Rated of 5
by Suzanne A Serious Page-Turner
To call this book a "crime thriller" or a "techno thriller" or even a "murder mystery" is to do it an injustice. It starts out a bit slowly but builds by midpoint to one of those books you just can't put down. What at first looks like a closed-room mystery turns out to be a very meticulously built set of parallel stories that eventually come together in unexpected and explosive ways. The character of techno-punk, deeply damaged Lisbeth Salander has to be one of the most intriguing heroines to have graced the page in recent years.
Rated of 5
by David Book Titles Are Important
This book is not about Lisbeth Salander. It is about Mikael Blomkvist. The Blomkvist tale is highly improbable: I can't imagine hiring a journalist -- one on the losing end of a libel suit, disgraced, bound-for-jail -- to research and write the history of a prominent, albeit highly-dysfunctional family.
Worse, Larsson's penchant for using 20 words where one or two (or none) will do makes for a rather complex story that's sometimes very difficult to follow, and so a trial to read. (One hopes -- for clarity -- the published version will include a map of Hedeby Island.)
It's hard to say who the book would appeal to, but some knowledge on the reader's part of Swedish society and media is a must. The book's use of everyday detail (way too much, in my view) reminds one of Sue Grafton's novels. Some of the better scenes (typically those featuring Salander!) read a little like Thomas Perry.
But, bottom line, Stieg Larsson is no Henning Mankell...and Mankell to me is the gold standard in Northern European crime fiction.
Rated of 5
by Brenda A Surpisingly
A bonus book with 3 stories in one, one theme ends and leads to the next only to be brought back to the original. The first 10 pages left some doubt about the ability to stay with the book. Then, it picked up speed and never stopped; even the ending was a surprise.
The references to misogyny were subtle and a good reminder of what an unchecked society can allow. This condition is alive and well throughout the world.
Rated of 5
by Neil An Outstanding Book
The reader of this outstanding book will be intrigued by its plot, character studies and thrilling mysteries. However, there is much more to be gained from it. The late author was an expert Nazi hunter who understood better than most how sadism and economic greed motivated the followers of Adolph Hitler. One caveat: this book contains explicit sexual violence.
Rated of 5
by Karen Lisbeth Salander & Kathy Mallory: Separated at Birth?
In "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo", Stieg Larsson has written a blockbuster read with, after a slow start, breathtaking plot development and several of the oddest, most intriguing and likable characters in crime fiction. As a fan of the mystery genre, I couldn't help but compare Stieg's character Lisbeth Salander with Carol O'Connell's Kathy Mallory. Both protagonists are somewhat "damaged"; Kathy by living on the streets as a child and Lisbeth by being misdiagnosed as mentally incompetent and cruelly abused by a sadistic guardian. Both have a unique sense of justice and are brilliant computer experts working outside of the rules. Having such characters helps to keep the work fresh and unpredictable. Stieg's main character, Mikael Blomkvist, is equally fleshed out, but Lisbeth outshines him (see the title). Stieg cleverly blends several plot lines together to form a cohesive story line that will keep everybody guessing and reading! (The reader should be aware that there is quite a bit of graphic violence.) I highly recommend this book. You won't be disappointed!
Rated of 5
by Cathy Twists and Turns
Any novel that starts with a diagram of the genealogy of a family scares me, but this one proved to be a winner of a mystery. Descriptions of the characters and the setting bring the story to life and even though some of the story line is predictable, it is still a page turner.
A bold, mesmerizing novel about the woman known as "Typhoid Mary," the first known healthy carrier of typhoid fever in the burgeoning metropolis of early twentieth century New York.
Z, the novel about the life of Zelda Sayre Fitzgerald is at points charming and; like another reviewer, I kept thinking of the movie, "Midnight...
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Although heavy on the scientific details, which slowed down the story for me (OK, I admit, I was one of those liberal arts majors who skipped out on...
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Loved this book. Magical, quirky, enchanting I could go on. All books do not have to be literary fiction, sometimes it is just so comforting to read...
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British Parliament asks Amazon to clarify why it pays $9 million in income tax on $23 billion of UK sales.(May 20 2013) Amazon will be called back to give further evidence to members of the British Parliament "to clarify how its activities in the U.K. justify its low corporate...
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