Lisbeth Salander is a wanted woman. Two Millennium journalists about to expose the truth about the sex trade in Sweden are brutally murdered, and Salander's prints are on the weapon. Her history of unpredictable and vengeful behaviour makes her an official danger to society - but no-one can find her anywhere. Meanwhile, Mikael Blomkvist, editor-in-chief of Millennium, will not believe what he hears on the news. Knowing Salander to be fierce when fearful, he is desperate to get to her before she is cornered and alone. As he fits the pieces of the puzzle together, he comes up against some hardened criminals, including the chainsaw-wielding 'blond giant' - a fearsomely huge thug who can feel no pain. Digging deeper, Blomkvist also unearths some heart-wrenching facts about Salander's past life. Committed to psychiatric care aged 12, declared legally incompetent at 18, this is a messed-up young woman who is the product of an unjust and corrupt system. Yet Lisbeth is more avenging angel than helpless victim - descending on those that have hurt her with a righteous anger terrifying in its intensity and truly wonderful in its outcome.

About the Author

Stieg Larsson was the editor-in-chief of the anti-racist magazine Expo. He was a leading expert on right-wing extremist organisations. He died in 2004, soon after delivering the text of the novels that make up the Millennium Trilogy.

Reviews

Larsson's (www.stieglarsson.net) second installment in his posthumously published "Millennium" trilogy follows The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2008), also available from Books on Tape and Random House Audio. (The final installment, The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets' Nest, will publish in May 2010.) Lisbeth Salander and Mikael Blomkvist return in a compelling and tense revenge story in which multiple murders precede the publication of a story exposing a nationwide sex-trafficking operation. Audie Award winner Simon Vance's (see Behind the Mike, LJ 10/15/09) nuanced performance is superlative. Highly recommended. [The Knopf hc, published in August, was a New York Times best seller.-Ed.]-Joyce Kessel, Villa Maria Coll., Buffalo Copyright 2009 Reed Business Information.

Fans of intelligent page-turners will be more than satisfied by Larsson's second thriller, even though itÅfalls short of the high standard set by its predecessor, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, which introduced crusading journalist Mikael Blomkvist and punk hacker savant Lisbeth Salander. A few weeks before Dag Svensson, a freelance journalist, plans to publish a story that exposes important people involved in Sweden's sex trafficking business based on research conducted by his girlfriend, Mia Johansson, a criminologist and gender studies scholar, the couple are shot to death in their Stockholm apartment. Salander, who has a history of violent tendencies, becomes the prime suspect after the police find her fingerprints on the murder weapon. While Blomkvist strives to clear Salander of the crime, some far-fetched twists help ensure her survival. Powerful prose and intriguing lead characters will carry most readers along. (Aug.) Copyright 2009 Reed Business Information.