Details
- ISBN 9781847245458 / 1847245455
- Title The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
- Author Stieg Larsson
- Category Crime & Mystery
- Format Paperback
- Year 2008
- Pages 542
- Publisher Quercus Publishing Plc
- Imprint Quercus Publishing Plc
- Dimensions 132mm x 198mm x 196mm
Forty years ago, Harriet Vanger disappeared from a family gathering on the island owned and inhabited by the powerful Vanger clan. Her body was never found, yet her uncle is convinced it was murder - and that the killer is a member of his own tightly knit but dysfunctional family
Forty years ago, Harriet Vanger disappeared from a family gathering on the island owned and inhabited by the powerful Vanger clan. Her body was never found, yet her uncle is convinced it was murder - and that the killer is a member of his own tightly knit but dysfunctional family. He employs disgraced financial journalist Mikael Blomkvist and the tattooed, truculent computer hacker Lisbeth Salander to investigate. When the pair link Harriet's disappearance to a number of grotesque murders from forty years ago, they begin to unravel a dark and appalling family history. But the Vangers are a secretive clan, and Blomkvist and Salander are about to find out just how far they are prepared to go to protect themselves.
Review
A publishing sensation who seemingly came from nowhere - crime fiction has seldom needed to salute and mourn such a stellar talent as Larsson's in the same breath - Sunday Times. Just when I was thinking there wasn't anything new on the horizon, along comes Stieg Larsson with this wonderfully unique story. I was completely absorbed - Michael Connelly.
Prizes
Winner of Galaxy British Book Awards: Books Direct Crime Thriller of the Year 2009.
Shortlisted for CWA Duncan Lawrie International Dagger 2008.
Shortlisted for Heathrow Travel Product Award: Travel Read, Fiction 2009.
Joint winner for CrimeFest Sounds of Crime Award (Abridged) 2006.
Stieg Larsson was the Editor-in-Chief of the magazine Expo. He was a leading expert on anti-democratic, right-wing extremist organisations. He died in 2004, soon after delivering the text of the novels that make up the Millennium Trilogy.
Staff Reviews
- 18 Oct
One of the most popular and talked about books of the decade is The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. It follows journalist Mikael Blomkvist and anti-social computer hacker Lisbeth Salander, enlisted to solve a thirty year old murder mystery revolving around a wealthy and spiteful family. At the same time they must come up against a multi-national that has ruined Mikael’s professional reputation. As with other novels translated to English from Swedish (such as Henning Mankell’s Wallander series), the prose is sometimes a little too formal and at times clunky. But for the most part the book lives up to its hype, and is a standout crime novel. It has a complex and tightly interconnected plot but Larsson is in full control of the material, bringing various strands together at the right time to build to a tense and surprising finale. He succeeds better in the writing of Mikael than the troubled and abused Lisbeth, but I appreciated that he did create a layered female character that possesses the courage to stand up for herself. Overall it’s a very enjoyable and worthwhile read and I look forward to reading the remaining two volumes in the Millennium trilogy.
Reviewed By Lisa @ The Nile
User Reviews
- 20 Sep
I have to confess, I wasn't thrilled at my bookclub's choice of book for May. Call me shallow, but the following things turned me off the book: - The family tree at the beginning (I immediately thought it would be confusing) - The fact that it was translated from Swedish (I thought the language would be laboured) - The particular person that nominated the book (CENSORED ;) ) But a few pages in and I was gripped. You forget it is a translation and are immediately drawn into a complicated and fascinating story with more twists than a packet of Chicken Twisties. Briefly - it is about journalist who takes a sabbatical after being successfully sued for defamation (libel). He is subsequently invited to do a top secret project for a year involving researching a 40 year old murder. Deflated and despondent - he isn't that keen - but within days he is enthralled. And indeed - within pages so was I. The best bit about the book is that it is apparently one of a trilogy! Is it too early to make Christmas suggestions to my friends???
Reviewed By Michelle Tess
- 20 Sep
fun to read. love it.
Reviewed By Molly
- 20 Sep
Thoroughly enjoyable book. Filled with unpredictable surprises after getting half way through I had to order the other 2 in the trilogy. The way that Stieg Larsson brings the characters together is very clever. A must read no matter what sort of fiction you are into it has the lot.
Reviewed By DD
- 08 May
The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo A.K.A Mikael Blomkvist: Super-Stud. Rubbish book. Absolute rubbish! Is this what passes for a best-seller these days? The prose is unbearably flat and descriptive. Also, everything - and I mean everything - is explained in minute detail instead of being shown. 'Show, don't tell' is what the appropriate creed is for any fiction writer. Not the other way round! One of the worst series of books ever written. Amen! P.S Scooby-Doo eat your heart out; Mickael and Lisbeth are on the case!
Reviewed By Fred
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