After being convicted of libel, Mikael Blomkvist is hired to investigate the decades-old disappearance of Harriet Vanger, a teenage heiress, with the help of Lisbeth Salander.
I read this book a long while ago, but very few things clung in my mind. Certainly not the length, or the amount of time that was devoted to the financial intrigue aspect. Also all the pedantic sandwich making and eating!
First, the good. The mystery of Harriet Vanger is a fascinating one and hard to guess the truth of, and I enjoyed going around Sweden with Mikael in his dogged pursuit of the truth. And there’s Lisbeth Salander, who is a truly iconic character with her rage. Even if I didn’t always like her, she sticks in the head, and I wanted her on the page whenever she was gone. It’s also nice and satisfying that all the bad people in this book get their comeuppance.
On the other hand, Mikael I found to be somewhat flat, rather a wish fulfillment character, and I felt that his romance with Cecelia especially served no purpose in the story. I also found the financial plot-line to be deadly boring, and thought the book could have been whittled down quite a bit to make it a more engaging read.
All in all, I am debating whether I should continue the series or not. So many books, so little time!