The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest by Stieg Larsson (audio)

Book Description:
Salander is plotting her revenge - against the man who tried to kill her, and against the government institutions that very nearly destroyed her life. But it is not going to be a straightforward campaign. After taking a bullet to the head, Salander is under close supervision in Intensive Care, and is set to face trial for three murders and one attempted murder on her eventual release. With the help of journalist Mikael Blomkvist and his researchers at Millennium magazine, Salander must not only prove her innocence, but identify and denounce the corrupt politicians that have allowed the vulnerable to become victims of abuse and violence. Once a victim herself, Salander is now ready to fight back.
 
Third and last of the Millenium Series by the late Stieg Larsson, this was a bittersweet read, it was great to read on about Salander and Blomkvist, but I was sad to know this is the end and no more books will be forthcoming (despite the legal wranglings of the author's estate and rights of a fourth book or outline for one found on his computer.)  I loved the series as a whole and this book, albeit not originally intended as the last in the series, (there were ten books planned), did give the series some closure.  Hornet's Nest was a direct continuation of the second book, The Girl Who Played with Fire. It's almost as if they were both originally written as one long book and then divided into two.  Here we pick up directly after the cliffhanger of book two with Lizbeth in the hospital, rescued by Blomkvist.  Lizbeth is a survivor, so we are all assured she is going to recover from the bullet wound to her head, but will she be done in by her own father?  Or maybe by "the Section" a covert group of men one would expect from a Cold War spy novel?  "The Section" is so secret, only a handful of people in the Swedish government know of its existence.  They have their hands in various parts of the puzzle that Blomkvist begins to solve in book two and now wants to expose and write about in book three.  Lizbeth is personally involved, for it's her story he will write about, beginning with her troubled childhood, institutionalized at the age of twelve (unjustly) and then a ward of the government with no say in her own rights, assigned guardians to manage her affairs - all under the assumption that she is not in her right mind. Her civil rights were grossly violated over and over again and Blomvkist is determined to publish her story in Millenium, the magazine he runs.
 
I'm getting ahead of myself, there is a lot to this story and if you haven't read book two, you'll be lost in book three.  It also helps if you are computer literate and up on the Internet ins and outs.  For instance, my eighty-something year old mother began reading this series, a lover of mystery thrillers.  She was lost in regard to the extensive computer details of hacking, internet use, transfer of files, uploading, downloading - you name it - it all went over her head and she put the book down unfinished.  These books are addictive and great, but heavy on high tech gadgetry. One little pet peeve I had with them was the blatant product placement name dropping.  I do wonder if Larsson wrote them this way with the constant product placement or was that the publisher's doing?  How many times did I read about the use of Apple ibooks?  It's fine to read about the brand occasionally, but in this entire series it's drummed into the readers heads - Apple, Apple, Apple!  Okay already, I get it!  Everyone in Sweden has an iBook!  Sheesh! 
 
The basic gist of the story is Lizbeth Salander gets her day in court and almost the entire book leads up to the penultimate legal showdown, which I consider a tour de force.  Accused of three murders, she's going to go to trial for them.  Lizbeth is one tough cookie, amazingly resourceful and brilliant she has her own agenda for getting revenge for the sh*t that has happened in her life.  As the book progresses, her lawyer (Blomkvist's sister) is trying to prepare her defense, but it's not easy, for the enigmatic Salander will barely tell her anything, suspicious of everyone who purports to want to help her-she has good reason.  Eventually she writes her life story up surreptitiously with her Palm that is cleverly secreted to her in the hospital.  More murders, plot twists, surprises and bravo moments (particularly in the court room showdown regarding her despicable former psychiatrist) brings the series to a close.  All the murky details of "the section" are exhaustively revealed including the evil machinations and orchestration of the enormous cover up responsible for the abuses dealt to Salander for most of her life.  Whereas the first two books had a great deal of action and thriller tense moments, this book concentrates more on revealing the illegal goings on of the covert government organization.  Even so, there were still many exciting, nail biting moments, particularly involving Erica Berger, who finds herself the target of a disgruntled employee while at her new job as editor in chief of a conservative newspaper and Lizbeth's final showdown with her super-human fearsome brother.
 
