Maybe you still haven't read it yet, annoyed by the tsunami of raves the book has been getting. Don't be prejudiced, the opening novel of the Millennium trilogy is still the best of the bunch. An unforgettable character, a deviously-engineered plot and suitable villains. Don't be in a minority.

If you like Stieg Larsson try Camilla Lackberg
Maxim Jakubowski recommends: The Gallows Bird by Camilla Lackberg

August 2008 Book of the Month.

Winner of the Galaxy Crime Thriller of the Year 2009.

The Lovereading view...

A forty year old mystery all mixed up with family feuds, fraud and corruption this is the first of a trilogy. There is plenty to keep your interest hooked and the two main characters are original and engaging. In places it is quite violent and disturbing but this is a superb thriller that keeps you guessing until the end., It is just a shame that the author died shortly after turning in the three manuscripts for this trilogy and we will not have any more from this interesting author.

Millennium series:
1. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
2. The Girl Who Played with Fire
3. The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets' Nest

Synopsis

One fateful day several years ago, Harriet Vanger disappeared off the secluded island owned and inhabited by the powerful Vanger family. There was no corpse, no witnesses and no evidence.

Nearly forty years later, investigative journalist Mikael Blomkvist reluctantly accepts the unusual and seemingly unsolvable assignment of finding out what really happened to Harriet.

Genius hacker, Lisbeth Salander “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” is drawn into the case and the two form a fragile alliance as they dig into the sinister past of the Vangers and find out just how far they’re prepared to go to protect themselves – and each other.

Reviews

About the Author

Stieg Larsson, born in 1954, was a journalist. He was the Editor-in-Chief of the magazine Expo from 1999, and had previously worked at a major news agency for many years. He was one of the world's leading experts on anti-democratic, right-wing extremist and Nazi organisations, and was often consulted on that account. He died suddenly and unexpectedly in November 2004, soon after delivering the manuscripts for three crime novels to his Swedish publisher. These novels make up the Millennium Trilogy, which has gone on to sell more that 3 million copies in Sweden alone. Tragically, Larsson did not live to see the worldwide phenomenon his work has become.   Maxim Jakubowski's view on LISBETH SALANDER... Pierced, tattooed and garbed in extreme punk attire,  computer hacker Salander is the touching, vulnerable but mightily determined heroine of the late Swedish author Stieg Larsson’s acclaimed and best-selling MILLENNIUM series. The final book to be published is THE GIRL WHO KICKED THE HORNET’S NEST. Not a heroine cut from the usual detective cloth but a truly memorable one.   Millennium series: 1. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo 2. The Girl Who Played with Fire 3. The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets' Nest More books by this author Author 'Like for Like' recommendation