THE SETTING: Oslo. A stiflingly hot summer.

THE RIDDLE: Five points of the star, five fingers of the hand, and every five days a new victim. The first murdered woman had one finger less and under her eyelid a red diamond in the shape of a star. A ring with the same star-shaped red diamond adorns the severed finger of the second woman. And the murders continue...

THE INSPECTOR: Clouded by alcohol, under disfavor in his service, Harry Hole will be called to solve the riddle along with his colleague and personal enemy Tom Waller, whom he suspects is involved in dirty stories. In the search for the truth, Hole will find himself hunted and will be forced to make difficult decisions about his professional future.

"With bated breath, we follow Harry Hole as he tries to find a way out through unexpected obstacles and twists, in a plot that moves like a bullet."
(New York Times)