The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is a terrific murder mystery/corporate intrigue thriller that keeps the reader guessing. So many novels like this start out strong, for me at least, and then, somewhere in the middle, the ending will become predictable, but not this one. Larsson had me guessing and surprised at where he took the narrative. This is an enjoyable read that will not disappoint. Enjoy!

I must agree with a majority of the reviews here and admit that this is a remarkable novel with a lot of drive and vigor, few paragraphs of filler, and a wild read. Larsson is an intelligent writer, and the continuous feel of his story and characters demonstrates a heightened skill level and the translation seems to be transparent, but as I cannot read the novel in its native tongue, I guess I'll never know. It is with a heavy heart that I downgrade my opinion from four stars to three: the book's shortcomings are tough to ignore. I wish there were a three and a half.

First, I'll go ahead and toss in my "ignorant American" commentary and say that the proper nouns in their original Swedish were distracting at times. The author assumed that I knew that this name was feminine or this place was affluent, whereas I had to draw those conclusions in context. My own shortcomings, you shout? Possibly, but I would have thought a more skilled translator to be able to fix those references. Most notably: "gaol" is a prison referenced several times throughout the book, though I have no idea what it meant. At first the term seemed to be interchangeable with "jail" but then I got the impression that it was simply a forced boarding house, or "minimum security" prison, but as it was never explained, I still have no idea.

Second, I will admit that I am a stickler on plot holes and Larsson has very, very few. I did note, however, that Blomkvist and Salander seem to find each other in a very forced way: Frode needs to find a biblical researcher and thinks of the woman who performed a background check? It seemed a little contrived. I also thought Bjurman might make another appearance after his paralyzing thought, "I have to get that video", but he did not rear his ugly face (and tattooed torso!). It lead me to believe that Larsson left that door open but ran out of time to include him back into the story.

Most severe, however, is clearly the denouement. After the climax, things started to drop out of sight quickly. Personally, I didn't understand why Salander didn't want to involve the police, but I guess that's her call. I thought the plot against Wennerström was far more elaborate than it needed to be, and focused a lot on the procedural process of publishing, which I gather is what Larsson really enjoys. The whole thing seemed too long, except for the final few paragraphs, which gloss over the relationship between the two main characters and rather obviously prepare Salander for the sequel.

Where Larsson really lost the fourth star, however, was putting no effort into making Blomkvist a full character. Mikael appeared to be a narrator at times, observing and deducing, but rarely acting. He drudged up a little anger at Frode after the climax, but even that dissolves after a pleasant paycheck. Lisbeth is definitely the highlight of the book and makes it worth reading, but she can't save the sinking ship after it has sprung a leak.

Overall, I recommend reading it and think you'll like it, too. But I can point you to countless titles I think you'd enjoy better.

This book has a really nice pacing and generally a very good style for a mystery novel. There is perhaps too much emphasis on Swedish recent history (at least for those of us not familiar) and plenty of "message", but that rarely detracts from the story and the pacing of the story.
The main focus is clearly on mistreatment of woman in Sweden; but, it is not preachy or anything. My chief issue with it is that it is really pretty gruesome in places. It is hard to put down for the story as it is very engaging, but some of the descriptions are really hard to read. I am not sure that much detail was needed.
If you can get past that, the character development of one of the main two characters (Lisbeth) is really amazing - she is Autistic or Asbergers or something (although the author does not say that, the symptoms are well described). The character development of the other main character is not as well developed, but he is more than a cardboard character.
The process of the story unfolding is very nicely done with paths colliding. The reader is no farther along than the characters, unlike many mysteries where you get extra clues they do not. This means that you get pulled along with them vs. being apart from them. This works very well in this story.
I think it is a great read.

To me, this book is the most unexpected page-turning thriller I've read in some time. I couldn't wait for the next surprise.

I was reminded of first reading the early Ian Fleming books about James Bond, feeling like I'd entered a fascinating new world that I never had never dreamed of. But Stieg Larsson's writing is much better than Fleming's and these characters are more nuanced in their unusual characteristics.

The book defies normal novel categories. There are such a major story lines about both the hero and heroine that the novel would be more than adequate just developing those ideas. The mystery of a young woman's disappearance is more than adequate to sustain the interest of anyone who likes books about amateur detectives. In the background, there are dark secrets about a not-so-desirable family that would intrigue anyone who likes to read family sagas. What's remarkable is that these threads are very neatly combined so that you get a lot of story for your time, money, and reading pleasure.

Investigative journalist Mikael Blomkvist has a problem: He's written something that he can't prove and has been sued for criminal libel. His blunder costs him his savings, his reputation, and his freedom while threatening the survival of his publication. How will he and the magazine recover?

Lisbeth Salander wants her freedom and finds it hard to win. Although she's tremendously talented, her past holds secrets that pin her down much as Gulliver was by the tiny ropes of the Lilliputians.

Henrik Vanger wants to find out what happened to his grand niece, Harriet Vanger, who disappeared while an accident was being handled near her home. Can he persuade Blomkvist to help him?

There has been a search going on for Harriet Vanger for over forty years. What have they been overlooking?

What skeletons are hiding in the pro-Nazi closets of the older generation of the Vanger family? How do these skeletons affect the present?

You'll probably never meet a more unlikely detection team than Blomkvist and Salander. The unusual chemistry and motivation behind their joint efforts directs the story into many unexpected and interesting directions.