I'm being deliberately vague with a lot of the details in the book, for I don't want to spoil it for those of you that haven't read it yet.  Take my word for it, this is a worthwhile series, and I give it 5 stars overall if you are into contemporary high tech thrillers with a strong and highly unusual heroine.  Mikael Blomkvist, her white knight is also good, though I did roll my eyes several times throughout the series at the way every woman who meets this middle aged, slightly paunchy guy wants to jump into bed with him!  Over and over another beautfiul woman propositions him out of the blue and then can't get enough of him! It was kind of laughable but entertaining and gave the books a sort of endearing quality to them.  What is it that Blomkvist's got?  All I can think of is, he must be pretty amazing in bed, although for a writer, Blomkvist isn't much of a  love talker, he's pretty straightforward and not all that romantic.  I couldn't help wondering is this just a Swedish thing or was this Larsson's own wishful fantasy? 
 
Enter the fray and public frenzy if you dare and read these books, I highly recommend them.  Hornet's Nest is a great wrap up, pulling it all together, though I enjoyed the first The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo the most.  I've listened to all three on audio with Simon Vance narrating - his voice is perfect.  I think I'm in love with him now! ;) Salander is a memorable character, I'll miss her and wonder what Larsson had in mind for her future, I guess we'll never know, though my own personal feeling is I'd like to see her settle down one day with "that nice doctor" who removed the bullet from her head.  Who knows?
 
4.5/5
 
5/5 overall Millenium series

P.S. I just saw the movie today and it was great.  The actors were perfect, I loved it, faithful to the book and now I'm eager to see the next one when it opens later this month!

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The Girl Who Played with Fire by Stieg Larsson (audio)

Book Description:
Lisbeth Salander, the troubled, wise-beyond-her-years genius hacker, is a wanted woman. Two Millennium journalists about to expose the truth about the sex trade in Sweden are brutally murdered, and Salander's prints are on the weapon. Her history of unpredictable and vengeful behaviour makes her an official danger to society - but no one can find her anywhere.

Meanwhile, Mikael Blomkvist, editor-in-chief of Millennium, will not believe what he hears on the news. Knowing Salander to be fierce when fearful, he is desperate to get to her before she is cornered and alone. As he fits the pieces of the puzzle together, he comes up against some hardened criminals, including the chainsaw-wielding 'blond giant' - a fearsomely huge thug who can feel no pain.

Digging deeper, Blomkvist also unearths some heart-wrenching facts about Salander's past life. Committed to psychiatric care at age 12, declared legally incompetent at 18, this is a messed-up young woman who is the product of an unjust and corrupt system. Yet Lisbeth is more avenging angel than helpless victim - descending on those that have hurt her with a righteous anger terrifying in its intensity and truly wonderful in its outcome.

Another great book continuing the story of Lizbeth Salander and Mikael Blomkvist. The book had a rambling beginning, we follow Lizbeth as she is living it up in the Caribbean, licking her wounds and avoiding Mikael Blomkvist. She does not want to have anything to do with him, much to his surprise and chagrin, of course she gives him no explanation, she just cuts him out of her life. While in the Caribbean, she faces down a hurricane and prevents a brutal husband from killing his rich socialite wife. Sort of an odd side story that has no bearing on the rest of the plot once Lizbeth returns to Sweden and buys herself a multi-million dollar apartment and virtually assumes a new identity.

Still, she finds it too irresistible not to hack into Blomkvist's computer at Millenium and see what they're up to at the magazine. She comes across the upcoming articles and issue they're working on to expose the sex trade and trafficking industry. This leads to all sorts of problems that ensue - mainly Lizbeth is placed at the scene of the crime of three brutal murders (I nearly clapped about one of them - you'll know why when you read it) and a major hunt is on for Lizbeth. Mikael, who discovers two of the dead bodies, is not convinced of her guilt and takes on another crusade to find her and prove her innocence. In so doing, much of her past is revealed and finally we, the readers, learn more of Lizbeth's childhood, who her parent's were, her twin sister and what "all the evil" is that began when she was twelve years old. The book has a cliffhanger ending which makes the recently released and last book in the trilogy a must read.

This novel was not as disturbing and brutally graphic as it's predecessor, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, but it has it's moments. Whereas the last one dealt with incest and serial murders, this one centers on crime and the sex trade in Europe, involving the murder of young prostitutes and numerous other illegal activities by a syndicate of thugs and gangsters all working for the mysterious and all-knowing Zala. Who is this Zala, and how does Salander's corrupt and detestable guardian, Nils Bjurman know him?

