Another detective novel by Norwegian master of detective fiction Jo Nesbø, telling us about Norwegian chief inspector Harry Hole—who prefers Jim Beam over all the blessings of the world, yet tries to stop this harmful habit by plunging headfirst into intricate investigations of mysterious crimes.
This time Inspector Holle is investigating a mysterious robbery in Oslo that ends in the murder of a hostage. And despite his colleagues’ opinion, he believes the thief and the victim were in an intimate relationship. At the same time, Holle gets entangled in an unpleasant story involving his former lover, who ends her life by suicide. The main trouble is that that evening he was visiting her—yet because of his bad habit, he doesn’t remember how the evening ended and what they ended up doing together with his former partner. Nevertheless, unlike the official version, he believes his girlfriend was killed and takes up an unofficial investigation, not suspecting what results it may lead to.