The Girl Who Played With Fire by Stieg Larsson

The Blurb On The Back:

The Expose

Millennium publisher Mikael Blomkvist has made his reputation exposing corrupt establishment figures. So when a young journalist approaches him with an investigation into sex trafficking, Blomkvist cannot resist waging war on the powerful figures who control this lucrative industry.

The Murder

When a young couple are found dead in their Stockholm apartment, it’s a straightforward job for Inspector Bublanksi and his team. The killer left the weapon at the scene – and the fingerprints on the gun point in only one direction.

The Girl Who Played With Fire

Ex-security analyst Lisbeth Salander is wanted for murder. Her history of unpredictable and vengeful behaviour makes her an official danger to society – but no-one can find her. The only way Salander can be reached is by computer. But she can break into almost any network she chooses ...

( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )

The Verdict:

While the writing remains clunky, the way in which Larsson weaves his different plot strands together and in particular the way he brings the focus on Salander’s personal history kept me hooked right up to the cliff hanger ending and made it a better book than THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO (although you do need to read that to get the most from this).

The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet’s Nest by Stieg Larsson

The Blurb On The Back:

The Trial

Lisbeth Salander – outsider and apparent enemy of society – is charged with attempted murder. The state has also ruled that she is mentally unstable, and should be locked away in an institution once again. But she is closely guarded in a hospital, having taken a bullet to the head, so how will she prove her innocence?

The Enemy

Pulling the strings of the prosecution is the powerful inner circle of Sapo, the state security police. Determined to protect the secrets and corruption of Sweden’s rotten core, Sapo is not an adversary to take on alone.

The Girl Who Kicked The Hornets’ Nest

Only with the help of Mikael Blomkvist and the journalists at Millennium magazine can Salander avoid the fate that has been decided for her. Together they form a compelling and dynamic alliance. This final volume of the Millennium Trilogy is the culmination of one of the most mesmerizing fictional achievements of our time.

( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )

The Verdict:

A bloated novel that perhaps inevitably fails to deliver on the promise and the hype of this trilogy, it was a disappointing read, not least because it could have been something so much more.