Forty years ago, Harriet Vanger disappeared off the secluded island owned and inhabited by the powerful Vanger family. There was no corpse, no witnesses, no evidence. But her uncle, Henrik, is convinced that she was murdered by someone in her own family - the deeply dysfunctional Vanger clan. Disgraced journalist Mikael Blomqvist is hired to investigate, but when he links Harriet's disappearance to a string of gruesome murders from forty years ago, he needs a competent assistant - and he gets one: computer hacker Lisbeth Salander - a tattoed, truculent, angry girl who rides a motorbike like a Hell's Angel and handles makeshift weapons with the skill born of remorseless rage. This unlikely pair form a fragile bond as they delve into the sinister past of this island-bound, tightly-knit family. But the Vangers are a secretive lot, and Mikael and Lisbeth are about to find out just how far they're prepared to go to protect themselves - and each other.
I wanted to read this book to see what all the hype was all about – and no, just because I read this book for that reason doesn’t mean I will read Twilight. I was pleasantly surprised with The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo; it feels like a modern twist on the classic trapped-on-a-island murder mystery format. Basically the story is about an investigative journalist and a researcher employed by a millionaire to try and solve a mystery in his family that has been plaguing him for many, many years; the disappearance of his niece, on a day when only about 40 people were on the island.
The characters are flawed and feel so real because of those flaws, well except for the fact that Lisbeth only weighs 40 kilograms. I couldn’t help enjoying these characters and the way they interacted with each other. I’m glad I chose to read this book. Its nice to have a good murder mystery style book and even better to have a modern take on a classic format. I will read the rest of the books in this series at some point in time and hope they are just as enjoyable.
Word of warning; there is a bit of graphic violence and sexual abuse towards Lisbeth.
Reading updates
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Started reading
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18 July, 2010:
Finished reading
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18 July, 2010:
Reviewed