Friday Fiction: Stieg Larsson: A Mystery Wrapped in an Enigma Followed by a Conundrum Becomes a Publishing Phenomenon

--by Hanje Richards

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If you haven’t yet heard about the greatest publishing sensation since Harry Potter, you will soon. Collectively, the series is being called The Millennium Series. Stieg Larsson, journalist and novelist, died six years ago of a sudden heart attack at age 50. By March 2010, his Millennium trilogy (the first three of a planned ten-part series) had sold 27 million copies in more than 40 countries.
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Lisbeth Slander is “The Girl” in all the titles. Larsson explained that she is actually fashioned on a grown-up Pippi Longstocking as he chose to sketch her.
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Michiko Kakutani of The New York Times wrote: “Stieg Larsson’s fierce pixie of a heroine is one of the most original characters in a thriller to come along in a while – a gamin, Audrey Hepburn look-alike but with tattoos and piercings, the take-no-prisoners attitude of Lara Croft and the cool, unsentimental intellect of Mr. Spock . . .”
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My words of wisdom after having read two of the three books in the series are:
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--Read the books
--Read the books in order
--Put the books on hold at the Circulation Desk (or do it yourself on the online catalog - you just need your library card number and your PIN). You will then be notified when the books are ready for you to pick up at the library.
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The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (published June 23, 2009) – An international publishing sensation, Stieg Larsson's first Millennium book combines murder mystery, family saga, love story, and financial intrigue into one satisfyingly complex and entertainingly atmospheric novel..

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Harriet Vanger, a scion of one of Sweden's wealthiest families, disappeared over 40 years ago and was never found -- alive or dead. All these years later, her aged uncle continues to seek the truth. He hires Mikael Blomkvist, a crusading journalist recently trapped by a libel conviction, to investigate. He is aided by the pierced and tattooed punk prodigy Lisbeth Salander. Together they tap into a vein of unfathomable iniquity and astonishing corruption.
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The Girl Who Played With Fire (published March 25, 2010) – Part blistering espionage thriller, part riveting police procedural, and part piercing exposé on social injustice, the second title in Larsson's Millennium series is a masterful, endlessly satisfying novel.

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Mikael Blomkvist, crusading publisher of the magazine Millennium, has decided to run a story that will expose an extensive sex trafficking operation. On the eve of its publication, the two reporters responsible for the article are murdered, and the fingerprints found on the murder weapon belong to his friend, the troubled genius hacker Lisbeth Salander. Blomkvist, convinced of Salander’s innocence, plunges into an investigation. Meanwhile, Salander herself is drawn into a murderous game of cat and mouse, which forces her to face her dark past.
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The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest (published May 25, 2010) – Lisbeth Salander – the heart of Larsson’s two previous novels – lies in critical condition, a bullet wound to her head, in the intensive care unit of a Swedish city hospital. She’s fighting for her life in more ways than one: if and when she recovers, she’ll be taken back to Stockholm to stand trial for three murders.

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With the help of her friend, journalist Mikael Blomkvist, she will not only have to prove her innocence, but also identify and denounce those in authority who have allowed the vulnerable, like herself, to suffer abuse and violence. And, on her own, she will plot revenge – against the man who tried to kill her, and the corrupt government institutions that very nearly destroyed her life. Once upon a time, she was a victim. Now Salander is fighting back.
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Enjoy. Enjoy. Enjoy.