This novel is yet another example of a novel that does not live up to the hype. It is totally misnamed and therefore the reader is mislead. 'Men Who Hate Women' is more accurate. If you want to read a poorly written story about incest, abuse, and the seedy side of life then this book is for you. It is a here today and forgotten tomorrow kind of novel.

A novel needs more than a confronting story line to keep my interest. The writing needs to be artful. Something was lost in translation otherwise why did it sell so well in Sweden. The offbeat characters remained names on the page. Bloomkvist defintely unattractive so his appeal never made sense. Overall the chracterisation is external and provides no insight into any of the characters. If you're read the first novel, borrow this one - don't waste your money!

The story of Lisbeth seemed to take a back seat to the other subplots. Frankly, I didn't like this novel at all. In the end, I skimmed to find Lisbeth's story. Friends tell me the backstory in this novel is needed to understand the last novel in the trilogy. After this read I did lost interest in the series. I'm sure now that the series won't endure past the hype surrounding it at the moment.