What readers think of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, plus links to write your own review.

I can't say that I've ever read a book that I "couldn't put down", but occasionally I've found one that made it difficult to stop thinking about and get on with whatever my task is. This book is one of those. It's a very different take on a "closed room" mystery with two very strong lead characters and a satisfying conclusion. I highly recommend it to anyone that likes a good, well written mystery .

Mikael Blomkvist and Lisbeth Salander must surely be the Odd Couple of crime fighters. Lisbeth, the girl with the dragon tattoo, is not the main character, but she is far more interesting than Mikael. She is a quirky, scary-smart investigator who knows how to raise revenge to an art form. Mikael is a moral, compassionate, hardworking financial journalist who finds himself in dire straits when he is convicted of libel and defamation of a crooked financier. Coerced into looking into a cold case murder while waiting to serve his sentence, he eventually teams up with Lisbeth.

After a slow start, bogged down in background about Swedish financial history, I thoroughly enjoyed the book and raced through to its very satisfying conclusion. I am hoping that Mikael's character gains more dimension in the next two books of the trilogy. He's likable, but not fascinating.

I love a literary mystery, and this one delivers. The reader must be patient at the beginning. The Swedish simplicity of lifestyle and sexual freedom are a little disconcerting, but minor to the mystery. A touch of James Patterson's criminal depravity, but overall a well designed plot with a family's secrets revealed. The characters are well fleshed out. The first of a trilogy; I can't wait for the next two books. How sad he died before this was published.

This was one of the most enjoyable books that I have read in the last several years. The characters are engaging, complex, and believable and the storyline is a mixture of mystery, intrigue, and family drama with a dash of romance. Many books have those moments that are so out of place or so beyond reason that the reader is forced out of the story and back into the real world. There were no such moments in this book and this allowed me to immerse myself totally in the book and the Swedish countryside.

This financial thriller set in Sweden has already achieved bestseller status in Europe and is the first of a trilogy delivered just before his death by a man who spent his life fighting racial and religious intolerance and exposing neofascism in Europe. The writing style rests firmly in the Ludlum, Grisham, Baldacci tradition but introduces a refreshing new voice.

Having never been to Sweden, I was initially challenged by unfamiliar names of cities, streets, magazines and other elements of modern Swedish life. But the story is exciting and smart and ultra contemporary, comprising a closed-room murder mystery, a dastardly financial villain, psychopathic descendants of Nazis and the girl in the title. She is in fact an extra mystery all in herself and as good as any Neal Stephenson heroine.

I got a bit of the feeling of a first novel but except for a few clunky sections, Larsson kept me turning the pages. I enjoyed his decidedly European take on love and sex. I suspect a bit of hype in the title, since the main character was a financial journalist and I was left feeling unsatisfied by the fate of the dragon tattooed girl. Hopefully we will see her again in the sequels.

I thoroughly enjoyed Larsson's first, and sadly only novel and could hardly put it down. The plot and characters engage the reader from the start, weaving a story that keeps one guessing at each turn. The ending was perfect - not too neatly tied up, but leaving the reader wanting more.

I wish I could give this book 40 stars! I couldn't put it down. It combines a fascinating "cold case" with an ongoing court investigation. The characters are believable and powerful. This book would suit all adults and would be great for book clubs. I told all my friends to buy it when it comes out in September! Thank you so much for letting me read it.