Stieg Larsson gives as much attention to his characters and their development as most mystery novelists do to their plots. As a result, you can relate to these characters quite well . . . as though you had already read ten books in which they interacted. He also takes the time to make these characters as unique as real people are, making them more vivid and rewarding to contemplate than the two-dimensional cutouts that serve as "characters" in most mystery novels.

His plot is also very fine: He usually doesn't telegraph what's coming next. People act as unpredictably as they do in real life . . . making the plot messy . . . as real life is messy.

I was delighted to learn that although Mr. Larsson has died that there are two more books coming. I can hardly wait!

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is a sprawling thriller that follows financial journalist Mikael Blomkvist as he tries to solve a decades-old murder while simultaneously attempting to resurrect his reputation after being convicted of libel. In the course of his research into the quirky family of a Swedish industrialist (the beloved uncle of the murder victim), Blomkvist uncovers several more plot lines and bumps into plenty of interesting characters, including a sidekick with a dragon tattoo.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is populated by a large cast of characters, many of which have only small roles. The principle characters are well-developed and sympathetic, but it can be difficult to keep track of the minor players. Parts of the story stall in long descriptions of Blomkvist's research methodology, and the book is a bit longer than it needs to be. Despite these faults, this is an engaging page-turner sure to entertain fans of thrillers and mysteries.

This isn't the sort of book I would normally read, but after hearing a very positive review, I decided to try it.

The author sets the stage for the drama by describing the lives of the main characters: Pressed flowers being sent anonymously to a wealthy aging industrialist; a crusading journalist taken down by a libel suit; a young woman whose boss sees her as a talented private investigator and a disfunctional enigma.

From there we watch as the author creates a clever story about murder, abuse, and the dark side of Sweden using these people and the people around them. The journalist is coerced into taking a job offered by the industrialist to find out who murdered the industrialist's niece, a girl who disappeared 40 years earlier. The dysfunctional PI becomes the journalist's assistant in the search. As the two of them get closer to the truth, new twists are discovered and the tension continues to get ratcheted up.

As I got further into the book, I found myself thinking about it when I was busy doing other things, wishing I could read a little more. I finally got up early one morning to finish it, and since then, have been wishing I hadn't. Not because I didn't like the ending, but because I wanted more. I immediately got online to see when the next book in the series would be released.

Alright, you've heard the hype, here's the story. Really good, like chocolate cake for breakfast good. The pace is quick and the characters are multi-dementional. The plot is, nearly perfect. It's a mystery that won't necessarily keep you guessing, but you won't care. The story is not the mystery. The mystery is the backdrop for the characters to play in. And you will love the characters. p.s. book 2 in the series is released in US in Aug. 09. but in UK in Jan. 09 - Amazon.co.uk delivers!

Everything I've read about this book by way of reviews is accurate. The most I can say is that I can't wait for the second book in the trilogy to be published. Larsson's death is a tremendous literary, as well as a humanitarian, loss.

I found this book to be rather slow in the beginning but it began to pick up and, as of the middle, was so suspenseful that I couldn't stop reading until I finished it. Others have written of the plot so I won't be redundant but I thought that elements of it were reminiscent of Grisham's THE FIRM - and that the book would make a terrific movie.
As for the writing and the place, Larsson presents a fascinating picture of male-female relations, family dysfunction, morality, media and business in modern Sweden. The writing style is deceptively simple but very effective in making his characters and their circumstances come alive. His heroine is almost an anti-heroine and reminds me in some ways of Lee Child's Jack Reacher.
While it's clear that violence against women is at the heart of the book, Larsson doesn't preach at the reader but just lays out the facts.
Excellent book, highly recommended.

Problems with logic: This is a "locked room" mystery; a woman disappears on an island during a brief time when all passage to and from the island is blocked, so where did she go? MURDER! Very early in the story as facts are being presented the reader easily comes to a conclusion which never occurs to the characters, the story develops and runs its course only to have the early obvious conclusion be the correct one. That is disappointing.

The key to solving the mystery relies on "a character with superpowers", in this case a teenage girl who is the best computer hacker in Sweden and is able to quickly obtain the necessary information necessary to solve the mystery which would not be obtainable otherwise (this sort of solution to me always says the author wrote them self into a corner and could not logically get out).

After the mystery is solved there is a run-on couple of chapters that are a let down.

The "detective" is a middle age journalist who has a long standing love affair with a married woman his own age; he has a love affair with an older woman; he has a love affair with a teenage girl; there is brutal sadistic rape; brutal sadistic rape revenge; sadistic incest rape; and brutal sadistic murder/rape.
The translation to English is not smooth and in places jars the reader out of the story ["he dropped her off at the tunnelbana" {what is a tunnelbanna}; "Norsjo was a small town with one main street, appropriately enough called Storgatan" {what is Storgatan?]}. Annoying because the translation could have been done better.

Parts of the story flow well and are interesting, but overall I am not recommending this book. Read something by the great Norwegian author Karen Fosum if you want to read a master of Scandinavian mystery.

While it may not be a literary masterpiece The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo makes excellent light reading and is surprisingly smart for an easy-to-read thriller.

I don't want to give away the plot at all or rehash what others have said too much, but I agree with some of the criticisms about the first half of the book. The plodding investigation of the main mystery that takes place in the beginning of the book can be a bit rough for those with limited attention spans, and it can occasionally be difficult to follow the meandering storyline.

As the various threads of the story begin to come together somewhere around the middle of the book the pace begins to pick up considerably, and reaches a headlong gallop by the end. While I had some difficulty picking the book up when I was in the beginning, by the time I reached the end I couldn't put it down.

