Maclehouse Press (2005)
Translated by Reg Keeland
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is the first of three, a trilogy of crime thrillers completed just before the premature death of the author. It was awarded the Galaxy British Book Award for Crime Thriller of the Year in 2009 and has been released as a film.
The book is a 'must read' and the film perhaps a 'miss' but I would suggest you make your own mind up on that one. I loved it and cannot wait to read the second one. We bought the trilogy as a birthday present for one of our sons who promised that he would pass them on. However, he was beaten to it by our very dear friends and it arrived by post only a week or so ago.
Two central characters and two stories drive the story. A whole host of other characters make appearances from the significant to walk on parts. Mikael Blomkvist is a journalist who at the beginning of the story is convicted for libel under strange circumstances.That is the first story element although for me, it was the less interesting one. Blomkvist has to spend a short time in jail but also decides to step down from the helm of The Millennium a journal he runs with Erika Berger - his sometime lover. The second character is Lisbeth Salander and she is the one who adds some of the mystery to the tale. Obviously, the victim of the Swedish care system, Salander is a girl who shouldn't be messed with. But people obviously have. She has certain gifts with technology and for remembering things, which helps in her role as a security specialist. She does not play by the rules nor expects anyone else too.
She and Blomkvist are brought together by the second story strand, an age-old mystery of the Vanger clan, a wealthy and successful corporation. This is loosely connected to Blomkvists conviction but only by a thread. Henrik Vanger is running out of time, his clock has begun to slow down and he wants answers before it stops. The Vanger family is full of secrets, intrigue and skeletons in the cupboard and the mystery involves the disappearance of Vangers niece some twenty-five years ago. It is the Vanger family which provides much of the secondary but very significant characters of dysfunctional families and there effects on the society around them.
Salander is the girl with the tattoo although this doesn't have much relevance to the story, she does. She is a traumatised soul with whom Blomkvist puts his trust, his faith and possibly his heart. He helps to melt the cool and unfeeling Salander and release emotions within her she had not known existed.
It is well paced, extremely readable despite its translation, although I have to admit I found the names tripped clumsily on my tongue. The conclusion is on the one hand a happy one but not without a price and for Blomkvist almost the end. But you will want to read on, you will not want to put it down and when you've read it you will want to read the next one.
Readability Rating: 8
Recommendation To Buy: Without Doubt - get the trilogy
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