ecdahl 's review for:

The Girl Who Played with Fire by Stieg Larsson

4.0

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I couldn't put this one down. I found it less...troubling than the first and I thought the plot was revealed in a much more compelling and even way. I began to understand and believe what I've heard about Larsson, that he's a man who was outspokenly against violence against women and the guardianship system in Sweden. I didn't see it in the first one (too salacious?), but this one, the lesser characters were excellent studies of believable personalities that provided depth and complexity to these issues. I'm not giving it a total pass, but it's beginning to make more sense.

I really began to enjoy Larsson's writing style in this book. I loved that he included seemingly mundane details about clothing choices and food decisions-- it gave the narrative a higher sense of believability.

Though, without getting too spoilery, things skewed verrrry Kill Bill in this one. Did he see the films?...

I will definitely be reading book 3.