Tuesday, July 27, 2010

The Girl Who Played with Fire

On the outbound leg of the trip to Spain, I finished reading The Girl Who Played with Fire. This is the second book of Stieg Larsson's published trilogy.  I finished the first book in late June.

I have seen the book described as a thriller. Like the first book, it is murder investigation. The Mikael Blomkvist character is investigating a triple murder in parallel with the police. The author continues the themes of violence against women from the first book, but also folds in sex trafficking, police corruption and authority abuse. The book also provides a lot more background on the title character, Lisbeth Salander.

While the first book stood on its own, the second book does not. Things are not wrapped up at the end; there are several major hanging plot points that continue in the third book.

I actually liked the second book better than the first book. I gave the first book a solid B+ and would rate the second book slightly higher. Luckily, I had packed the third book for trip and started reading it as soon as I finished The Girl Who Played with Fire.

I am fascinated by the amount of coffee that everyone seems to drink. Whenever any two characters get together, they make a fresh pot of coffee. Additionally, the characters are always making sandwiches. I am curious if this is an accurate a portrayal of Swedish customs.

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