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Ever since Knopf editor Sonny Mehta
bought the U.S. rights last November, the prepublication buzz on this
dark, moody crime thriller by a Swedish journalist has grown steadily. A
best seller in Europe (it outsold the Bible in Denmark), this first
entry in the "Millennium" trilogy finally lands in America. Is the hype
justified? Yes. Despite a sometimes plodding translation and a few
implausible details, this complex, multilayered tale, which combines an
intricate financial thriller with an Agatha Christie-like locked-room
mystery set on an island, grabs the reader from the first page.
Convicted of libeling a prominent businessman and awaiting imprisonment,
financial journalist Mikael Blomkvist agrees to industrialist Henrik
Vanger's request to investigate the 40-year-old disappearance of
Vanger's 16-year-old niece, Harriet. In return, Vanger will help
Blomkvist dig up dirt on the corrupt businessman. Assisting in
Blomkvist's investigation is 24-year-old Lisbeth Salander, a brilliant
but enigmatic computer hacker. Punkish, tattooed, sullen, antisocial,
and emotionally damaged, she is a compelling character, much like Carol
O'Connell's Kathy Mallory, and this reviewer looks forward to learning
more of her backstory in the next two books (The Girl Who Played with
Fire and Castles in the Sky). Sweden may be the land of blondes, Ikea,
and the Midnight Sun, but Larsson, who died in 2004, brilliantly exposes
its dark heart: sexual violence against women, a Nazi past, and
corporate corruption. Highly recommended. [See Prepub Alert, LJ
5/1/03.]--Wilda Williams, Library Journal Copyright 2008 Reed Business
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