After four years in prison a serial killer offers to lead detectives to the grave of his final victim, in return for a transfer to a more comfortable prison. Chief Inspector William Wisting hopes he will be able to help the dead woman’s family, but it all results in the killer’s escape in the opening chapters of this fast-paced novel. Horst, a former detective in Norway, brings inside knowledge to his police procedurals, the basis for the series Wisting, shown on the BBC.
Line is no longer a journalist, but a film-maker who also works for the police, so she’s right there when a serial killer in chains, temporarily released from prison so he can show where he buried one of his victims, makes his escape with the aid of a grenade. She’s the only one left without mud on her face. Horst, a former cop, proves once again that procedurals can be relentlessly exciting. He creates a sense of real menace as the killer continues to elude capture with the help of an accomplice known only as The Other One. The identity of this cunning sadist comes as a complete surprise.