A review by inksuinka
The Girl Who Played with Fire by Stieg Larsson

adventurous dark mysterious tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

I finally picked up the second part of the millenium trilogy a decade after reading the first book. The sequel is a solid thriller with lots of twists and turns. I listened to the audiobook which was challenging due to there being many characters, and many of their names are similar so I had a hard time keeping up at times. 

I preferred the more traditional crime mystery story of the first book, which is probably my favourite thriller so far. The girl who played with fire is a more complex story and focuses more on Lisbeth and her background. The book is very slow to start, and the main mystery isn't introduced until the second third of the story. 

The misogyny and the numerous slurs against women throughout the book were extremely triggering. It shouldn't come as a surprise though, when the original title of The girl with the dragon tattoo is Men who hate women. There were even more women-hating men in the second part.

I will definitely be picking up with the last part, but need to have a break in between due to the story being so dark and heavy.
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