The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest

The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest (#3 in the Millennium Trilogy) by Stieg Larsson

Hardcover: 576 pages
Publisher: Knopf
Language: English
ISBN-10: 030726999X
ISBN-13: 978-0307269997

Amazon Best Books of the Month, May 2010: As the finale to Stieg Larsson's Millennium Trilogy, The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest is not content to merely match the adrenaline-charged pace that made international bestsellers out of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and The Girl Who Played with Fire. Instead, it roars with an explosive storyline that blows the doors off the series and announces that the very best has been saved for last. A familiar evil lies in wait for Lisbeth Salander, but this time, she must do more than confront the miscreants of her past; she must destroy them. Much to her chagrin, survival requires her to place a great deal of faith in journalist Mikael Blomkvist and trust his judgment when the stakes are highest. To reveal more of the plot would be criminal, as Larsson's mastery of the unexpected is why millions have fallen hard for his work. But rest assured that the odds are again stacked, the challenges personal, and the action fraught with neck-snapping revelations in this snarling conclusion to a thrilling triad. This closing chapter to The Girl's pursuit of justice is guaranteed to leave readers both satisfied and saddened once the final page has been turned.

I love Lisbeth Salander - she is the perfect hero. Treated violently throughout her childhood and involuntarily committed to an insane asylum at the age of 11, she has had to fight and claw her way to a somewhat "normal" existence. This last book sees Lisbeth come full circle and open herself to the few friends she truly has in her life.

I was so sad to see this book end because I know there will be not further books by Larsson (he died in 2004, shortly after turning in the manuscripts for all 3 books). There is rumor of a 1/2 finished 4th book, but I'm not sure if this is true.

Without giving away much of the plot, I can honestly say I was happy with the way the trilogy ended. I have told everyone in my life they need to read these books. Larsson had a way with words that truly sucks you right into the story.

There is currently a Swedish film for the first book - entitled "The Man Who Hated Women." They are also in pre-production for an American film and it will have the same title as the American book, "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo." I currently have the Swedish film in my Netflix queue waiting patiently to watch it.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson

Hardcover: 480 pages
Publisher: Knopf (September 16, 2008)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0307269752
ISBN-13: 978-0307269751

(Note: Larsson died of a heart attack in 2004, shortly after delivering The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo to his publisher.)

Lisabeth Salander may look like a 13 year old goth princess, but she is great at undercover detective work and snooping out indepth histories of the people she is assigned to investigate. Mikael Blomkvist is a financial journalist who has just been convicted of libeling a wealthy financial backer. And Henrik Vanger is an 82 year old, semi-retired financial head of a large family owned business. These three people are drawn together to try and solve the mystery of 35+ year old murder.

Underlying themes in this book are not for the faint of heart: racism, sexual violence and financial collapse on the world market - sound like themes that are recently in the news?

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo is an international crime thriller with memorable characters and and an interesting take on financial issues. It was a book I truly couldn't put down. The mystery kept me guessing until the every end. Just when I thought I knew where the story was going, Larsson took off in a different direction. The book is narrated in the voices of the three main characters: Mikael, Lisabeth, and Henrik

I was truly saddened after reading this book, knowing that a powerful new writing voice is no longer among us. However, Larsson did deliver two more manuscripts to his publisher, so we have those two books to look forward to. This book has been translated from the original Swedish manuscript.