The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest - Larsson

THE GIRL WHO KICKED THE HORNET'S NEST

(Book Three of Millenium Trilogy)

ISBN (HB) - 978 1 906694 16 6

FIRST PUBLISHED (English) - 2009

AUTHOR - Stieg Larsson

BEST-SELLERS - The Millenium Trilogy


SYNOPSIS - The Trial : 

Lisbeth Salander, outsider and apparent enemy of society, is charged with attempted murder. In addition, the state has determined that she is mentally unstable and should be locked away in an institution once again.

The Enemy :

Pulling the strings behind the state's prosecution is the inner circle of the Swedish security police. Only with Blomkvist's help can Salander avoid the fate they have decided for her and expose the secrets they are protecting.

The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest :

Lisbeth Salander has been abused by a system supposedly designed to protect. Andd yet she is one person whose intransigence and limitless bloody-mindedness can provoke the disruption of the Swedish secret state.

EXCERPT - The girl on the gurney could live with a piece of lead in her hip and a piece of lead in her shoulder. But a piece of lead inside her brain was a trauma of a wholly different magnitude. He was suddenly aware of Nurse Nicander saying something.

"Sorry, I wasn't listening."

"It's her."

"What do you mean?"

"Its Lisbeth Salander. The girl they've been hunting for the past few weeks, for the triple murder in Stockholm."

FL Speak - Brilliant. There is said it. The story of Lisbeth Salander finally comes to an end with this book. This book is even better than the last two. And that is a feat. 

By the end of volume two, we find Lisbeth finally cornering Zalachenko only to realise he's her father. Before she could bring him to justice, Zalachenko almost manages to kill her. Lisbeth is fatally wounded in the process but manages to would her father too.

Some of the Swedish police are after her life to protect Cold War secrets with Zalachenko. The manage to kill him in the hospital but Lisbeth survives, thanks to Blomkvist's sister who comes to help her as her lawyer.

The past finally comes out in full force in this volume. Lisbeth finally opens up to society even as they try to declare her mentally unstable. This is a courageos fight to maintain her integrity, her freedom as Blomkvist and his editor's rush to find the real killers. This is the final volume as you all know. And you can be sure that it is better than before. This is the final piece of the puzzle of Salander's past as a troubled child. No matter how vehemently the odds are stacked against her, somehow she never quits. This is the story of the awkward, shy, difficult yet exceptionally brilliant women whom the society has decided to forsake for the better of the society even without knowing her or given a chance to be represented. This is Lisbeth fighting way in the only way she knows best. This is her glory.

The end is as exciting as fast paced as it can ever be. She is the girl who lived.

My Rating - 5 out of 5. Exceptional writing. A must have for your collection and a must-read.

Special thanks to Reg Keeland for translating the stories from Swedish to English. If not for him, we would not have had a gem of a series with us. Thank you.

PRICE - INR 650/- by MacLehose Press (Hardback - 2009)

The Girl Who Played With Fire - Larsson

THE GIRL WHO PLAYED WITH FIRE

(Book Two of Millenium Trilogy)

ISBN (HB) - 9781847245564

Read about Book One --->here<----

AUTHOR - STIEG LARSSON

BEST-SELLERS - The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (Book one of Millenium Trilogy)

SYNOPSIS - The Millenium publisher has launched the most explosive and far-reaching expose of the multi-billion kronor sex-trafficking industry in Sweden, and its international links.

Double killing in Stockholm apartment. Two found dead. Suspected murder weapon recovered close to scene. Police are baffled by apparently proferssional killing in residential neighbourhood.

Lisbeth Salander sought by every police force in Sweden. The chief suspect in three killings, former security analyst Salander, eludes nationwide search. Inspector Bublianski leads the Stockholm team.

EXCERPT - She was listening to the sound of footsteps, which would mean he was coming. She had no idea how late at night it was, but she sensed that it was getting too late for him to visit her. A sudden vibration in the bed made her open her eyes. It was as if a machine of some sort had started up somewhere in the building. After a few seconds, she was no longer sure whether she was imagining it.

She marked off another day in her head.

It was the fourty-third day of her imprisonment.

FL Speaks - Lisbeth is back. If you still haven't read the first book, go read it now. I mean like now. Larsson has created an impossible character out of Lisbeth. Lisbeth Salander is a socially awkward girl who keeps to herself. She has a history of one of the most troubled and painful childhood. She is someone who has a photographic memory, is an expert hacker with a definite ethical code yet separates herself from her own emotions. And in this book, she is chased by police and killers alike for murders she didn't commit.

The book reveals more of her past, the details of her childhood, the abuses she had to go through. It also shows no matter how hard life comes at her, she is not the one to back down. The beginning of the book shows that she's a lot richer and enjoys her time in the Caribbean while searching for info for her cases. As she returns to Stockholm, three murders occur in one night, the only link between them is Salander and the chase begins.

Only Blomkvist is her ally but Lisbeth is determined to stay away from his life. Blomkvist decides to look for other motives and links for the murders with the belief that Lisbeth is truly innocent. As Blomkvist and the his publication house race against time to prove her innocence, Salander is determined to go after the real killers with or without any backup.

And in that chase, she comes face to face with her past.

Epic sequel to the mega best-seller, Larsson just threw it out of the park. Thriller, people, has just raised its bar, once more. It just keeps getting better.

My rating - 4.8 out of 5. 

PRICE - INR 495/- by MacLehose Press (Hardback - 2009)

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo - Larsson

THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO (Book 1)

Author - Stieg Larsson

Best-Sellers - The Millennium Trilogy

SYNOPSIS - "I want you to find out who in the family murdered Harriet, and who since then has spent almost forty years trying to drive me insane."

THE INDUSTRIALIST

Henrik Vanger, head of the dynastic Vanger Corporation, is tormented by the loss of a child decades earlier and is convinced that a member of his family has committed murder.

THE JOURNALIST

Mikael Blomkvist delves into the Vangers' past to uncover the truth behind the unsolved mystery. But someone else wants the past to remain a secret and will go to any lengths to keep it that way.

THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO

Lisbeth Salander, the enigmatic, delinquent and dangerous security specialist, assists his investigation. A genius computer hacker, she tolerates no restrictions placed upon her by individuals, society or the law.

EXCERPT - It was the tiny details that he could easily have missed if he had not been alert: some papers not as evenly stacked as he remembered; a binder not quite flush on the shelf; his desk drawer closed all the way - he was positive that it was a centimetre open when he left.

Someone had been inside his office.

He had locked the door, but it was an ordinary old lock that almost anyone could pick with a screwdriver, and who knew how many keys were in circulation. He systematically searched his office, looking for what might be missing. After a while he decided that everything was still there.

FL Speak - Forty years ago, Harriet Vanger vanished. Its time to find out why - whatever the cost.

Thus begins the breathtaking first book of the Millenium Trilogy. A rip-roaring thriller and characters equally amazing. The girl, Lisbeth Salandar is someone to be awed upon. She has an amazing background and even though Mikael Blomkvist is the hero of the story, its the heroine, Salander that garners the most attention and around whom the story is arched. Thriller has a raised its bar....with Lisbeth Salander.

The book is an epic roller coaster of steadily accelerating narrative and sublime plotlines. A stellar story, a punk heroine and a splendid location. This book has all that it needs. The good part is, there are two more books after this one.

My rating : 4.7 outta 5. yes, its that good.

PRICE - INR 350 for paperback by Maclehouse Press.