Life was never going to be a bed of roses…

Tony is a young man who has always been on the losing side in life. He was brought up by his troubled, alcoholic mother who had a past of her own as a talented ballerina, until a life-changing accident brought her dreams to a sudden end. As her own ambitions for fame and success were crushed, she used cruel and brutal methods to project them onto her young son – with devastating consequences.

There's no doubt that a body found on Reykjavík's Öskjuhlíð hillside has been there for a long time. The case is handed to veteran detective Valdimar, supported by Ylfa, who is taking her tentative first steps as a police officer with the city's CID while coping with her own family difficulties.

It's not long before it's clear a vicious killer is on the loose – and very little about the case is what it appears to be at first glance.

Óskar Guðmundsson is the kick-ass breath of fresh air that Icelandic crime fiction has been waiting for – Yrsa Sigurðardóttir