The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo Book

Mikael Blomqvist is a renowned Swedish journalist and magazine publisher who made a name for himself as a young writer after stumbling upon a gang of armed robbers whilst on holiday. After informing the police he then reported on the inevitable armed stand off from his cabin conveniently situated next door to the robbers. In this instance he lucked out and his subsequent career shared similar fortunes until he published a scathing attack on the wealthy Swedish industrialist Hans-Erik Wennerstrom. A libel case was brought against Blomqvist and our protagonist protecting his anonymous source was unable to provide any evidence to support his seemingly unfounded accusations. Disgraced and with his reputation in tatters, Blomqvist is handed a three month prison sentence and is ordered to pay damages. Seemingly things could not get any worse...

Parrallel to the exploits of the middle aged Blomqvist we are introduced to a young female character called Lizbeth Salander. Tattooed, pierced, dressed all in black with dyed hair Salander is described as a social misfit. She hates uninvited human contact, is extremely introverted and therefore has few if any friends, choosing to spend most of her free time absorbed in the internet. It is suggested towards the end of the book that she may have some form of Asperger's. Salander is a private investigator for a Swedish security firm. In fact, she is the best in the business and it is in this capacity that she first hears mention of Blomqvist, putting her skills to the test investigating the man himself for a lawyer representing a certain Henrik Vanger...

Facing jail time and his career in tatters, Blomqvist is presented an opportunity he simply cannot ignore. Henrik Vanger, another wealthy Swedish industrialist, having read Salander's detailed report offers Blomqvist a very well paid job under the pretense of writing the colourful history of the Vanger family. But his real task is to investigate the disappearance of Henrik's niece, Harriet Vanger several decades earlier. To sweeten the deal Henrik Vanger offers to provide detailed information that will ruin Wennerstrom upon completion of the task. Blomqvist accepts the task but he cannot complete it alone...

Upon finding out that he himself was investigated, Blomqvist reads Salander's report. He is shocked at the intrusion into his private life but far from being angry at Salander he seeks to employ her assistance in the case of Harriet Vanger's disappearance. Queue one of the strangest and most unexpected partnerships in crime novel history...

And what a partnership it is...in both senses of the word. The pair prove to be an investigative whirlwind and their passion for the job soon spreads to the bedroom...The defensive and introverted Salander is slowly drawn out of her shell by the genuine and unobtrusive nature of the older journalist...

The last thing I was expecting from this novel was a love story. But strangely this dynamic developed along with the crime solving elements of the tale. Before every man reading this turns away and decides not to read the book, I should stress that the love story contained within these pages is unlike any other you may have heard about. The love is as brutal as the crime and neither of the characters are 'lovey-dovey'. The relationship mirrors the dark nature of the book and is primarily a crime novel...a 'who-dunnit?' if you will. But although the novel unravels the mystery of a crime on a par with a Jonathan Creek episode, the author's examination of the very nature of the human relationship forces the reader to question their own preconceptions regarding love and friendship. The unselfish and mutual love and understanding that the two characters afford each other are an excellent example of the pureness of human nature.

I cannot recommend this book highly enough. It is a crime novel interwoven with a love story which slowly gains a choke hold on you as the book develops and perhaps does not really become apparent until you've finished the last page and put the book down. The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo truly is a modern classic. I know everyone is reading it, but if you haven't already jump on the bandwagon and enjoy the ride.

New paperback edition published to coincide with the major motion picture. 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.