On the Reykjanes peninsula in 1979, a body is found floating in a lagoon created by a geothermal power station. The deceased seems to be linked with the nearby American military base, but authorities there have little interest in working with the Icelandic police.
While Erlendur and Marion Briem pursue their leads, Erlendur has his mind on something else as well: a young girl who disappeared without a trace around one of Reykjavik’s most notorious neighbourhoods, a quarter century ago.

• Selected as one of the best crime novel of 2015 in Sweden, by Dagens Nyheter

  
  “A solid, atmospheric murder mystery.”
  Eilis OHanlon, Irish Independent

  **** (Four stars of a possible five)
  “Arnaldur Indridason is a specialist in writing crime stories and doesn’t disappoint his loyal readership with his newest book, Oblivion. The structure of the story is well calculated and the characters lead the reader securely from the first page to the last. This is not simply a crime novel – it could be placed in the category of belles-lettres…”
  Steinthor Gudbjartsson, Morgunbladid Daily

  “Erlendur Sveinsson, the best known investigative policeman in Icelandic crime fiction, is here a rookie with the investigative division under the guidance of Marion Briem. Marion has an opinion about Erlendur, and is also interested in this mysterious man who can relate well to the homeless and put himself with strange ease into the shoes of those grieving, but who otherwise has difficulty being around other people. Erlendur therefore has free rein to indulge in his hobby of rummaging through old case files related to people who have disappeared. …
  Arnaldur shows his skill well in this novel, and his chief authorial characterisitcs are apparent. The crime itself isn’t necessarily in the key role, rather emphasis is on discussing and scrutinizing various aspects of society.  …
  It is known that authors tire of their fictional heroes, which readers on the other hand love. In his time, Arthur Conan Doyle tried to kill off Sherlock Holmes, and later Hergé had nightmares about Tintin. It is therefore a clever idea on Arnaldur’s part to introduce Erlendur in a new way for readers as a young man at the beginning of his career – young, though immediately old, really – and give them an opportunity to follow along as he becomes the man who will later leave his mark in the literary history of the nation.”
  Ulfhildur Dagsdottir, bokmennntir.is

  “Arnaldur considers all of his secondary characters carefully…he shows us what kind of effect crime or trauma has on those who survive, but who perhaps never recover. He does this extremely well. He has done this successfully in most of his books as well as this one. …This is fine Arnaldur. His fans will not be disappointed. I’m going to stand by that. …There is no Icelandic crime writer who does better than Arnaldur.”
  Kolbrun Bergthorsdottir, Kiljan/National TV

  “Arnaldur is roguishly good in this newest book of his, and he weaves together every thread artfully. This is a great book that fulfilled all my expectations and much more.”
  Guðridur Haraldsdottir, Vikan