The forest remembers. The caves never tell. And some secrets refuse to stay buried.

At Katthamra Manor, the line between myth and reality is dangerously thin. In the forest of twisted trees, compasses fail, clocks stop, and the locals whisper of 'The Little People' who lure the unwary into the earth. Nine-year-old Andreas Nilsson knows the woods better than anyone - and he knows a secret that could destroy his town. Carrying a stolen skull on his bicycle rack and haunted by the suspicious drowning of his brother, Andreas is playing a game he cannot win.

Detective Inspector Maria Wern arrived on the island of Gotland seeking the quiet solace of a summer assignment to escape the wreckage of her divorce. But the peace is shattered just before Midsummer when Andreas vanishes after a party at a local fishing camp.

The search leads Maria into the claustrophobic darkness of the Östergarn caves, where generations of school children have carved their names into the stone. Deep in the shadows, Maria discovers two names encircled by a heart - a relic of an old love that was supposed to be dead. As the town's folklore bleeds into a grim reality, Maria realizes that the boy's disappearance is linked to a decades-old betrayal. In a land where the clocks have stopped, Maria is running out of time to find Andreas before he becomes another ghost in the hills.

In this atmospheric eighth installment of the Maria Wern series, Anna Jansson weaves a masterclass of psychological suspense, proving that while old love never dies, it can certainly kill.

'Keen-sighted ... Exciting and well written.' - Aftonbladet Sweden

'A deeply absorbing novel.' - Nerikes Allehanda Sweden