In Stieg Larsson's second Millennium Trilogy novel, the tables have turned for Lisbeth Salander. The introverted, antisocial woman finds herself as the target of a media feeding frenzy when her fingerprints are found at a double murder crime scene. To complicate matters further, the victims were working closely with Lisbeth's old friend, Mikael Blomkvist, on exposing Sweden's underground sex trade industry. For the first time in her life, Lisbeth is unable to solve the problem on her own, but lucky for her, Mikael owes her a big favor.
The Girl Who Played with Fire follows a pattern similar to that in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. The first 200 or so pages provide background information and sub-plot details, so it moves a bit slow, but I was never bored. But like the first book in the trilogy, the plot starts picking up speed about midway through, and once things start happening they don't stop. And then you find yourself sucked into the powerful vortex of a Stieg Larsson novel...and then you stop showering and all signs of productivity come to a temporary halt because finishing the book has become the only item on your agenda. I guess you could say I was hooked like a bookworm (good one, Karli!).
Anyway, what I really liked about this book is the fact that we finally get more of a back story on our heroine. In the first one, we only get a few bits and pieces of Lisbeth's life story, but here, a more complete account is slowly revealed. However, this does make the second book much more complicated than the first - more stories, more characters, more details. And if you're like me and you don't speak Swedish, it can be difficult to keep track of all the names.
I wasn't planning on starting the final Millennium book so soon, but this story doesn't wind down like it did in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. The ending is more of a cliffhanger, and like I said before, I'm hooked...so off I go to find out what happens in The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest.
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