The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest by Stieg Larsson

This is an outstanding mystery that will hold your attention to the very last word.  This is fictional investigative journalism at its very best.

This is the third review I have started with that sentence.

Reading the afterword in this book, Larsson appears to have infused a great deal of his own past in the character of the  journalist Mikael Blomkvist.  This book is the wrap up of the previous two books and ties up all the loose ends of Lisbeth Salander bad girl par excellent.

Lisbeth’s character is believable in spite of her astounding range of talents.   The government corruption and deceit is sadly also believable.   There are too many clear cut examples in current events where government agencies go to illegal extents to protect their own precious fanny’s.   As much as there is a public outcry for accepting responsibility for one’s actions there seems to be some misconception that it is only other people who need to accept responsibility.   It was reassuring to see that, at least in the book, sanity prevailed and good people rallied to correct injustices. 

The characterizations in this book made it extraordinarily difficult to put down.   I really enjoyed it and was totally captivated by it.   It is a darn shame that there will be no more books from the late Stieg Larsson.  I have seldom seen such a variety of people express strong positive feelings about a series of books.   It seemed to appeal to readers across age, gender and income gaps.   

I strongly recommend the book!

Body of work of Stieg Larsson

 

Web site: http://www.stieglarsson.com/

The Girl Who Played With Fire by Stieg Larsson

This is an outstanding mystery that will hold your attention to the very last word.  This is without a doubt fictional investigative journalism at its very best.   What is interesting is that the very foundation of the book is investigative journalism and the protagonist, Mikael, is grossly dissatisfied with his own media and their morals.

I started my recommendation of The Girl With The Dragon Tatoo using the same sentence as above two posts back on the 4th.  This book may be even  more so.

Lisbeth Salander is back with a vengeance.   This book gives us even more insight as to how she became who she is.  The plot is illustrative of governmental and bureaucracy that has run amuck and is eminently believable.

Once again, Mikael Blomkvist character demonstrates ethics and tenacity that is seldom seen in real life.   If only the main stream media would take a page from Mikael’s fictional portfolio of ethics.   His tenacity in the face of daunting adversity was a joy to read and made it extraordinarily difficult to put the darn book down. 

I will repeat my caution from the last book recommendation, you are a flaming idiot if you underestimate a woman due to her size, demeanor or gender. 

The character development and depth of detail makes this book.  It is impossible not to become immersed in the story.  I am currently reading the third and last book and so far it is as stressful to put down as the first two.

I strongly recommend the book!

Body of work of Stieg Larsson

Web site: http://www.stieglarsson.com/

The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson

This is an outstanding mystery that will hold your attention to the very last word. Fictional investigative journalism at its very best.

I mentioned in my review on Three Seconds  that there seems to be a wealth of good stories coming out of Sweden. Well this is definitely one of them.

As a journalist Mikael Blomkvist demonstrates ethics and tenacity that is seldom seen in real life. If only the main stream media would take a page from Mikael’s fictional portfolio of ethics. His tenacity in the face of daunting adversity was a joy to read.

Lisbeth Salander might be a character that is hard to believe for some readers. I have been privileged to know a young woman who could have been the role model for this character sans the dragon tattoo. A word of caution, do not ever underestimate a woman due to her size, demeanor or gender.

Having been a computer professional for 25 years, I felt that Larsson did a good job on explaining hacking without getting technical.

It was a bit of a struggle to get into this book but much like my favorite California Screaming coaster, once you get going there is no going back and it is a heck of a ride.

I strongly recommend the book!

Body of work of Stieg Larsson

Web site: http://www.stieglarsson.com/

Redemption by Laurel Dewey

This is a suspenseful private eye novel with a strong female protagonist.

Jane Perry’s tenacity is her greatest strength. I always like a book with a strong female protagonist. Of course in Jane’s case bull headed and stubborn might also apply. Her inability to accept those who want to help her appears to be her biggest fault.

The story bogged down for me when what appeared to be proselytization occurred. The spirituality and mysticism weren’t strong enough to categorize the book as fantasy or speculative but it seemed to pull it out of main stream literature’s path of normalcy. However when you are dealing with fictional psychopaths one does wonder what is normal.

I think the book and series starring Jane Perry will cultivate a strong following. I won’t be one of them. I just had a hard time staying with the story. The characters were colorful and the plot was intricate but it just didn’t grab my attention. I had a hard time reading it. That being said, I do think it will be a success, this is why there is chocolate and vanilla.

Body of work of Laurel Dewey

Web site: http://www.laureldewey.com/