16th August 2025

Eight years ago I read the previous book in this series, and chose to abandon it. But at some point I'd picked up the third book cheap, and it has sat slightly tauntingly on my shelf ever since. This week it decided it had waited long enough and somehow emphasised itself to me as I was looking for something to read.

It was not worth it.

This is two stories wedged together. In one, we have the journalists investigating a murder. In the other, we have the two sisters out for revenge on each other. The overlap is merely the characters, not the story. And neither story is particularly compelling. There's no sense of real drama, the thriller aspects are weak and over really quickly, the peril is boring.

The only reason I think I kept reading was the mystery aspect - trying to understand what was behind the murder at the start of the book. But I still don't think I really understand at the end. Either the conclusion was so convoluted that I lost track, or it's so simple and boring that I'm just left thinking 'Was that it?'

I should not have bothered.

read more

23rd September 2017

This second alternative author sequel to the Millennium trilogy follows one which I begrudgingly read and then was surprised to enjoy. On that basis, I was happy to buy this. But it doesn't live up to the reputation of the series and has put me off wanting to continue.

The plot, while on the surface similar to previous stories, didn't have any of the depth or complexity, and Salander in particular feels like she’s just floating along rather than being an active participant in her own fate. Ultimately the plot is just a weak rehash of earlier novels with some new fighting. The author introduces some new character but ultimately their presence just detracts from what made me want to come back.

Most importantly, I don’t think this book gets what the point is meant to be. The theme of violence against women is continued, but not in a way that makes the women feel real, but instead almost turns on its head and portrays them as victims throughout the story, instead of being actual protagonists in their own right. Instead it feels like the male characters become much more the focus.

I'm afraid that overall this book comes across as what I'd feared the previous one would be - an attempt by Larsson's heirs to milk the cash cow rather than to extend his legacy.

read more

22nd September 2015

I reluctantly purchased this book, feeling slightly dirty having read that Larsson didn't want anyone meddling with his characters and thinking that this was just a cash-grabbing attempt by the new copyright holders.

That said, I was left feeling ambivalent when I discovered I actually enjoyed reading it. The plot is solid, and reintroduces what are clearly the same characters and the same messages that the originals contained, following up on a number of hanging plot threads and moving things forward in new directions.

The writing style doesn't exactly match the originals. This is shorter and feels like it has a faster pace, there's slightly less introspection and less of what I previously termed 'product placement' (though there's still a little - as if it's a nod to Larsson's tendency to name drop brands). I would have liked something a little chunkier to get my teeth into, but despite that can't really find much to criticise.

So an enjoyable return to 'the Girl's' universe overall, and one that I hope to repeat in the future to find out what's going to happen next.

read more