This book won't win any literary awards and some of the discussions about technology used by the "hacker" character are a bit rough around the edges, the book is an easy and enjoyable read and the discussions of technology in the book are vague enough to be believable without being overly technical.

If you're looking for a book to read while on the train or in a plane, over Thanksgiving, Kwanzaa, Hanukkah or Christmas, this book would be a great choice. Sure, it can be a little dark at times, but it's really no worse than an episode of "Law & Order" and it's a heck of a fun ride.

If There Wasn't Death

Agatha Christie's The Mysterious Affair At Styles was published in 1920. She wrote the first great mystery tour de force in 1924. Every mystery fan remembers The Murder of Roger Ackroyd. Since then there have been a handful of books which stood out as outstandingly innovative while faithfully following the classic detective story rules. These are the books that leave the readers with a jolt in the solar plexus. Some do it with the climax, like Roger Ackroyd and in the 70s, Ira Levin's A Kiss Before Dying; some do it with a plot and writing that transcends the genre but staying within the rules, the unique, The Name of the Rose, by Umberto Eco.
Now in 2008 comes Stieg Larsson (and he died before the books were published). Most of the reviewers, including the venerable Machiko Kakutani of the NY Times tend to give away the plot. I skipped the details so that when I reached about page 253, the blow to the pit of my stomach was as hard as a Muhammad Ali punch.
It starts off inocuously enough. Mikael Blomkvist loses a case in court for journalistic zeal for his own publication. And we are introduced to the Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, Lisbeth Salander. Her horrible past is revealed later and the book goes forth on the sure footed prose of the writer, who without any over writing, maintains interest by plot creation and characters that are believable. No, Blomkvist is not a detective but he's piecing together a mystery that happened years ago, disappearance of young Harriet Vanger from a crowded party in a small island whose exit is cut off by an accident.
A classic Golden Age plot, surely.
Poirot had done it many times, delved into the past and came up with an answer.
Blomkvist reluctantly takes the job that has baffled police and everyone else for forty years. How could anyone miss a clue after such thorough investigation? That is one of the major plotting factors that will delight any reader, particularly of the old school such as myself, who venerate the Christie,Sayers, Stout kind of writers.
No more of the plot.
The writing. Absolutely gorgeous without long metaphors or description of the weather. The interweaving of the characters is natural, convincing and at times produces envy. Who could have a girl friend married to someone else (happily) and would come to Blomkvist's bed when he's alone and not make any demands?
The little village of Hedestad is like where Miss Marple might have lived. And the Vanger family . . . ay, tread carefully here, they have the secret . . .
One wishes as the book speeds along that it was longer and the evening by the fireplace was prolonged.
A highly satisfying, wonderfully literate, sophisiticated mystery that will have you squirming with delight.

Took awhile to understand the numerous characters in the family but once I got passed the first 25+ pages and flipping back and forth to the family tree, I was totally intrigued. Very good story and couldn't wait to pick up the book to read more. Good writer and storyteller. Highly recommend.

Many of the people who reviewed this book have given a basic description of the plot, which is complex but reasonably easy to follow. What few people have addressed however, is the completely over-the-top climax and ending, which pretty much negates the intriguing story that came before.

This reminds me in some ways of another very well-reviewed book, "The Good Thief." That's another book that was beautifully written with fascinating characters that went badly out of control towards the end, as if the author just wanted to finish writing and didn't care about the investment of time and energy on the readers' part. As long as she could get to the words "The End," maintaining the story's integrity just didn't matter past a certain point.

In much the same way, the last quarter of "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo," including the climax, ended up being ridiculous and completely over-the-top. Believing for hundreds of pages that I was in the hands of a master storyteller I feel cheated, both by the author and by the reviewers in major publications who fell all over themselves praising this book.

So, here's a short story: My mom e-mails me with the subject, "I want the book, "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" for Christmas." That's it. Nothing in the body. She obviously wanted this. Me, being her daughter in college, thought that a book would be cheap. I signed onto my Amazon.com account, typed in the title, found the book, clicked buy, and it arrived a few days later! So simple, so efficient. Amazon has helped me with many products and many more to come!

Stieg Larsson's "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo", the first of a trilogy of thrillers, comes to our shores highly praised by all the lucky Europeans who have had their hands on it since 2007. It is a fantastic read because it is multi-layered, suspenseful and mysterious.

The two main characters, Lisbeth Salander and Carl Mikael Blomkvist, circle around each other for the first half of the book, after which they actually meet and their stories converge. While the backbone mystery of the book involves the disappearance of a young Harriet Vanger, Larsson intertwines this story with multiple other themes including corporate corruption, journalistic ethics, violence against women and mass murder.

When the book ends, the Vanger mysteries are solved satisfactorily, if gruesomely. And yet, I found myself securely hooked and waiting for the second book. The history and motivation of Lisbeth Salander remain so mysterious. She is on top of a short list of the most interesting characters of my recent fiction forays.

If you like smart books, mysteries or suspense and can handle reading about terrible things like rape and murder, this book is more than worth it.

I've heard a lot of great things about this book and it seems like a lot of reviewers loved `The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo', but I was slightly wary. There have been times when everyone raves about a book and I find it disappointing, then I'm left wondering how it received so much praise. The last time I felt this way was for My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult. So, I was trying not to keep my hopes up, ignore all the reviews and simply let the book run its course.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo starts off with investigative journalist, Mikael Blomkvist, being convicted of libel and now faces up to three months in jail. Needless to say, he isn't feeling too great about what happened. Mikael decides to leave his magazine, The Millennium, and lay low for awhile. It doesn't take long for him to get a call asking him to work for business mogul, Henrik Vanger. The job is to solve a 36-year old crime, involving Henrik's niece, Harriet. Mikael, after some convincing, decides to take the job.

