Gravejournalist Jonathan Svanes yngste sønn døde i en påsatt brann, gjerningsmennene er som sunket i jorden. Jonathan er nummen av savn og skyldfølelse, men sier ja til en reportasjereise til Marbella for å finne ut hva som skjedde med den norske investoren Ove Lekmann. Han forsvant sporløst fra Solkysten, for så å dukke opp igjen et halvt år senere, nedbrutt og med et påstått hukommelsestap. Det er mye underlig ved Lekmanns historie, og ganske snart viser det seg at forsvinningen muligens henger sammen med den lange rekken av hendelser som endte i flammene som slukte Jonathans sønn.
Nikolaj Frobenius har gjennom sitt forfatterskap vist en særegen interesse for det som skjuler seg bak den vellykkede fasaden, og i Utryddelsen fortsetter han å bore dypere, i det som er blitt en medrivende og følsom psykologisk thriller.
Nikolaj Frobenius (born September 29, 1965) is a Norwegian novelist and screen writer.
Frobenius was born in Oslo, but grew up at Rykkinn. He studied film writing and research at LCP, London. He has written several books and screenplays, including the screenplay for the classic Nordic film thriller Insomnia, which was adapted into a major Hollywood production in 2002. His international breakthrough as a novelist came with the novel "Latours katalog" (1996). His books have been translated into eighteen languages, including English, French, Spanish, Italian, German, Russian and Danish. His novels have received critical acclaim both in Norway and internationally, and he has won several literary prizes for his writing. Nikolaj Frobenius is a former editor of the periodical Vinduet and worked as a commissioning editor for Norsk filmfond from 2005-2008. Frobenius has written several successful screenplays, including Dragonfly (2001). In 2011 he adapted his own novel, the semi-autobiograhical "Teori og praksis" into the film "Sønner av Norge" (Sons of Norway). He lives and writes in Oslo.