Internationally bestselling thriller writer Anders de la Motte returns with the third installment of the “masterful” (Andrew Gross, New York Times bestselling author) Leo Asker Series following wayward and overachieving detective Leonore Asker.

In the heart of the Rust Forest, where ancient whispers and forgotten secrets lie buried, Leo Asker faces her most daunting challenge yet.

On the brink of a well-deserved promotion, Asker’s ambitions are threatened by Jonas Hellman, a figure driven by vengeance. Hellman presents entices her with a cold case that seems designed to shatter her resolve—a murder from a decade ago in an abandoned barn, eerily mirroring a two-thousand-year-old burial in the same forest. A case that recently took a shocking turn when a disoriented young woman, clutching the severed finger of the murder victim, stumbled upon two urban explorers at the crime scene.

Determined to unravel the mystery, Asker enlists the help of her old friend, Martin Hill. Together, they plunge into the Rust Forest’s dark past. As Asker and Hill navigate the forest’s secrets, they confront not only the enigma of the murders but also the personal vendettas that threaten to unravel their investigation.