Lisbeth Salander, hacker extraordinaire, recently did some digging up on Mikael's past, on behalf of Henrik; however, the job was shut down once Mikael took the job. Lisbeth ends up getting mixed up in the mystery and works with Mikael as they solve the case. As the mystery of Harriet starts to unravel, another one pops up and this one could potentially destroy the Vanger name and business, not to mention destroy Mikael and Lisbeth as well.

To be honest, I'm not sure what to say about this book. Other than I loved it. When I read the first few chapters, I thought that this was an okay book. The author took time to develop a back story to Mikael and his libel case. During this part, I was wondering when the main story would take place. After a few chapters, when Mikael starts his case for the missing Harriet, I felt like the book was starting to pick up. As I continued on reading and I found myself liking the story more and more with each passing page. The mystery of Harriet and the Vanger family was sick and twisted, but I needed to find out what happened. I felt sad when I had to put the book down to sleep, or go to work and by the end of the novel, I was left wanting more of Lisbeth and Mikael. Thankfully, The Girl Who Played With Fire will be released on August of next year.

One thing that did surprise me was how graphic the novel was. Mikael and Lisbeth find that along with Harriet's disappearance, that she knew about different women who were murdered in incredibly brutal ways. Before that happens, and before Lisbeth joins Mikael, she goes through something that I wouldn't wish to anyone, even if I hated them. It's a very chilling and hard to read scene. After that, I found myself really caring for Lisbeth and when she took care of her problem, she became my favourite character in the novel.

The mystery of Harriet isn't so much about her as it is about the dead women. I figured out what happened to Harriet early on and even though that would sometimes ruin a novel for me, I found that it didn't here. Instead, I was just happy that I was right and it brought a close to the main plot. I did find that with each plot, I was left feeling something different. While I was happy about being right with Harriet, the mystery of the murdered women left me feeling sick because of the killer and their motives for killing them. Also, I usually figure out who the killer is, but sadly I didn't here and I was shocked when I found out. The libel case was my least favourite plot in the novel, mainly because the mystery of Harriet and the women were just so terrific. It did end with a nice closure and it doesn't get in the way with the actual story, as it only takes place in the beginning of the novel and at the end.

The plots were well crafted and the character developments of Mikael and Lisbeth were handled beautifully, along with the other characters in the novel. Each person is flawed, but they feel real. I'm not a person who cares if a character is likeable or not, I just need them to feel like a real person that I'd see down on the street. Mikael is a great character, but I found Lisbeth to be the shinning star of this novel. Without her, I don't think this novel would be such a success.

The ending...what can I say about it? It ended abruptly, leaving me to question what will happen next. Stieg Larsson died shortly after submitting this novel and two other manuscripts back in 2004, so I was hoping that the other two manuscripts would continue the story of Mikael and Lisbeth, because it's far from over.

This is a great thriller, an excellent read, and one of my favourite books this year. If you have the time definitely pick this book up, hopefully you won't be disappointed.

5/5

This is an outstanding book for a reader who wants an intellectual murder story mixed with unusual historical Swedish commerce, family saga, fascism and corruption. I thoroughly enjoyed this novel and as an American, I learned more than I thought I would about the structure of Sweden's system.

The story revolves around Mikael Blomkvist, who although he is convicted of libel, is hired by the scion of the prominent Vanger family to solve a possible murder (many years prior) of his niece, Harriet Vanger. The book contained a page of the family tree which I bookmarked separately as I need to keep referring to the vast family for clarification.

Blomkvist is characterized a brilliant journalist and a ladies' man who is hardworking and determined to chronicle the murder and the Vanger biography. The family is rife with selfish, crazy and egocentric people which makes the story interesting on every page.

Paired with Blomkvist is Lisbeth Salander, a 24 year old, who had a deplorable childhood. She is a brilliant investigator and computer hacker with a determined streak of violence. She was a very believable character. I have known some young American women who came up through the foster system and her plight and anger seemed quite realistic to me.
In addition to the corruption that unfolds, I was somewhat astonished to learn how many Swedish women are subjected to sexual assault.

This is one of the best novels I have read in a long time. The translation, I trust, is excellent. It is very sad to know that Steig Larsson died so young. He certainly was a gifted and brilliant novelist. I am looking forward to the next releases of his books in the US.

Since the plot of this book has been described in detail in other reviews, I will refrain from that in my review. Upon reflection, after finishing this book, I decided that part of its appeal lies in the fact that many if not most of human drives and emotions are present somewhere in the story: greed. lust, love, revenge, sadism, sloth, political extremism, fear, and deceit, among others. The author combines all these good and bad human traits into a lyrically-written mystery with overtones of irony and undercurrents of violence. The book is well-organized, too, which makes it eminently readable. There is a flow to the words that is addictive: when you add that to the story, the result is a marvelous read. It's tragic that the author passed away several years ago, although I understand several additional books may be published. I hope some of the same characters are in the later books, too.

I am a voracious reader -- recently of police procedurals from other countries. I don't really have anything to add to the reviews that have already been posted. I just have my personal experience: I received this book on Thursday evening and started it at around 7pm. And I read it RIGHT THROUGH. Finished it at just after 2am. And was late for work on Friday, because I didn't really get enough sleep. It was THAT good.

