This is the third of the Anders Knutas mysteries set on the island of Gotland, in Sweden. I think it could be read as a stand-alone, but then the reader would miss out on the developing relationships between the characters and that relationship does account for some of the suspense. This mystery mixes Viking rituals with archaeology and modern real estate development. As always, Jungstedt does a fantastic job of making the reader feel as though she is on Gotland, in the scene. Characterization and location are very strong. I guess who the villain was before Knutas did, but it didnt take away from the final exposition. The short chapters, moving between the perspective of Knutas, Jonah (the reporter), and the killer, helped increase the suspense. All in all this was a great bookthe only thing keeping it from five stars is that I felt one scene, at least, was too closely reminiscent of a scene from the first in the series. There are two more books in the series, so Im off to find the fourth.

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