In this stunning prequel to his critically acclaimed Inspector Erlendur series, Arnaldur Indridason gives devoted fans a glimpse of Erlendur as a young, budding detective

The beat on the streets in Reykjavik is busy: traffic accidents, theft, domestic violence, contraband … And an unexplained death.

When a tramp he met regularly on the night shift is found drowned in a ditch, no one seems to care. But his fate haunts Erlendur and drags him inexorably into the strange and dark underworld of the city.

The writer whose work The New York Times describes as 'having the sweep and consequence of epic story telling' has outdone himself in this multi-layered and masterful suspense story. His latest book in the series, Strange Shores, was nominated for the 2014 Crime Writers of America Gold Dagger Award.

"Arnaldur Indridason is already an international literary phenom-and it's easy to see why. His novels are gripping, authentic, haunting, and lyrical. I can't wait for the next."-Harlan Coben

In this latest puzzle, Inspector Erlendur learns of the baffling story of Matthildur, a local woman who went missing years earlier on the night of a violent storm. Erlendur has spent his whole life searching for his brother Beggi, who was lost in a snowstorm when they were both children. As he starts to ask questions about the fateful evening when Matthildur disappeared, Erlendur also begins to suspect what may have befallen his long-lost brother.

Can Erlendur possibly solve the disappearances of Matthildur and Beggi after all these decades? Or are the forces that want him to stop investigating stronger than he is?