Forty years ago, Harriet Vanger disappeared from a family gathering on the island owned and inhabited by the powerful Vanger clan. Her body was never found, yet her uncle is convinced it was murder - and that the killer is a member of his own tightly knit but dysfunctional family. He employs disgraced financial journalist Mikael Blomkvist and the tattooed, truculent computer hacker Lisbeth Salander to investigate. When the pair link Harriet's disappearance to a number of grotesque murders from forty years ago, they begin to unravel a dark and appalling family history. But the Vangers are a secretive clan, and Blomkvist and Salander are about to find out just how far they are prepared to go to protect themselves.
Accolades
Shortlisted for CWA Duncan Lawrie International Dagger 2008.
Reviews
"The ballyhoo is fully justified...At over 500 pages this hardly sagged...The novel scores on every front - character, story, atmosphere" - The Times
"A publishing sensation, an accomplished crime writer who seemingly came from nowhere...a memorable debut and deserves most of the hype with which it is being published in this country... Crime fiction has seldom needed to salute and mourn such a stellar talent as Larsson's in the same breath" - Sunday Times
"What a cracking novel! I haven't read such a stunning thriller debut for years. The way Larsson interweaves his two stories had me in thrall from beginning to end. Brilliantly written and totally gripping - Minette Walters
"As vivid as bloodstains on snow - and a perfect one-volume introduction to the unique strengths of Scandinavian crime fiction" - Lee Child
"Brilliantly written...the characters are superbly drawn and the story grips from first to last - 5 stars - Mail on Sunday
"…this remarkable first novel by the Swedish journalist Stieg Larsson…has been a huge bestseller in Europe and will be one here if readers are looking for an intelligent, ingeniously plotted, utterly engrossing thriller that is variously a serial-killer saga, a search for a missing person and an informed glimpse into the worlds of journalism and business…It's hard to find fault with The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. One must struggle with bewildering Swedish names, but that's a small price to pay. The story starts off at a leisurely pace, but the reader soon surrenders to Larsson's skillful narrative. We care about his characters because we come to know them so well. The central question—what happened to Harriet?—is answered in due course, and other matters involving romance and revenge are wrapped up as well. It's a book that lingers in the mind." The Washington Post
Author Biography
Stieg Larsson was the Editor-in-Chief of the magazine Expo. He was a leading expert on anti-democratic, right-wing extremist organisations. He died in 2004, soon after delivering the text of the novels that make up the Millennium Trilogy.
