Short description
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.
Long description
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. A violent and bloody thriller; a sinister family saga; a mystery of massive financial fraud; an ambiguous and haunting love story - this is a genuinely complex and unique contribution to crime fiction.
Review
Stieg Larsson is the best Swedish crime writer of the decade - Kristianstadbladet a violently entertaining trilogy...may it never end - Arbetarbladet A huge, 500-plus-page opus, a multilayered, multi-character tale by a writer of some considerable power. Full of social conscience and compassion, with great insight into the nature of moral corruption, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo just knocked me out. During the time I had my nose stuck in its pages, I was thoroughly consumed by the work, and in those periods when I had to put the book down, I found myself grumpy and anxious to return to Larsson's narrative when I finally put the book down, I was still unable to sleep, my head filled with the high-definition world that this author has crafted already I'm thinking this could be remembered as the best crime novel of 2008 This book shows how exhilarating crime fiction can be. Ali Karim, The Rap Sheet website. http://therapsheet.blogspot.com/2007/12/case-of-grand-larsson.html a publishing sensation, an accomplished crime writer who seemingly came from nowhere a memorable debut and deserves most of the hype with which it is being published in this country Crime fiction has seldom needed to salute and mourn such a stellar talent as Larsson's in the same breath - Sunday Times The ballyhoo is fully justified...At over 500 pages this hardly sagged...The novel scores on every front - character, story, atmosphere - The Times What a cracking novel! I haven't read such a stunning thriller debut for years. The way Larsson interweaves his two stories had me in thrall from beginning to end. Brilliantly written and totally gripping - Minette Walters