Sunday, May 2, 2010

The Girl Who Played with Fire - Stieg Larsson

The Girl Who Played with Fire is the sequel to The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. I've had this book on hold every since I finished the first book in March (my review is here), and it finally came in last week. While I had mixed feelings about The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, partly because it took me some time to figure out who all the characters were, I had no such reservations about The Girl Who Played with Fire.

After her guardian, Advokat Nils Bjurman, and two others are murdered with the same weapon within hours of each other, Lisbeth Salander is a murder suspect. While those who know her--journalist Mikael Blomkvist, among others--insist that she would not kill anyone without provocation, the police are insistent upon her guilt. However, she remains remarkably elusive, and even after three weeks, the girl with the dragon tattoo is yet to be found by the authorities. But did she really commit the murders? Though her fingerprints were on the gun, there is no evidence that Lisbeth Salander actually fired the gun at all, much less at the three victims. As more information surfaces about an unknown man named "Zala," even the police have their doubts.

The book is utterly captivating, suspenseful, terrific--I could go on. The best way I can think of to describe it is that it's one of those books where your face gradually gets closer and closer to the book until some outside thing distracts you and you realize you're nearly cross-eyed. Yes, it's that good. If you've heard of this book, it may be because the final book in the trio, The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest, was recently released, and the books have become more prominently displayed in stores. If this is the case, and you've been wondering whether or not to buy, I encourage you to go ahead and spend your money. In my opinion, it's well worth it.

4 comments:

  1. Hi, I have a couple of awards for you here

    http://pbbookends.blogspot.com/2010/05/challenges-and-awards.html

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  2. I keep going back and forth on whether or not this series is for me, but I suppose there's only one way to find out!

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  3. I've heard some people suggesting the third part of the Larsson trilogy is not as good as the earlier ones. There are doubts, but which book can give me insurance it won't disappoint me. The reputation of the author (his death has increased my curiosity) is huge, so may be the book would be worth the money. By the way, has anybody bought the book from http://www.uread.com/book/girl-who-kicked-hornets-nest/9781849162753? I have heard they are offering the highest discount among the bookstores. Let me know if it is correct.

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  4. John, I think your link must surely be the highest discount--I've been looking around to see where I'll buy the book when it comes out, and I haven't seen any figures lower than that. I really do hope the The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest is as good as the other two, though...otherwise I shall be very disappointed.

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