Review: The Girl Who Played With Fire (S. Larsson)
Oh boy. I am a very happy puddle of joy right now. I'm pretty sure it is painful obvious right now that I love murder mysteries just a little bit. I mean, I watch and listen murder mysteries for fun. I'm listening to one right now, as I write this. Joe Kenda: Homicide Hunter, season 4 episode 9. I love reading about murder mysteries. I loved The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, since I loved Lisbeth and her attitude and her story, but I can say without a doubt that I loved this book even more. And it's rare that I ever like a sequel better than the original book.
When a couple approaches Mikael Blomkvist about writing a book and an article about sex trafficking, he can't pass up on the opportunity. However, the couple suddenly turn up murdered in their apartment, and Lisbeth Salander's prints are found on the gun, a huge manhunt ensues. Can Blomkvist clear Salander's name before she is put away for good? Or did she actually commit the murders?
With The Girl Who Played with Fire, Larsson turns the series from an adult fiction series into a mystery/thriller series, and I LOVE it. I blew through this book, because I was insanely invested in the outcome of the case. I alternated between being absolutely convinced that Salander did it, as well as absolutely convinced that she hadn't. The book just takes you on a wild ride, twisting and turning the whole way through.
I love Lisbeth Salander. I love her attitude, her talents, everything. She isn't the perfect heroine. In fact, she is probably as far from it as you can get. She's violent, she takes justice into her own hands, and she has her own definition of right and wrong. But, in a way, that makes her that much more interesting, because she isn't the picture-perfect heroine who has all the bad things happen to her. Lots of horrible stuff happens to her, she's not perfect, and she deals with it as best she can. She's independent, she's strong, and she's interesting!
I just really loved the storyline. Really, really loved it. There were tons of twists and turns, there was a ton of suspense, and I was 100% shocked by the twists at the end. I would have never seen them coming in a thousand years. I didn't see them coming at all, 100% blindsided. I was never bored, and I was turning the pages as fast as I possibly could.
I loved it.
Obviously.
5/5 Stars