Konrad Series #6

An intense and haunting crime story about broken dreams, misguided ideals and cold cruelty.

A tourist is found dead with head injuries by a lake close to Reykjavik. When it transpires that he is actually Icelandic and came to the attention of the police when his friend disappeared a few decades earlier, Konrad begins to connect the dots. He gets caught up in his own past; an old case he knows well causes an uproar within the police and his one-time friend, Leo, has gone into hiding. At the same time, the spirit of the Cold War haunts Konrad, the atmosphere of a society in chains, coloured by fury and factionalism.

Nominated for The Blood Drop – The Icelandic Crime Fiction Award 2023

“A tremendous plot where threads of corruption in the solving of an old murder case interweave with the suspicion of the Cold War years and a modern-day murder.
Descriptions of society and surroundings are effective and the characterisation is outstanding.”
FROM THE JURY OF THE DROP OF BLOOD – THE ICELANDIC CRIME AWARD

“…very exciting … I read into the night, and it’s fun when a thriller comes out that you fall for and sacrifice sleep for just one more chapter.”
INGIBJORG IDA AUDUNARDOTTIR, KILJAN / NATIONAL BROADCASTING SERVICE

★★★★★ (four and a half star out of five possible)
“The narrative is complex and the threads lie far and wide … The structure of the story is well-thought-out. … As always, the text is well-written and some of the character descriptions are simply outstanding.”
STEINTHOR GUDBJARTSSON, MORGUNBLADID DAILY

“Here we have a well-crafted crime novel, written by a man who is not only our best crime writer but by far the best. I read him every year and hope he writes forever. … Arnaldur knows his craft so well. He writes so well and is, as everyone knows, exceptionally good at describing the environment and the spirit of the times.”
KOLBRUN BERGTHORSDOTTIR, KILJAN/NATIONAL TV