Silence of the Grave opens as a skeleton is unearthed on a building site in Reykjavik; clearly someone was secretly buried there several decades ago. Inspector Erlendur and his detective colleagues, so embraced by readers of Jar City, try to figure out a crime that turns out to be as complex as it is horrifying. At first Erlen¬dur hopes this is a typical missing person scenario; perhaps someone got lost in the snow and has lain peacefully for decades. But as Erlendur struggles to hold together his own troubled family, he unearths a troubled tale of violence and fear, of family loyalty and family shame. In the end, secrets taken to the grave will not remain hidden forever.