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

I'd have to say, that out of the three books in this series, I found this one the strongest.  It had plenty of plot twists, the best pacing out of all of them, and complex characters.  And being that it's a trilogy you definitely have to at least read the second book before this one (the first has its own storyline and isn't quite as important).  And that being said, I will be including details from the 2nd book in this review, so if you haven't read it, you're about to find out key plot elements if you continue reading.

Lisbeth is in the hospital after being shot in the head and buried alive by her father and brother.  Because she is wanted by the police, she has to remain there even as her health slowly improves because one she leaves, she'll be transferred to prison.  While she heals, Mikael, her journalist friend, is searching desperately for all the key evidence that will prove her innocence, and gearing up for a big expose of his own in which several key government officials will have much to worry about.  The problem is that there's someone trying to shut him down before he can destroy an organization that has long been hidden in the shadows.

Lisbeth was more likable this time around.  She's still strange, but she shows a little more humanity in this book and it makes you start to sympathize with her even more.  She also does what she wants though, and is very independent.  Mikael I liked at about the same level, which is to say not much at all.  I find him too "perfect" and his ease of getting women into bed unbelievable.  It kind of detracts from the story honestly (not the sex scenes, just the fact that he's in them).  Yes he is a good guy, just not one that I like very much.  Erica featured a little more in this story, and I was glad to have more information on her, because I find her character interesting, albeit a  little strange.

The pacing was much better in this book.  Sure there's still more detail than you really need, but its more condensed and the story moves along at a moderate pace.  It wasn't as hard to drag yourself through the first half of the book (like you had to with the others).  I also liked that it tied up the loose ends, yet was still exciting and had you at the edge of your seat for most of it.  I found myself getting frustrated with the bad guys, which is a good emotion to have when you're reading a book, it means it's written well. 

This was definitely a strong conclusion and my favorite book out of the three.  If you haven't tried this series and like suspenseful books with maybe just a tad too much detail, this is definitely one to check out.

The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest
Copyright 2007
658 pages

The Girl Who Played With Fire by Stieg Larsson

I've become a fan of this series since reading them all.  Which is why it pains me to give this book only three stars.  But if I'm being honest,  I was utterly bored for the first half of this book.  Which is exactly the same way I felt about the first book as well.  And as good as the 2nd half is, well, if only half a book is riveting...

This book is the second in a trilogy, however, I do think it could be read independently of the first book.   They are completely different storylines and you wouldn't lose much detail.  However, the third book you have to read after this one, and it could not be read before.  Lisbeth is in trouble.  Despite her being socially off, she did not commit some murders that the police are pinning on her.  Even though all the evidence points to her.  She has to evade the police while trying to figure out what happened and only has a few friends she can count on.  Namely a journalist who she had helped in the past but decided to cut ties with, and her old employer.  The truth is out there, but Lisbeth has a lot of odds stacked against her and a ton of people looking for her.

Lisbeth is an odd character.  She certainly isn't likable, but because of all the injustices against her you can't help but root for her.  She's also incredibly smart, so much so that things that are difficult for most come easy to her.  And it's why she can survive when it seems like everyone is out to get her.  Mikael, the reporter, I find too much of a ladies man.  His relationships never seem authentic.  And while he's a kind person, he just doesn't hold a lot of appeal to me.  It was the side characters that really made the story this time.  Great officers, both good and bad, with detailed personalities.  It was like you were interacting with real people.  And the characters are where the strength of this book is.  Without them, it would simply be an action story.

The level of detail in this book is astounding.  And I think that is what made the first half of the book so slow and hard to get through.  I really didn't care about every single piece of furniture that Lisbeth bought for her apartment, down to the exact name from Ikea.  Or what precise shade of clothing everyone was wearing.  I just wanted it to get to the dialogue and the story.  Sometimes too much of a good thing makes it bad.  But that being said, the second half of the book was exceptionally engaging.  I couldn't put it down and stayed up way too late on a work night to find out what happened.  Only to have a surprise at the end that made me want to immiedately start the next book in the series.  Larsson definitely redeemed himself and kept me wanting more.

Slow to start but a powerful finish, if you liked the first book or any books about intrigues, this is probably going to be a hit.

The Girl Who Played With Fire
Copyright 2006
724 pages

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson

I started out reading this book thinking I wasn't going to like it.  Crime books and thrillers are not my normal sort of genre, and then add in the fact that it started out very slowly, and well, I was almost a goner.  But gradually the book became more interesting and the more I read it, the more I wanted to read it. 

Mikael Blomkvist is a report who has just gotten himself into some trouble.  Having lost a court case where he was charged with libel, he has to exit from his magazine to save it from going down the tubes, serve a few months in jail, and figure out how to get back at the guy who sent his career plummeting.  So when he is offered a job working for an eccentric older business man to find out what happened to a member of his family, it seems like a no brainer.  That is until dark things start happening as he is investigating.  That and the appearance of a strange girl who can do things with a computer and get information that a reporter could only hope to get ahold of.

Mikael was a decent character.  A little too perfect.  Very forgiving, all the ladies loved him, so on and so forth.  He didn't have any bad habits or personality quirks that I could see, and that made him a bit unbelievable.  Even in a fiction novel I like my characters to have some flaws.  That being said, his alternate, Lisbeth, had plenty of flaws even though she is "freakishly" intelligent and good at investigating.  She too was a little too powerful at times and it really seemed quite unfair to the antagonists to have to go up against these two.  But they were entertaining and you can't help but root for Lisbeth when she's righting wrongs.  Mikael was more passive and because of that I didn't find myself rooting for him as much.

The plot was only somewhat predictable.  There were a few things in the mystery I was able to guess and some things that I wasn't.  I do think that the ending was probably a bit too easy and everything was wrapped up just a little too nice.  But they did leave a little room at the end for the entrance of the next book, so not everything was wrapped up.  And just because some of it was predictable doesn't mean it wasn't a good read.  I liked the description of the people (although the scenery could have used some work) and the setting was interesting being in Sweden.  This was a very graphic book when it came to other descriptions though and it could be quite violent.  Abuse and rape and torture all had a part in this book, and even the consensual sex seemed somewhat impersonal as well.  It wasn't a large part of the book, but it was definitely noticeable and mildly disturbing.

I'm intrigued enough to read the next book.  I want to know what happens with the characters and what "bad guy" they are going to defeat next with their partnership.  From slow to hard to put down, this was a roller coaster of a book.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Copyright 2008
644 pages