About Me

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Melfort, Saskatchewan, Canada
I am a lawyer in Melfort, Saskatchewan, Canada who enjoys reading, especially mysteries. Since 2000 I have been writing personal book reviews. This blog includes my reviews, information on and interviews with authors and descriptions of mystery bookstores I have visited. I strive to review all Saskatchewan mysteries. Other Canadian mysteries are listed under the Rest of Canada. As a lawyer I am always interested in legal mysteries. I have a separate page for legal mysteries. Occasionally my reviews of legal mysteries comment on the legal reality of the mystery. You can follow the progression of my favourite authors with up to 15 reviews. Each year I select my favourites in "Bill's Best of ----". As well as current reviews I am posting reviews from 2000 to 2011. Below my most recent couple of posts are the posts of Saskatchewan mysteries I have reviewed alphabetically by author. If you only want a sentence or two description of the book and my recommendation when deciding whether to read the book look at the bold portion of the review. If you would like to email me the link to my email is on the profile page.

Tuesday, November 3, 2015

Two Weeks with Lisbeth Salander and Mikael Blomkvist

A few days ago I started reading The Girl in the Spider’s Web by David Lagercrantz which continues Stieg Larsson’s series of thrillers featuring Lisbeth Salander and Mikael Blomkvist. I read the original trilogy in 2009 and 2010 but have not posted those reviews written before I started this blog. I have decided to post those reviews in succession starting tonight with The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. In addition I will have another couple of posts connected with the books or their author, Stieg Larsson. I will conclude the two weeks with a review of The Girl in the Spider’s Web.

I believe I first heard of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo from The Merchant of Menance, the newsletter published by the Sleuth of Baker Street bookstore in Toronto. I was swept away when I started reading the book.

I am finding it interesting to go back 6 years to see my reactions at that time. I invite readers to comment on their reactions to the series as I spend a couple of weeks in thriller Sweden with one of the great duos in crime fiction.

****
12. - 475.) The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson – A remarkable debut crime thriller. The characters are amazing. Mikael Blomkvist is an investigative journalist bound for jail for aggravated libel of Wennerstrom. Lisbeth Salander is a brilliant 25 year old investigator still deemed incompetent because of her resolute refusal to conform to society’s norms and absolute unwillingness to explain herself to experts. Henrik Vanger, an elderly Swedish industrialist, uses Salander to investigate Blomkvist and then hires him to determine what happened to his niece, Harriet, 37 years ago when she disappeared from their island home in northern Sweden. For over 30 years he has received a rare pressed flower on his birthday. With no better prospects and wanting to get away for awhile Blomkvist undertakes the study. He dreams of how he will get back at Wennerstrom who set him up for the libel conviction. At the same time Salander is dealing with personal challenges. The story accelerates to a page turner when they start working together. In addition to the complex plot each has a complicated personal life. Relationships are unusual. Blomkvist has a loving relationship with Erika Berger though she is married and her husband is aware of the relationship. Salander is a personality that defies easy description. The plot twists and explodes with excitement. I was reminded of some of the financial thrillers of Michael Thomas. I understand it was the first of a triology. I can hardly wait for the translation of the second. I read with regret that the author died just after delivering the books to be published. What a great pair of mysteries from Sweden this year. Hardcover. (Mar. 16/09) (With The Girl Who Played with Fire Best fiction of 2009)
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6 comments:

  1. AnonymousNovember 4, 2015 at 6:20 AM

    I like your idea, Billl, of going back over your reviews of the Millennium trilogy before discussing The Girl in the Spider's Web. I think one of the things I like best about this first entry is that Larsson handled several plot threads very effectively. The financial thread, the family history thread, etc., are all followed through, and that's not easy to do.

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    1. Bill SelnesNovember 4, 2015 at 9:58 PM

      Margot: Thanks for the comment. It was a complex plot that Larsson managed beautifully.

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  2. Prashant C. TrikannadNovember 4, 2015 at 6:28 AM

    Bill, I have not yet read Larsson's famed trilogy but my daughter did, in just a few sittings, and she absolutely liked it, as did some of my reading acquaintances. The size of the three novels threw me off but I do plan to read the first book. I look forward to reading your reviews of the rest of the series.

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    1. Bill SelnesNovember 4, 2015 at 9:59 PM

      Prashant: Thanks for the comment. Have some time set aside for reading when you start them. I expect you will want to read and read.

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  3. TracyKNovember 4, 2015 at 12:57 PM

    I am glad you are publishing these old reviews, Bill. I don't consider myself a fan of the trilogy even though I read all of them. There were some very good parts and definitely very interesting characters, but also too many extraneous threads in my opinion (at least in the later ones). And too long. I look forward to the reviews of the rest of the trilogy and then the new book.

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    1. Bill SelnesNovember 4, 2015 at 10:01 PM

      TracyK: Thanks for the comment. I appreciate your reaction to the books. You raise issues that readers can and have debated.

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