The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets' Nest
ISBN: 9781849162746
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.
Reviewed on 14th April 2010
The final book in the 'Millennium' trilogy has to be my favourite. Following on directly from book two, Salander is hospitalized and charged with attempted murder. Meanwhile Blomqvist turns his attention to the dark forces that have interfered throughout her life.
The book is slow to get going, like it's predecessors, but once page 170 hits it becomes a thrilling roller-coaster of surprising revelations in a plot so complicated that it is utterly believable. There are a couple of character building sub-plots that seem to have little relevance though and feel a little like padding. I'd like to think they were part of Larsson's set up for the rest of the series that he had planned. Fortunately these plans for an ongoing story don't interfere with this one and it rounds the trilogy off nicely. I do wonder if the last few chapters are added on specifically for rounding-it-off purposes though.
One of my issues with the writing style of the previous novels was the over indulgence in 'product placement' and I was quite glad to see that this had been toned down a lot.
This is an excellent take on a mystery, conspiracy, legal, character based thriller and I only wish that there was more to come. I can honestly say I don't understand why people want to slate these novels. They are an excellent example of modern day storytelling.
