The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo - Stieg Larsson

Swedish author Stieg Larsson delivered three manuscripts before his death - this is the first one. It was well reviewed and I can see why. If you like original characters, the title character, Lisbeth, is definitely one. Larsson also gives you an equally interesting co-protagonist (Mikael), a triad of mysteries, and a rich cast of subordinate characters to fill out a hefty novel. The Swedish background is an added bonus.

Mystery number one - the journalist Mikael Blomkvist is a financial reporter who has just been convicted of libel due to the publication of a story that paints an important financier as a crook. Mikael has made no defense in the case, and is facing three months in jail atop a hefty fine. What happened?

Second mystery - an elderly man, head of a large family and CEO of a company that rivals the one headed by Mikael's journalistic target - has wanted to know for the last 40 years what happened to his 16-year old grandniece, who vanished from the family compound in 1966. Worse yet, each year on his birthday he receives a pressed flower in a frame - just like his grandniece used to give him before her disappearance. Is the murderer taunting him from afar?

Third mystery - Lisbeth Salander has no social skills to speak of, seems unequipped with even the most common emotions, and appears to be not too bright - but she works as a researcher for a security company, finds out things that no one else seems to be able to, and severely punishes people who abuse her, although in an exceptionally cold-blooded manner. What made Lisbeth what she is, and what secrets is she hiding?

The mysteries are strung in a satisfying sequence, like a series of frames, with the first one introduced being the final one solved. It is a neatly written, well-plotted book. One might have wondered if the original Swedish manuscript was a bit livelier in phrasing and sentence construction, as some of the wording is very plain and even flat. But for all that, it clips along at a good pace and one finishes the book with a definite interest in what the next novel will bring.

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Also read since the last posting - The Magician's Assistant by Ann Patchett.