BOOK REVIEW: The Girl Who Played With Fire

Any author who has three of his books on best seller lists at the same time has to be researched. It is not that I trust such lists, but three at once should mean something. Therefore, when Stieg Larsson’s THE GIRL WHO PLAYED WITH FIRE, the second of the trilogy, fell into my hands at a used book store, I figured, “Why not?”

Lisbeth Salander is a very troubled young woman who has a genius talent for hacking into any computer system and has helped crusading journalist Mikael Blomkvist in the past. In fact, she had saved his life once. Now, Blomkvist is investigating a sex trafficking operation.

Three murders happen in one evening and Salander has been found to have a link with all three of them. Two of the victims were investigating the sex operation. She had been to visit them earlier and her fingerprints were found in the apartment and on the murder weapon. The third victim was her legal guardian and her reasons for killing him were valid.

The fact that Salander has a history of violence and been in a psychotic ward at thirteen causes the police and the media to put on a national search for her in the name of public safety. In true cat and mouse style, Salander is pursued by the police, the media, a motorcycle gang, various other thugs, and Blomkvist, who believes her to be innocent.

Once the book got to the actual plot, it moved fairly fast. I could not help but care what happened to Lisbeth Salander. The problem was that it took almost two hundred pages to get to the action. Don’t get me wrong, I want enough details in a story to establish character, locale, etc. but either Larsson was paid by the word or he had an agreement with some big name brands to mention them in the book. At one point Salander is getting ready to move into a new apartment. She goes to IKEA and several pages are spent telling the reader what she bought, including the brand names.

Throughout the book the author bogged me down with too many details about too many characters. At times it interrupted the flow of what could have been a good thriller.

It is also obvious that he did not have good feelings for government. Salander’s treatment by the “system” is the worst of nightmares for any young girl.

The book could have been half as many pages and been a good read. I am sorry that we will not get a chance to see Larsson develop as an author but, I think that I will skip the other two books in this series.