"The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" by Stieg Larsson

Book Details:
Title: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Author: Stieg Larsson
Published: 2009- Random House, Inc.
ISBN: 978-0-307-45454-6
Pages: 590 pages
Genre: Fiction- Mystery/Crime
Rating: 5 of 5
Read In: 8 days

My Review:
I always regret when an amazing piece of literature is in publication for years before the masses catch on. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is a very successful crime novel hailing from Sweden, by author Stieg Larsson. It finally reached mass popularity in the United States upon the release of its movie adaptation. Suddenly, copies of the novel and its subsequent The Girl Who Played with Fire and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets' Nest started appearing in stores all over the country, and they were flying off the shelves.

"The Girl" these novels follow is Lisbeth Salander- the quiet, tattooed, and eccentric freelance investigator for a security company. She joins black-listed journalist Mikael Blomkvist on the job of a lifetime. Mikael is approached by the elderly Henrik Vanger, former-CEO of the Vanger Corporation, and patriarch of the Vanger family. After pleading guilty to a libel charge he did not commit and stepping down as publisher of his own Millennium magazine. Blomkvist is looking at financial ruin and the collapse of his magazine, so he reluctantly accepts the old man's request to relocate to his family's private island for a year and write a chronicle of Henrik, his family, and their lives as majority share holders of a successful multinational corporation. The one catch is that while collecting information for the biography, Blomkvist must also try to solve the 30+ years old disappearance of Henrik's niece Harriet from that very island.

As Mikael seems to be uncovering new clues and information, Henrik's personal lawyer hires Lisbeth Salander to aid Blomkvist in his extensive digging into the events of the day Harriet disappeared. Initially cold, quiet, and difficult to get through to, Mikael and Lisbeth begin to trust and respect each other for their skill in their chosen fields, forming a perfect team to pry into the lives of this rich and respected family and prove that everyone has skeletons needing to stay in the closet.

The character who seems the least to be changed by this year-long adventure is actually the character we see the most throughout the story. Salander remains very cold and distant, virtually uncaring, until well into her partnership with Blomkvist. Toward the end, we see her heart start to thaw a little and her true thoughts and she begins to allow herself to have emotions toward people, even if she never shows them. Having not yet read the next two books, I would believe this social acclimation place a central role throughout the series.

I found The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo to be a very brilliant crime novel with fascinating characters and a very unique crime to solve. I would definitely give it five out of five stars and highly recommend to everyone.

"The Burning" by Jane Casey

Book Details:

Title: The Burning

Author: Jane Casey

Published: 2011 by St. Martin's Press

ISBN: 978-0-312-61417-1

Genre: Thriller

Pages: 354

Rating: 4 of 5

Read in: 12 days

My Review:

Jane Casey's The Burning is a crime novel set in London during the reign of a particularly heinous serial killer. Known as the "Burning Man", he attacks women in the night, beating them and then setting their bodies on fire, destroying all evidence. Enter DC Maeve Kerrigan, a young detective assigned to the murder of Rebecca Haworth, who may or may not have fallen victim to the Burning Man. This novel follows Maeve as she tries to weed her way through Rebecca's past, determined to prove her murder was a little more personal than the assumption that she was the Burning Man's latest victim. The novel is also told from the point of view of Rebecca's shy and quiet best friend Louise North, whose always lived in her friend's shadow and by all accounts has loved and worshiped her since the day they met. Louise's story offers another account of Rebecca's past, as well as interesting insights into the current events taking place.

I enjoyed the book as a whole, but found it to be pretty slow to develop. Being told from two different points of views does help leave the reader guessing as to the conclusion, though. It's a classic whodunit with some modern flair. Set against the backdrop of London, it sometimes feels as though the detectives are following a modern-day Jack the Ripper- serial killer plaguing the streets of London at night, prowling on younger women and savagely killing them. I'd like the think this is the effect the author was going for.

One thing that really bothered me about the character development was the abrupt end to the budding romance between the main character and her colleague, Rob. Her attraction and affection toward him starts partially through the book, comes to a peak about three quarters through, and then... NOTHING. He's barely even mentioned in the last fifty pages! Although she explains that they could never be together because of their work relationship, the attraction would not just stop. However, Rob's appearances in the book seem to. Unfortunately, there's no closure to this particular side story.

I would like to see a series of crime novels featuring Maeve Kerrigan- she's a strong woman, a well-rounded character, and a brilliant detective. There is also a small group of great supporting characters who could be developed further later on, or left in the background to support and aid the hero. I give this book four out of five stars.