Mikael Blomkvist of Millennim magazine is in big trouble. He has been accused of libel by wealthy industrialist Hans-Erik Wennerstrom. Wennerstrom may have violated the law, but in Sweden you have to have very good proof if you're going to write about it and if Blomkvist can't get enough to back up what he's written, he could be going to jail.

But maybe not. Blomkvist gets a call from an aging lawyer, who represents eighty-two-year-old Henrik Vanger, who is very rich. Vanger wants Blomkvist to write his family's history. He also wants Blomkvist to find out what happened to his grand niece who vanished back in 1966. Blomkvist isn't eager for the tasks, but Vanger says he has the proof Blomkvist is looking for in the Wennerstrom matter, so Blomkvist agrees.

However, he needs a assistant, but not to worry, one is handy and ready to work for him, the waif-like and very young Lisbeth Salander. Blomkvist wants to know if she's any good and she shows him just how good she is by providing him files she has on him and he is astounded. It seems she's dug up stuff only he knows about himself. She is apparently the queen of hackers. Together these two have a year to fulfill Vanger's requests.

I don't know if I've made this story sound exciting, but it is. The characters work well together and they play off each other beautifully, however this book is not for the faint of heart. There is a lot of violence against women and that can be off putting, but it's necessary for the story. I know, because I'm squeamish and I couldn't put it down.

This is the first book of a trilogy written by Stieg Larrson who died shortly after having handing them in to his publisher. All three have been published in Sweden, but sadly I can't read Swedish, so I'm going to have to wait for the next two. This is an excellent mystery, which works on a whole lot of levels. Mr. Larrson is a fresh voice, new (to me at least) and already missed.

Reviewed by Vesta Irene

As I read this book I found that I couldn't connect with the characters, nor the Swedish culture, in which they live. I don't think that American readers will be intrigued by the characters, nor the plot. I wanted to say, "OK... and?" It read like the outline of a great novel that could've been, but was never fleshed out to be one. I'd like to take the "outline" and give it to someone the likes of James Patterson.

'The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo' is a well plotted crime thriller that suffers a bit from a sub-par translation from Stieg Larsson's native Swedish.

The translation was never so bad that it prevented easy understanding but the book was full of small incidents where a character's thoughts or words didn't seem authentic. Larsson also has a habit of dropping completely unnecessary technical details on the reader. There are times when knowing the exact model of motorcycle or computer adds to a reader's feel for a character but there are times in 'The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo' when Larsson drops in the specific model of cell phone and it interrupts the flow of the novel.

Translation and nit-picky writing issues aside, 'The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo' is a pretty good mystery novel. The characters aren't necessarily any deeper than those you would find in a Nelson DeMille novel and the plot is equally improbable. It does, however, manage to weave shady financial power brokers, serial killers, family power squabbles, hackers, outcasts and the publishing industry into an engrossing whole.

The ending is a bit weak, but 'The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo' is apparently the first in a series so the ending makes sense. When 'The Girl Who Played with Fire' is released in August of '09, I'll be looking forward to reading it.

I loved this book. I just want to give a warning , it is grpahic in some parts but just skip those parts and you should be ok. The characters in this book seem so life-like that at any moment they could appear in real life! The crux of the story is Henrik Vanger hires Mikael Bloomkvist to investigate the mysterious disappearance of his niece year ago. Her name was Harriet and she was 16, the odd part is at the time she went missing the island was completely closed off because of a car accident. This leads Bloomkivst into researching the most dysfunctional family in literature! There is also Lisbeth Salander who is a top notch private invetigator with a shady background. Just when you think the book is finished with the identification of the killer it takes another turn! This is a great book if you like thrillers it is written so that it goes back and forth between characters. It's face paced good time! Except for the graphic violence in SOME parts of the novel I highly reccommend it!

'The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo' is a well plotted crime thriller that suffers a bit from a sub-par translation from Stieg Larsson's native Swedish.

The translation was never so bad that it prevented easy understanding but the book was full of small incidents where a character's thoughts or words didn't seem authentic. Larsson also has a habit of dropping completely unnecessary technical details on the reader. There are times when knowing the exact model of motorcycle or computer adds to a reader's feel for a character but there are times in 'The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo' when Larsson drops in the specific model of cell phone and it interrupts the flow of the novel.

Translation and nit-picky writing issues aside, 'The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo' is a pretty good mystery novel. The characters aren't necessarily any deeper than those you would find in a Nelson DeMille novel and the plot is equally improbable. It does manage to intertwine shady financial power brokers, serial killers, family power squabbles, hackers, outcasts and the publishing industry into an engrossing whole.

The ending is a bit weak, but 'The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo' is apparently the first in a series. When 'The Girl Who Played with Fire' is released in August of '09, I'll be looking forward to reading it.

Whenever a book (or movie or television program or cd or anything) gets too much buzz, I tend to be hyper critical and not really fully enjoy it. Maybe I'm negative; maybe it's human nature. But I went from dying to read The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, after reading about it in Vanity Fair, to feeling a sense of uh-oh...everyone is talking about this book way, way too much.

So I was pleasantly surprised that I was able to lose myself in this novel and get fully involved in it. I was also surprised that not only were the characters and the plot fantastic, but I also was really engaged by the setting in a European country where I've never been and frankly know little about.

This book had a distinct flavor and yet remained highly readable. The tension was reminiscent of Silence of the Lambs, and I was completely hooked and entertained through to the last pages. Many times, mysteries and thrillers don't know how to resolve themselves, but this book was fully realized.

