MADreads

Hooked from the first page

February 16th, 2009 Mary K. - Central

Some books take a while to get into, that is probably why the “fifty page rule” came into play.  Other books pull you in from the first page on.  The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson falls into the latter category.  It is a perfect choice for a long trip, such as an airline flight, as the reader will be drawn into the skillfully woven plot.

Mikael Blomkvist is a journalist who has just been convicted of libel, and must pay a fine and serve a jail sentence.  The magazine that he co-own is in danger of going bankrupt, his reputation is in tatters, and he is unsure what to do next.  Almost immediately after the verdict, he is approached by Henrik Vanger, an elderly industrialist, who ostensibly wants him to write a family history, but who really intends that Mikael investigate the decades old disappearance of his great-niece Harriet.  Despite multiple searches, no trace was ever found of 16-year-old Harriet who vanished one day from the island occupied by the Vanger family.

As part of the lucrative deal with Vanger, Blomkvist relocates from Stockholm to the island where most of the Vanger family still lives and begins delving into the family’s personal and business history.  He soon finds that he needs help and calls on Lisbeth Salander, a brilliant outcast, who has a photographic memory and is a skilled computer hacker.  She is 24 and covered in piercings and tattoos.  Lisbeth is a complicated character.  Does she have Asberger’s disease or was she merely abused and mistreated as a child?  And is it truly necessary that she be a ward of the state?

As Mikael and Lisbeth attempt to do the impossible and discover the secret benind Harriet’s disappearance, they also discover things about the Vander family that are very unpleasant - things that may destroy the family reputation.  In Sweden, this book was called Men who Hate Women and that title is very appropriate.  There is clearly a serial killer at work, and it’s possible that Harriet knew something.

Sadly, Larsson died in 2004 after delivering this page-turner and two others in the series to his publisher.  We can take some small consolation in the fact that we have those two other books to look forward to.  The next, The Girl Who Played With Fire, is due to be published in the states in July.

Entry Filed under: Mystery, Thriller