An intricate case set in the rugged mountains of Norway and Africa, where Harry Hole searches for an unusual instrument of torture.
The 8th installment of the Harry Hole crime series. The Norwegian capital was shocked by the discovery of two women's bodies and the manner of their deaths. They both drowned in their own blood. The homicide squad is faced with a mystery - the stab wounds in the victims' faces are numerous, regular, and were made from inside the mouth. What murder weapon could have caused them?
Young criminal investigator Kaja Solness is sent to Hong Kong to bring back to Oslo the only person who can solve such a case. But Harry Hole is hiding in a city of millions not only from his creditors, but especially from the memories and ghosts of past cases, and he has no interest in returning to his homeland. Kaja has to resort to emotional blackmail. The investigation takes Harry not only to the snowy, desolate plains of the Norwegian mountains, but also to hot Africa at the foot of a volcano. And it's about life. The killer is strong, clever and unscrupulous, and Harry will have to sacrifice more than he bargained for in his fight.