I'm glad there will be two more books by Steig Larsson and sad that he died too young.

This was a suspenseful mystery that actually started off slowly but just picked up speed and got better and better and better...The character development was amazing-they jumped out at you because they were real with major imperfections. These were people many will relate to. Though it appears predictable in the beginning...we soon learn how wrong we can be.I won't give you the plot line or I'd ruin it. All I'll say is that it incredible- you will find entertaining.

I think that the overwhelmingly positive reader reviews simply reflect how deeply many of us hunger for something, anything that seeks to transcend the pop fiction genre of all the usual suspects. This book does vary from, but imho, does not transcend the pop fiction genre. And I am not reacting to the ghoulishness of some of it. Just a boring, predictable, hard not to put down story.

Having read rave reviews about Steig Larsson's debut novel, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, I had high expectations. At the same time, I was a bit wary with the knowledge that most hyped books end up to be disappointing reads because my expectations are initially so high. So I approached the book with some trepidation and was surprised to discover that none was necessary; The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo really was an amazing read that blew any expectations I may have had out of the water.

In some ways, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo really reminded me of Tana French's novel The Likeness. The subject matters weren't similar by any means, but they both had an exceptionally literary quality that is difficult to find in mysteries. Any fan of Tana French would most likely enjoy this novel, as they are both exceptional mysteries.

I had trouble putting Larsson's novel down. From the prologue itself, I was completely gripped by this powerful novel. I felt like I had to know what happened, and was completely satisfied with the conclusion. Though all threads weren't resolved, I felt like my curiosity had been sated. The characters were also very well written and personable. All in all, it really was an impressively well-written novel

I was surprised when I discovered that the author of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Stieg Larsson, passed away in 2004 from a heart attack. However, he left three unpublished manuscripts behind, the first of which was The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. These three novels were written as the "Millennium Trilogy." The second book, called The Girl Who Played With Fire, is set to be released in the US on January 8, 2009 - a book I will most definitely be reading.

I read Swedish, and read these in the original -- those who are waiting for the translations of the second and third books in this series have a lot to look forward to. The first one is masterful, fascinating, wonderful, gripping, and every other adjective you could possibly want in a thriller or mystery. What's incredible is that the next two only get better, with the same characters being drawn into intrigues that are much wider and deeper than the original story about a teenager's disappearance. My advice: place your pre-orders now for the next part of this series!

At first this book seems like a predictable formula thriller complete with brutal murders and violent rape scenes as well as contrived timing of discoveries and life saving feats of heroism...but upon closer examination it appears to be a scathing commentary on the many ills of society.

On the surface...
Journalist Mikael Blomkvist has just learned that he has been convicted for libel against the powerful businessman Hans-Erik Wennerstrom and will be serving time in jail in the near future. But before he begins to serve his time he's hired to look into the mysterious death of a sixteen year old girl. The girl, Harriet Vanger, disappeared forty years ago, her body still hasn't been found. Her aging great uncle has been obsessed with finding out what happened to her. The uncle has offered to pay Blomkvist a ridiculous sum of money as well as giving him incriminating evidence to bring down Hans-Erik Wennerstrom if he will commit to looking into the circumstances of Harriet's death for one year. Blomkvist agrees and with the help of his assistant Lisbeth Salander he grasps the thread that will enable him to unravel the mystery surrounding Harriet's death.

Beyond the obvious...this is a story rich with criticisms of the unethical, corrupt, greedy and opportunistic in society. The corrupt and evil are served what seems like fair and just rewards for their crimes. But what does that say about those serving up the justice. Even our heroes need to be examined, how do they stand up to scrutiny?

For me this was a difficult novel to get into. There were many references that were purely Swedish in nature that I didn't get. There were brand names, government agencies and other references that left me wondering "what the hell are they saying?". I think that the translation could have been done so that it made the Swedish references more clear to the rest of the world (or specifically "ugly-Americans" like myself).

It's not a horrible story, though it is rather graphic and violent. I thought many of the relationships were unrealistic, the character descriptions were conflicting and the dialog was often unbelievable and while I don't think Larson was the worlds best writer, I have to say that I think he tells a decent story that pulls you in and makes you want to find out 'who dunnit'.

I found the most compelling part of the story the character Lisbeth Salander. Larson left us hanging as far as her history is concerned and I will probably read the next installment, 'The Girl Who Played With Fire', just to find out more about her (it's scheduled to be released January 2009).

If you liked this you might want to try Beautiful Lies by Lisa Unger, I thought that was very well done and for some reason the character Lisbeth Salander reminds me of Unger's Ridley Jones.

Mr. Larsson wrote two sequels not yet translated. I'm putting them on my "must read" list.

Big disappointment
Starts off slow, then gets better, end is a disappointment. A waste of my precious reading time.
Barbara Lyons

Dysfunctional families often provide great fodder for mystery. Stieg Larsson uses the formulaic "locked room mystery" and instead of ten little Indians populates the crime scene with members of a vast family enterprise who comprise an important part of Sweden's industrial elite.

What happened to Harriet Vanger, beloved niece of the family's patriarch, who disappeared from the face of the earth in 1966? The question has haunted Henrik Vanger for thirty -six years. He hires Mikael Blomkvist, a disgraced journalist. Blomkqvist facing a short stint in the pen after a conviction for the criminal libel of another Swedish industrialist, has not many other job prospects. He agrees to spend a year writing a family history while looking into the details of the unsolved crime. In his work. Blomkqvist is eventually joined by Lisbeth Salander, a brilliant, tattooed and pierced freelance researcher,whose computer skills give her access to information not generally available to the public, or even the police.

