Book 6 - The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson

The Girl with the Dragon Tatoo is a thriller written by Swedish journalist Stieg Larsson. The book is pretty intense and captivating despite some of its literary hurdles - but more on that later. The backstory behind The Girl is pretty crazy too - Larsson wrote this book, and two others (The Girl Who Played with Fire and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest) in his spare time, after work, and only submitted them for publication shortly before he died early of a heart attack. His trilogy is now being published posthumously. Rumor has it there's been a familial dispute over his will and some speculation as to foul play over his death but would you expect anything less?


Buy The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo on Amazon

I'll admit it, when I started this book I was... unimpressed. Whether it's Larsson's writing or the translation, the style just didn't appeal to me. I'm not typically a reader of mysteries or thrillers and perhaps I am simply unfamiliar with the type of writing that accompanies that type of literature. Either way, I was nervous that I wouldn't get into this book - it's the February choice for my Book Club and it's no laughing matter at 608 pages.

Luckily, it turned out to be no issue whatsoever. The story quickly overcame all concerns I had and I was sucked in. Sure, the writing is a bit of a hurdle, and the characters can be fairly predictable - but it doesn't matter. After you've delved in for 50 pages or so, you can't stop reading. What really keeps the book going is that Larsson never focuses on just one aspect of the mystery. He weaves in multiple angles and story lines and keeps adding complications until you're spinning in circles and have become obsessed! Or maybe that's just me.

Either way, I'm eager to start the next installment.

Visit the Official Random House Website for Larsson and the Trilogy

Read a review by beucherwald (suspiciously similar to mine!) on LiveJournal

A site dedicated to Stieg Larsson - background, story, books and a BBC story on Larsson, his books, and some interesting stories around both

P.S. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo doesn't stop on the page. It has since been made into a movie (in Sweden) and will be coming stateside soon as it's been optioned by Hollywood.