The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (Millennium, #1)

Title: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (Millennium, #1)

Author: Stieg Larsson

Published in: 2005

Date read: 6th September 2011

Score: 5/5

Genre: Psychological, Thriller, Crime

Plot: (Warning, may contain spoilers):
"The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" by Stieg Larsson, published posthumously in 2005 (and 2008 in English), is the first novel in the highly acclaimed Millennium series. It introduces the two iconic protagonists and sets a dark, intricate tone, blending detective fiction with social commentary.

The story begins with Mikael Blomkvist, an investigative journalist for Millennium magazine, facing professional disgrace after being convicted of libel against powerful industrialist Hans-Erik Wennerström. With his career in tatters, he accepts an unusual assignment from Henrik Vanger, the elderly patriarch of the immensely wealthy and dysfunctional Vanger family.

Vanger wants Blomkvist to investigate the cold case of his great-niece, Harriet Vanger, who vanished without a trace forty years ago from the family's isolated island compound. Henrik is convinced Harriet was murdered by a family member, and he's spent decades trying to uncover the truth.

To aid in the investigation, Blomkvist enlists the help of Lisbeth Salander, a brilliant but deeply troubled computer hacker with a photographic memory and a unique, often intimidating, personality. Salander is a ward of the state, controlled by a corrupt legal guardian, and bears the scars of a severely abusive past. She is fiercely independent, distrustful of authority, and possesses an almost supernatural ability to uncover hidden information.

As Blomkvist and Salander delve into the Vanger family's dark history, they uncover a horrifying pattern of sexual abuse, violence, and neo-Nazism stretching back generations. Their investigation leads them through complex financial dealings, twisted family secrets, and a series of gruesome murders that seem to be connected to the past.

Salander's extraordinary hacking skills prove invaluable, allowing them to bypass conventional obstacles and expose the Vanger family's hidden cruelties. However, their pursuit of the truth puts them in extreme danger, as the killer is still alive and will go to any lengths to keep the secrets buried.

The novel is a gripping psychological thriller that explores themes of misogyny, corporate corruption, family secrets, and the nature of justice. The climax is a brutal and harrowing confrontation with the serial killer, where Salander's unique skills and determination are put to the ultimate test, leading to a shocking revelation and setting the stage for her own complex narrative in subsequent books.

Comments:
This book was a breath of fresh air and nothing like any others that I had written. It was very popular by the time I got to it and it was worth all of the hype. Thoroughly enjoyed it.

Books that we've read by Stieg Larsson (3):
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (Millennium, #1) (2005), The Girl Who Played with Fire (Millennium, #2) (2006), The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest (Millennium, #3) (2007)