The amateur inquiry into this extended clan quickly focuses on several of the family's black sheep, members with strong political sentiments before and during the Second World War. Could these sentiments have may have triggered an apparent murder a generation later? Perhaps, the journalist wonders, the clusters of insanity with certain branches of the family tree contain homicidal tendencies not previously detected. Or maybe the motive was greed, was young Harriet the natural successor to her uncle Henrik.

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo is the first part of a trilogy delivered by Larsson prior to his untimely death in 2004. It quickly became a huge bestseller, not just in Sweden, but throughout Europe. Originally entitled Men Who Hate Women this part delves deeply into the evils of misogyny.

Throughout the novel, Larsson pays tribute to female mystery writers, among them Enid Blyton, Agatha Christie, Dorothy L. Sayers, Sue Grafton, Val McDermid, and Sara Paretsky. The late New England writer Al Blanchard once described to me his membership in Sisters in Crime as being an "honorary sister", Larsson honors the craft and production of women writers in the genre.

This book will make you hungry for the sequel.

This book was slow at the begining. After chapter 2, the pace picks up and you can not put it down. Lots of twists and turns. Enjoy.

Steig Larsson revived my faith in finding that rare well-crafted mystery novel that is creative, intelligent, and highly readable wth an unpredictable ending. Don't miss it!

I bought this book because I wanted to try a new author. The reviews were good, so I took a chance and the book traveled with me to the beach on vacation. It was a book that I couldn't put down. I will not go into the plot since other reviews and the publisher do credible jobs of outlining that. Woven into the mystery was excellent character development that spoke of the human condition -- a style that makes books in all genres much more interesting and allows the reader to feel part of the of the story instead of an outsider looking in. All the characters have flaws and are living their lives the best they can. This is what allows the reader to identify much more closely with the entire book. When the last page came, I was disappointed and wanted more. The plot closed up nicely, but I wanted the characters to continue. For me, this is a sign of a great book and a great author who understands what literate people really want to see in a book. Well worth the money and the read.

I loved the book and the author's style. It seems like there is another book caming out, he left me with the idea of a sequel. I recommend it

I loved this book! It's very Swedish, there are a lot of big corporate/financial details (think Wall Street Journal), and the author has a huge gripe about violence against women. If you can get past these three items, then it's a fantastic story. I listened to it and I was spellbound, but I also leafed through the text to figure out how the Swedish names were spelled.

It's the first of a trilogy and apparently they have been blockbusters in continental Europe. The next book, The Girl Who Played With Fire, will be released simultaneously in Britain and the US on January 8.

This book is about a disgraced financial journalist who takes on an older financier's personal quest (for a decent sum of Swedish Kroner). He crosses paths with a much-younger computer hacker who is someone you'd likely avoid in person (you have to love the details about the state of her apartment) but is amazingly sympathetic. Together they uncover details of the mystery that are very different than the expected.

The book covers a lot of ground including their personal histories and a complex history of the family that they are researching. And there's a lot of social commentary, especially about violence against women, but also about workplace ethics. Most of the relationships are complicated and yet it's all very-believable.

Kudos to Stieg Larsson. Unfortunately, he died shortly after turning in the manuscripts for this trilogy.

Somewhere out there there are dozens of Goth girls with a new hero, and it's not Marilyn Manson. Her name is Lisbeth Salander, and she's tough, smart, and hard to get to know. She has a photographic memory and fantastic computer skills, and you don't want to get on her bad side.

Lisbeth works for main character, Mikael Blomkvist, an investigative journalist who's been found guilty of libeling billionaire financial wizard Hans-Erik Wennerstrom. Blomkvist wrote an article accusing Wennerstrom of embezzling 65 million dollars from the Swedish government but was unable to substantiate part of the story. Blomkvist must serve a prison sentence but before he can clear himself, he is hired by another billionaire industrialist, Henrik Vanger, to find out what happened to his brother's daughter who disappeared almost forty years ago. Lisbeth was hired to do a background check on Mikael Blomkvist, and Henrik's lawyer recommends that Mikael hire her as a research assistant.

The Vanger family is bad news. One of Henrik's brothers was pro-Nazi during WWII. Harriet's father was a drunkard before he drowned during one of his binges. Harriet's mother is a witch. None of the Vangers get along, which makes it hard for the company to agree on a direction. Blomkvist thinks the search for Harriet is a hopeless case, but Henrik has been obsessed with her since she disappeared and he has boxes full of evidence. He wants Blomkvist to look at them one more time. Stieg Larsson runs the reader through a maze of possible clues, most of which don't go anywhere, at least not right away, but finally Blomkvist finds a photograph that cracks the case wide open.

Lisbeth is instrumental in both climactic scenes. She's such a multi-dimensional character. She's been declared mentally unstable; so although she's twenty-four, she must report to a guardian when she needs money. When her previous guardian dies, she's confronted with an abusive replacement whom she deals with in typical Lisbeth ingenuity. Despite her obvious talent, she has a terrible inferiority complex. She just can't believe Mikael Blomkvist could possibly see anything in her when he could have beautiful Erika Berger, Mikael`s friend and publisher.

