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The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Steig Larsson

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson, 465 pages.

Having so thoroughly enjoyed Child 44, I thought another international thriller would make for a great beach read. Wow. This one was intense. And not just international in setting (Sweden) but translated from the original Swedish. Translated books makes for another discussion altogether, don't you think?

Journalist Mikael Blomkvist has just come out on the losing end of a court case that destroys his professional reputation. So when Henrik Vanger contacts him with a proposition to uncover the truth behind his niece Harriet's disappearance  - a 40 year old mystery - he has nothing to lose.  Mikael is given free reign, living amongst the Vangers and uncovering their secrets. Meanwhile, street smart and uncoventional hacker Lisbeth Salander, having already investigated Blomkvist, joins him in his quest to find out what happened to Harriet. Lisbeth is unlike almost every heroine I've ever read about - she appears to have no emotions, yet is endearing with a combination of wisdom and a childlike quality . I can't remember where I heard or read that Lisbeth has characteristics of someone with Asperger's Syndrome, but it seems like an apt description.

There were only two things that continue to bother me:

1. An intensely horrific rape scene, that you can see coming and I wish I'd skipped it. (pages 198,199, 201,202) ick. You aren't missing any necessary plot here...

2. And for all Mikael's professional integrity, his promiscuousness was a major character flaw in my eyes. ick again.

The end of the book leads to a questions of sequels...author Steig Larsson passed away shortly after delivering his book to the publisher. The good news for readers, is he also delivered the next two books in the series, the second is scheduled for US publication in 2009. Please don't let me scare you off, it's a worthwhile read. (It is a bit slow in the first 60 pages or so.)

Anyone have experience with Scandanavian literature and would like to comment? Feel free.

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Here is an interview with Sonny Mehta of Knopf.

Other reviews:

Beattie's Book Blog

1 More Chapter

Jen's Bookshelf

The Book Lady's Blog

My rating: 4- stars (I'm wavering b/w 3.5 and 4)

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What Was Lost by Catherine O'Flynn

What Was Lost by Catherine O'Flynn, 241 pages

An apt title for a book where each character is either literally and figuratively lost. And I got lost somewhere in the middle for a bit, more on that later.  You get to know ten year old junior detective Kate Meaney, staking out her neighbors and various mallrats at the local shopping center.  Her only friend, Adrian, a local shopkeeper's son, becomes the main suspect when she disappears.

Fast forward, twenty years to the same mall...Adrian's sister wanders through life working in a music store and meets up with the also lonely security guard Kurt. Together they begin to unravel what happened to Kate all those years before.

Loved the beginning; the middle was a bit murky, although she captures the culture of mallworkers and shoppers with sharp wit; and the end came a little quickly but satisfied.

I recommend it as a quick read, somewhere in the middle of your list.

3.25 stars

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In the Woods by Tana French

In the Woods by Tana French, 464 pages.

Already much acclaimed thriller, which is as much about the detectives as the case. A young girl is found murdered in the same woods where two children disappeared 20 years before. There were three children in the woods that day, and one of them is Detective Rob Ryan who is now assigned this case with his partner, Cassie Maddox.

In essence, there are two mysteries that need solving, and each painstaking detail is laid out for the reader. I didn't get much in the way of suspense here, it's more psychological mind game stuff, not heart-pounding. After all those pages, I didn't find the ending too satisfying. And as I said, I think the editing could have been tighter.  But there was something about this I liked, the author has a unique voice and style that captured me. And I want to see what's next - the answer can be found in the review of The Likeness.

3.5 stars

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The Likeness by Tana French

The Likeness by Tana French, 480 pages.

This book picks up six months after In the Woods ends, and Detective Cassie Maddox is still recovering from the intensity of that investigation having transferred out of the Murder Squad. But when one of her old undercover identities ends up stolen and the girl murdered, she is compelled to become Lexie Madison again.

A much different story than the previous psychological thriller, The Likeness still suffers from too much detail and long, unnecessary passages. But the characters are more developed here, and the story is stronger.  I found I was holding my breath on a few occasions while Cassie, as Lexie, continues to play a dangerous game - becoming housemates with the suspects while trying to figure out if they are involved and why.You may be a more patient reader than I, so the extra length may not bother you. I still say it's worth a read - there are some interesting twists and turns and overall I was very satisfied. It is rare that I like a second book better than the first. I can only think that the next one will improve upon what is a very creative addition to this genre.

4 stars

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Absolution by Caro Ramsey

Absolution by Caro Ramsey

I think if I hadn't figured this one out so darn early I would have liked it more. It just seemed to me that as intuitive as most detectives are and as sharp as this team was supposed to be, they would have figured it out sooner too.  But the plot was fairly complex and dark, with more character depth than you normally find in this genre. If you are a mystery/thriller/ suspense reader, I recommend it. It's good, not great.

3 stars

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