The Girl Who... Never Ends?

This morning I listened to an episode of On Point, from NPR, that focused on Stieg Larsson, author of the Lisbeth Salander Series (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The Girl Who Played with Fire, and the upcoming The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest). I already knew that the story behind the story of these novels was pretty sensational - Larsson was an investigative journalist who died immediately after submitting the manuscripts (and, some thought, under suspicious circumstances). What I didn't know is that there is some speculation over how many books the series would have held had he lived. The show seemed to think that the series could have expanded to include something like ten books - and it's even believed that Larsson was currently working on a fourth book (he was said to have been a couple hundred pages in) that has gone missing. Intriguing.

The idea of seven additional The Girl books just wears me out. The books are interesting and engaging but so intense. I'm not sure I could handle ten. It does make me nervous though - what was left out that we will never know?

If you've read any of the books or if you're interested, the show is worth a listen. Tom Ashbrook is a little insufferable at times but... the material is worthwhile.