The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, by Stieg Larsson

• Format: Paperback 542 pages
• Published: 24 July 2008
• Publisher: Quercus Publishing PLC

Back cover blurb:

Forty years ago, Harriet Vanger disappeared from a family gathering on the island owned and inhabited by the powerful Vanger clan. Her body was never found, yet her uncle is convinced it was murder – and that the killer is a member of his own tightly knit but dysfunctional family. He employs disgraced financial journalist Mikael Blomkvist and the tattooed, truculent computer hacker Lisbeth Salander to investigate. When the pair link Harriet’s disappearance to a number of grotesque murders from forty years ago, they begin to unravel a dark and appalling family history. But the Vangers are a secretive clan, and Blomkvist and Salander are about to find out just how far they are prepared to go to protect themselves.

My review:

I put this book down so many times. I really wanted to like it more, but I have to agree with reviewers who have said it is in need of a good editing. The first third is extremely hard-going, full of descriptions of financial dealings which are largely irrelevant to the main plot. You have to be persistent to get to the interesting part – the middle 40 percent or so – involving the mystery disappearance of Harriet Venger and the intrigue surrounding her family. This is gripping, with a twist you could not see coming. However, that storyline is all wrapped up with 20 percent of the book still to go. The end, then, is a little anticlimactic, returning again to the financial matters.

I’ve seen the movie (Swedish with subtitles) and loved it, so I might recommend people see the film rather than read the book (blasphemy, I know).

My rating: 3/5