This book is a first in a series of three written by the now deceased Larsson. I did some research into books that are currently "hot" and this was the first book on almost all of the lists. Although, for the first 9-10 chapters, I wasn't exactly sure why. I can't even begin to tell you about the start of the book. And, according to the librarian at the Twinsburg Library, neither can most other people (thank goodness it wasn't just me!). It introduced the characters, kinda, and then it just put me to sleep every time I picked it up. I had gotten to chapter 10 when I thought to myself, if after this chapter, it doesn't pick up, then I am sooooo done with this book. And that's when the story changed.
The girl with the dragon tattoo, Lisbeth Salander, is about 4'11" and 90lbs. She has short black hair and is the complete opposite of just about every one else in the world. She was declared incompetent at the age of twelve and has been living under guardianship ever since. (You need to look up what guardianship in Sweden is cause it's just too long to explain.) Her guardian of more than 18 years has a stroke forcing her to be "reassigned" to someone else. Enter Nils Bjurman. Bjurman is the type of man that needs to abuse his power at all costs. What he didn't know, was that spritely looking Lisbeth can hold her own...EXTREMELY well.
Mikael Blomkvist is a co-owner, editor and journalist at Millenium magazine. While on holiday, he ran into a friend that he had not seen in better than 10 years. His friend proceeds to tell him about a tip on a billionaire that did make his billions on an earnest level. Micke, as he is called by his co-workers, decides to publish the story and ends up the victim of a lawsuit for libel. He is sentenced to 3 months in prison.
Henrick Vanger is a bored and tortured billionaire. His niece went missing some 30 years earlier and it has been haunting Henrick ever since. While watching the events of the day unfold before him, Vanger thinks that the young journalist on TV could use a change of venue. Perhaps a new assignment as well. Journalists make excellent private investigators. With a phone call, a road trip and an offer to give him all the dirt in the world about his old friend from the article, Mikael Blomkvist really can't refuse the offer.
Harriet Vanger was a teenager when she went missing from the family island all those years ago. The accident had caused for the town to shut down and really the only people around were family. Was she dead? Was she hiding? Did she wander off the island or drown? No one knew for sure, but Henrick Vanger, 82 years old, refused to die until he found out. Kalle Blomkvist (a nickname he didn't much care for) spent one year working on the Vanger family chronicle. He didn't dare tell anyone that the underlying reason was to find a killer. During that year, he forged new friendships, made a couple new "acquaintances", almost died twice and found out the truth about Harriet Vanger. Along the way, he meets up with Lisbeth Salander, and her dragon tattoo, and finds out that she may just be the best researcher on the planet. But how could this researcher, this girl of 90lbs and no height, be the one to save his life? And why won't she trust him, or anyone for that matter.
To tell you anymore of the book from the point of what I remember and what was interesting, would really just give no cause for you to have to read it! If you think you can make it past the first ten chapters, I highly suggest reading this book. Once it gets rolling, you won't be able to put it down. If you don't think you can read the first half, skip to chapter 9 and start from there, or else get the book on tape and listen to the first half. But you really do need to read the second half of the book. I give this book a 3.5 out of 5 stars, only because of the beginning. I have read the second in the series, The Girl Who Plays with Fire and I can tell you that that book I finished in 4 days, cause I just couldn't put it down. You'll see why in the blog that follows this one.
