This is a super late book review so here goes…
The Girl Who Played With Fire by Stieg Larsson
After the first book by Stieg Larsson, I was hooked. I wanted to see what was going to happen next with Lisbeth Salander. I bought the second book and also put myself on the Holds list for the audiobook. (Seeing that it took me two tries to get into the first book, I wanted to be well prepared if my interest began to wane by reading the book.) I got started and was pleasantly surprised that Lisbeth was… [spoiler] still “vacationing.”
On the back of the cover, it says that there are two people who die and Lisbeth is framed for it. Well, just like the first book, it took forever for that to happen. Ie. the set-up was about 1/3 of the novel. Somewhere around that time was when I got the audiobook from the library; I ripped it into my iPod and got going. Finally they died! (Not that I wanted them to – by then, I was kind of looking forward to the whole investigation they were digging into.) That’s when the story moved faster.
I found The Girl Who Played With Fire just as engaging as the first book… after the long set-up. I get the set-up. But for me, Ms. ADD, I really have to concentrate and stay “present” (shout out to Self Management class!). I have to admit that I took my sweet time in the beginning because I was dreading anything bad to happen to Lisbeth [spoiler] again. I really did not want to read descriptive passages about brutal rape again.
There’s a twist, of course, and I kick myself. I had my suspicions about [giant spoiler] her father still being alive, but I didn’t think he’d be Zala! I don’t think there were any red herrings, but maybe you, smart reader, will find them. I’m glad that Lisbeth and Mikael “meet up” again.
The end of this book is nuts, and it’s a little bit of a cliffhanger. You want to see this through.
Overall, I felt he does a great job of weaving everyone into the fold. Yes I’ll continue to whine about the long set-up but, at the same time, it’s great background. And that said, I think there could have been a little bit more editing.
I usually like to buy serials in the same format, ie. all paperbacks or all hardcovers. I bought the first two in paperback, and I couldn’t help myself – I bought the third one in hardcover as it’s just come out this summer. I have to find out what happens! (No spoilers please!)
The Girl Who Played With Fire - Movie
The FTH went to see the movie with his friends. I declined since I had not finished the book. It might be on Netflix Streaming, so I’ll be putting that on the cue!
Grade: A- (minus because of the long set-up)
Recommend: Yes
Borrow or Buy: I’m going to go out on a limb and say BUY. Some people are not going to like these books, but I’m banking that everyone enjoys a pretty great mystery/noir/thriller (with a lot of violence).