On audio, I was riveted and mesmerized by the excellent narration by Simon Vance, who could read the phone book aloud and I would happily listen. I wholeheartedly recommend this series if you like crime thrillers. Lizbeth is an amazing heroine, so different from most women. Strong yet incredibly vulnerable, here we get a peek into her psyche (but not much). We're scared for her, but also confident she can take care of herself, but by the end, it's pretty dicey, and thankfully her friend, Mikael is on her side, whether she wants him there or not.

Now onto The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest, which will be a bittersweet read. A pity that the author died before his books were published, he was a great talent and it's very sad and tragic that he died so unexpectedly and at such a young age. The world lost a master storyteller.

4/5

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The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson (audio)

Book Description:
Harriet Vanger, member of one of Sweden's wealthiest families, disappeared over forty years ago. All these years later, her aged uncle continues to seek the truth. He hires Mikael Blomkvist, a crusading journalist recently trapped by a libel conviction, to investigate. He is aided by the pierced and tattooed punk prodigy Lisbeth Salander. Together they tap into a vein of unfathomable iniquity and astonishing corruption.

An international publishing sensation, Stieg Larsson's Girl with the Dragon Tattoo combines murder mystery, family saga, love story, and financial intrigue into one satisfyingly complex and entertainingly atmospheric novel.

This was a great book. Listening to it on audio enhanced it, I was swept away with this mystery and looked forward to listening to it every day on my daily commute. Plus, I love Simon Vance's narration - he's one of my favorites! He did all the accents and pronunciations perfectly - he's an amazing narrator! Towards the end, I listened to it as much as possible, whether I was driving, doing needlepoint, emptying the dishwasher, folding laundry, you name it. The story centers on Mikael Blomkvist, a journalist specializing in business reporting who is hired to find out what happened to a missing girl forty years earlier. He has lost a libel suit against a large corrupt Swedish industrialist and is now somewhat disgraced in the industry. We are sympathetic towards Mikael, he was set up. As we get to know his world a little better, I was interested in his life and his part time lover and business partner, Erika Berger. Mikael is honest and upright, but he's not perfect. He has his problems. Now divorced, he sleeps with a married woman openly and even admits himself he's not the best father to his seventeen year old daughter.

Mikael is hired by the legendary Swedish business magnate, Henrik Vanger. Now an octogenarian, retired and reclusive Vanger has been consumed with the disappearance of his beloved niece Harriet, who vanished into thin air one day in 1966. Henrik hires Mikael to solve the mystery of what happened to her, using his skills as an investigative journalist. Mikael has nothing better to do at the moment and is being offered a small fortune to do it, but he must move up to Henrik's family home for a year - where all the other Vanger's live on Hedeby Island. It's quite a family, and Henrik detests most of them, certain one of them was responsible for Harriet's disappearance. As Mikael delves into the files and police records and thousands of photographs of the day Harriet disappeared the same day as a parade and a huge oil tanker accident on the bridge to Hedeby Island, he unearths some startling and macabre truths of this reclusive family. It nearly kills him.

The plot thickens with plenty of twists and turns. On the other side of the coin is the story of Lisbeth Salander. Lisbeth works for a top notch exclusive private investigative company. She is hired by Vanger's lawyer to do a background check on Mikael before Vanger hired him. She is an odd girl. She's had a hard life, but she is a survivor and a genius on computers, one of the greatest hackers in Sweden. But, she has loads of social issues, I suspect she has Asperger's Syndrome. Her story is fascinating and riveting, I loved her character. Always dressed and styled in the "goth" way, her plight with the system makes you truly sympathetic towards her.

Before long, she and Mikael join up to solve the case of Harriet. Together they unravel the truth, but it's quite a journey to get there.

There is so much to this book that I haven't gone into for I don't want to post any spoilers, but it's a great story and I'm eager to get to the next two books in the trilogy. Alas, I had no idea that the author died, I don't even know the circumstances of whether all the books were published posthumously, but they are great, and I loved the locale and got a real flavor for Sweden - I want to go there now! I don't usually read mysteries or thrillers, but this is a combination of both and I simply loved it. Lisbeth is so interesting and amazing, though introverted and vulnerable, she and Mikael complement each other wonderfully. He's so normal - and she's so not! I love it how she starts out as a victim and learns to defend herself, you'll know what I mean when you read it.

Read the book if this is your genre - it's one of my favorites of the year! It has some really creepy moments not for the faint of heart, but in my opinion, it only made the book that much better and kept me on the edge of my seat. Once I finish the entire series, I'll see the movie, I hear it's very good and faithful to the book, but I'm avoiding it for now, for I like to keep the characters in my head as I've imagined them.

4.5/5

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