In the case of such a tightly-plotted mystery, it's hard to say much about the story without giving too much away. The only detail I can give concerns the very beginning, when a man finds his wife dead in their bathtub after a night of over-imbibing wine. He has no memory at all of what happened. He can't even say for certain he didn't do it. Considering he had no memory of anyone else being in their apartment, who did?

They haven't been married long – just a few months. And their courtship was likewise short. Married previously, his wife also suffered the death of her four-year-old child, sending her spiralling into a complete nervous breakdown. Divorcing her first husband, she eventually goes back to teaching, where she meets her husband. A few months later she's dead.

Enter Inspector Van Veeteren, a veteran policeman badly in need of a vacation, but unable to shirk his duty before the case is solved. Not a man to leave any detail uninvestigated, he sets about methodically analyzing the case, moving from the inside out, until he solves not just this murder, but several others, as well.

Very much a fast-paced, pulse pounding read. Not one word is extraneous. Very highly recommended.