Review: The Girl Who Played with Fire

The second book in the Millennium trilogy picks up a year after Lisbeth Salander and Mikael Blomkvist pulled off their various coups. Lisbeth has been traveling, but suddenly a dangerous thug seems to be trailing her. Through a strange course of events, Lisbeth is wanted by the police for murder.

I enjoyed this second installment in the trilogy significantly more than the first one. This book deals more with Lisbeth than with Mikael, and she is by far the more interesting character. Mikael, after all, is a man who liked going to prison because he found it "restful." This book delves into some of the issues of Lisbeth's past, especially a devastating event that is mysteriously absent from her social services file.

This book is absolutely bursting with suspense, and this was a book I literally couldn't stop reading. I was desperate to see how all of the pieces fit together. Who is the mysterious giant? What happened in Lisbeth's past? Finishing this book made me want to start the next one immediately.

Stieg Larsson, The Girl Who Played with Fire (Vintage, 2010) ISBN: 030745455X