The Girl Who Played With Fire by S Larsson review

The Girl Who Played With Fire is the second book in the Millenium trilogy of crime novels by the Swedish journalist and author Stieg Larsson

In the first book we followed the two main characters Mikael Blomkvist, and Lisbeth Salander as they solved the mystery around Harriet Vanger. This book continues to tell the story about Lisbeth Salander's background that is ful of dark secrets.

Mikael Blomkvist and the editorial staff of the magazine Millenium meet with a promising young journalist who wants to publish a story about trafficking. The story is going to focus on the clients and will reveal a lot of names of sex buyers, among them are several journalists, politicians and even police officers. When the new issue is about to get printed, they get shocked by the news that this journalist and his wife have been brutally murdered in their home. The police finds the gun they were shot with in the appartement, and on it there are fingerprints. Fingerprints that belongs to a young woman called Lisbeth Salander.

While Lisbeth Salander is wanted and on the headlines of every magazine, Mikael is fighting to prove the innocence of his former companion and friend. He refuses to believe that she has something to do with the murder of the couple, but he seems to be the only one convinced of that fact. Even his colleagues on Millenium begin to have doubts, when more and more is written about Salander in the press; her background as being arrested for violent behaviour as a teenager, and time in mental hospital as a little girl. Is Mikael really being too innocent and trusting toward this woman, that he barely knows? If she's not guilty, why are there so many evidences that seem to prove differently?

This second book in the story of Lisbeth Salander and Mikael Blomkvist is a good read, but not as capturing as the first one. Larsson tends to slow down the story by adding too many details, and too many characters. I actually recommmend you to see the the filmed version of this one, of the three movies that are made about the Millenium-trilogy The Girl Who Played With Fire is clearly the best. Actress Noomi Rapace is absolutely the right person for the character Lisbeth Salader.
/ [Easterling]

   More book reviews