrik reluctantly join together to solve a series of brutal murders which appear connected, however, the book is much more that just the crimes! It’s the relationships between the characters and their personal struggles and life which stand out and make it such an interesting and must read series. A well written, fast paced and character driven series…what’s not to love!

Read this in one sitting! This is the second book in the series, based in Copenhagen, and I am already looking forward to #3. Not going to paraphrase the plot as it is described above but I would recommend this series to any fans of Scandi noir - the book can be read as a stand-alone but reading the first book fills in a lot of background.

I was given the opportunity to read this via the Pigeonhole platform and courtesy of Heidi, the author. I can never understand why people feel the need to sketch the plot out in their reviews when it's already there , written for you by Amazon... So I'm just going to say that this was an extremely well thought out plot, I loved the further development of characters from book 1, Gustav being a firm favourite! Jensen and Henrick still obnoxiously likeable in there own way. Thank you Heidi and I am really looking forward to book 3 😁

Heidi Amsinck

The Girl in the photo

My Name is Jensen

Last Train to Helsingør

© Copyright Heidi Amsinck 2023