Author Stieg Larsson is almost as interesting as Lizbeth. He was managing editor of a magazine opposing right-wing extremism. Before he died he submitted three complete novels. He especially hated financial speculators. There's a telling quote near the end of the book: "...it's the financial gnomes that some tough reporter should identify and expose as traitors. They're the ones who are systematically and perhaps deliberately damaging the Swedish economy in order to satisfy the profit interests of their clients." Pretty appropriate, considering what's been happening on Wall Street.

I sure hope the next two novels are sequels and that we'll hear from Mikael and Lisbeth again. I also hope they make a movie out of THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO. I'm already casting the various parts. Are you still alive Winona Ryder?

I first heard of "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" on the Jay Leno show.
That being said, I don't usually go for authors whom I am not familiar with. I stick to tried and tested authors like Lee Child and Stephen Hunter and the like..but seeing all the hype this debut author's book created I decided to give this one a chance. Boy! I wasn't disappointed!
My first reaction to the book was doubt seeing it's bulk. A solid 500+ pages. I am not very patient in reading long novels. But once I started reading The Girl with the Dragon Tatttoo, I couldn't stop and was finished with it over a weekend.
It started kinda slow...about some financial reporter and his investigation and some high finance stuff that made me think if I made a mistake starting reading this. But it soon picked up pace and every chapter end, I was slapped in the face with a new revelation that kept me going farther and farther into the book. a decades old cold case Murder, a sleepy small town, suspicious townsfolk who are all suspects in the investigation etc., makes this book truly worthwhile.
This book is full of shock and awe. I can assure that. I even gifted this book to my cousin and he loves it too.
I am only sad that the author is no more and his creations are limited to three books. I can't wait till January when the next book in this series is due to come out.
Read The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and you'll soon be writing praise about it too. A solid 5 stars!!

It started a tad slowly but the characters were inviting and the story progressed nicely. It all held together well and I enjoyed it a great deal. Looking forward to the release of his next book. Sad he died.

IF YOU LIKE A MYSTERY BUY THIS BOOK
If You Like Character Development Buy This Book.
Mr. Stieg Larsson's debut novel The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is terrific. An intricate novel that combines a complex murder mystery with a dysfunctional family saga, a complicated person love story, intricate financial corporate intrigue, and an esoteric 50 year serial crime spree. Well written, Mr. Larsson's keeps the reader in absolute suspense from page one to the end of this amazing tale. In many ways this novel is a lot like an expanded and more complex Agatha Christie or Conan Doyle mystery. Mr. Larsson builds the mystery as he adds facet upon facet until a complex mosaic leaves the reader wondering where the author will go next? The good news is that Mr. Larsson does not disappoint as he weaves layer upon layer of suspense. The basic thesis involves a discredited reporter who is hired to investigate and find the strangely missing niece of a very rich Swedish businessman. From there the story grows into a labyrinth of who-done-its, as Mr. Larsson brings in a multitude of interesting and in many ways despicable characters. To go into more detail would spoil a wonderful tale of mystery. Again, this is an extremely well done and satisfying mystery on many levels.
Character development was superb and the very heart of this novel. Mr. Larsson's literary forte is his wonderful ability to develop numerous characters and have then all interrelate. As the mysteries deepen, the characters become even more complex until the story reaches a thundering climax or should I say climaxes! Bravo and well done Mr. Larsson.
Heavy use of raw language and some extreme violence but all germane to this tale of interpersonal relationships. No gratuitous sex.
I heartily recommend this novel. The beginning drags just a bit as Mr. Larsson sets the literary table but then by page 20 or so hold on to your seat as the roller coaster ride begins. Could be book of the year. If you liked Child 44 you'll love this novel. Worth the hardback price. I am looking forward with anticipation to Mr. Larsson's next novel .

I could not put this book down. It is well written and the twists and turns are abundant. The characters are well developed and I enjoyed every minute of this incredible book.

i read the reviews before i ordered the book . i couldnt wait to read it based on the high star ratings. i do not think the book was as good as everyone said it was. there was way to many people to keep track of and i found myself back tracking to see who was who . i liked the main characters , and found the relationship between the two of them interesting, but it was not a book that i looked forward to reading at the end of a day.

Eh, it was just okay. There are too many unrealistic thread and holes in the book. The book has two different storylines and only one of them is interesting, the disappearance of a character. I just could not get into the libel story-line - I just kept thinking, "So what? Get over yourself."

I am amazed at the amount of publicity that this book has generated. As far as mysteries go, it's really just ho-hum.

I bought this book in audio version, and it is one of the FEW books that held my undivided attention. The book is crafted with intelligence and precision. I am thoroughly impressed.

This is the best crime fiction I have read in many years. It's a real thriller with well-drawn characters you become very involved with and won't forget, and at the same time takes on big issues of power, justice, morality and corruption in a country we always think of as the model of propriety. Very well written, it is a book you won't want to put down once you get started. I can hardly wait for the forthcoming books in the series.

I bought this book after reading a review that it was the Europeon version of the Da Vinci Code this year. It is very well written and once you pick it up and get into the book it is very hard to put it down. I have bought it for several friends as presents and e mailed alot of my friends to buy it. It is hard to find a good mystery novel with great characters and a really good story these days. If you really appreciate a good read, buy this book. You will be glad you did.

I'm a big fan of mystery novels and this is one of the best new ones I've read in quite a while. The mystery in this novel is actually nested inside an adventure involving financial misconduct by a shadowy mogul and his use of false information to destroy the credibility of an investigative financial reporter.

The novel was paced well and I enjoyed the bits of Sweden (the setting). I found the plotting to be excellent, the pace gripping and the characters interesting.