The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest by Stieg Larsson

This is the third book of Larsson's trilogy about Lisbeth Salander and Michael Blumkvist. I thought there might have been 30 to 50 pages in the middle of the book that were not riveting, and the last 100 pages are intense. The third book begin exactly where the second book leaves off, with Salander unconscious and in need of immediate medical attention. I don't need to give you more about the plot except to say that it works. Remember that Larsson died in 2004, shortly after turning in the three manuscripts for these books. I learned about a rumor that there could be a fourth book that has never been printed and remains in Larsson's computer, which remains in the hands of his girlfriend, who won't release it until the royalties battle with Larsson's estranged family is settled. Furthermore, the rumor says that she gets some of the credit for his writing, and if that is really the case, maybe we'll see more of this remarkable character. I'm only sad that the trilogy is over.

West Coast Don

The Girl Who Played with Fire by Stieg Larsson

This was the sequel to The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, with the main character being Lisbeth Salander, and Larsson includes some of the other same characters from his first book. Once again, the background topic has to do with the abuse of women and sexual trafficking, and the extent to which it gets covered up. Mikael Blomkvist, who was the guy that came to the aid of Salander in the first book, is now about to publish a new book written by Mia Johansson who is using the material for her Ph.D. thesis. And, simultaneously, Johansson’s fiancé, Dag Svensson, is about to write a series of articles exposing numerous people in the sex trade in Sweden, to be published by Blomkvist in his magazine Millennium. But, Mia and Dag are murdered when Dag’s research takes him too near a most dangerous character. As Salander does her research into these matters, she finds out that her own extremely abusive past is tied to these same really bad guys. Larsson also writes some other characters into the story, so there are intrigues with the cops and with the publishing business. It’s all good, and Larsson is a must read. The good news is that before he died in 2004 from a heart attack at the age of 50, Larsson turned in three manuscripts, so the third, which is the last of a trilogy, The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest. His website indicates he has been the second biggest selling author worldwide. I know that his third book has already been published, is available in book stores, but it is still in the pre-order phase on Kindle, so I’ll order it and read it as soon as it is released.

West Coast Don

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson

The good news is that Larsson is a great new author, at least to us. The bad news is that he died in 2004 and only left this book and one more, a sequel, “The Girl Who Played with Fire,” which I plan to read next. Deservedly, Larsson has been on the best seller lists. Like “The Man From Beijing” by Mankell, Larsson writes in Swedish and is translated. In this story, Mickael Blomkvist is a journalist who investigates businesses, and he has written a highly critical article about a Swedish business giant, Wennerstrom. Wennerstrom then filed a libel lawsuit against Blomkvist and the magazine he writes for and has ownership in, Millennium. Although he is certain that he reported the facts accurately, Blomkvist lost the lawsuit and lands in prison for a short stay. Mysteriously, in the trial, Blomkvist never put up any sort of defense and the reasons are not revealed until the end of the story. Meanwhile, as a result of the publicity from the trial, the head of the Vanger family, a wealthy industrialist who has unfriendly ties to Wennerstrom, hires Blomkvist to both write the history of his family and solve the disappearance/murder of one of its members. Blomkvist reluctantly takes on the assignment since he has been officially sacked by his own magazine. To follow up Vanger’s request, he hires a bizarre looking but brilliant young researcher, Lisbeth Salander, the woman with the dragon tattoo. The characters from all of the subplots are skillfully intertwined. This story is a good combo of narrative and dialogue, and the plot flows quickly and reasonably. There are lots of characters, but they seem to unfold clearly and in a format this is not too complicated. I’m only disappointed that I have just one more Larsson to read.

West Coast Don