The Girl Who Played With Fire by Stieg Larsson

Oh boy, was this a good book!  I like nothing better than a book that grabs me from the start and doesn’t let go until the last page.  That is what The Girl Who Played With Fire, the sequel to the best selling novel, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, did to me.

In Larsson’s first book, Tattoo,we are introduced to Lisbeth Salander, the genius computer hacker, punk, vigilante who played second fiddle to investigative journalist, Mikael Blomkvist.  Larsson’s second book puts Salander on center stage.  Fire opens on a sunny island in the Caribbean as Salander is enjoying the fortune she “obtained” at the conclusion of Tattoo. Salander has become estranged from Blomkvist and has taken up mathematics as a hobby.  A freak storm and a dead body soon send her back to her native Sweden and home.

Once home, things continue to be complicated for Salander.  Her fingerprints turn up on a gun used to murder two investigative reporters who were working on a sex-trafficking story that was to be published by Blomkvist in his magazine, Millennium. Everything points to Salander’s guilt but Blomkvist steadfastly refuses to believe the evidence againt her.  Other people who know Salander (and her violent tendencies) slowly rally to her defense but the evidence of her involvement is overwhelming.

Salander is a more solid character in this book and the connection between her and the people trafficking girls is at the heart of this story.  The reasons for Salander’s dark past and why she is so emotionally damaged slowly come to light leaving the book with a stunning and emotionally draining climax.

The Girl Who Played With Fire ends with a good many loose ends that I imagine will be addressed in the third and final book by this author.  I, for one, can’t wait to see what happens next!

Mary Beth – York                               ISBN  9780307269980