Editorial Review:

Amazon.co.uk Review:
Stieg Larsson gleaned a remarkable degree of success before his too-early death in 2004. He had delivered to his publisher three remarkable crime novels; the initial book in his ‘Millennium’ sequence, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, had enjoyed an unprecedented success in his native Sweden before the translation took the UK by storm. Larsson had made a considerable mark as a crusading journalist, with a speciality in tackling political extremist groups. But he offered assistance to many people and groups who he felt were vulnerable – something of a modern hero, in fact.

One of Larsson's key achievements as a writer was to create an innovative kind of heroine for the crime novel. His unconventional sleuth, the highly intelligent computer hacker Lisbeth Salander, is a confrontational young woman, whose Goth accoutrements sometimes alienate those around her (except the individuals she opts to have sexual relations with – strictly, that is, according to the rules she lays down). In the second book in the Millennium sequence, The Girl Who Played with Fire (as in its its predecessor), Lisbeth's closest ally is the older journalist Mikael Blomqvist, even though she has abruptly ended her emotional relationship with him. Lisbeth has left all she knows behinds her and has begun a relationship with a gauche young lover. But after a grim revenge run-in with a man who has abused her, she becomes a suspect in three murders, and is the subject of a nationwide search. Blomqvist, however, is convinced of her innocence (he has just been responsible for a blistering report on the sex trafficking industry in Sweden), and is determined to help her – whether she wants his help or not.

As with Larsson’s earlier book, this is highly compelling fare, with tautly orchestrated suspense; it's often grisly and uncompromising (not a problem for many readers), and the massive text may be longer than is good for it, but Larsson admirers won't begrudge the late author a word,and will be impatient for the third (and, regrettably, concluding) book in the sequence. --Barry Forshaw

Dont buy this unless you have the fre time to read from cover to cover as you wont want to put it down - even better than The Girl with the dragon tatoo. I got to the last 100 pages and realised I had to order the sequel immediately even if it meant buying that in hardback. Superb! Outstanding! the best books I have read in ages - just guttefd there will not be more!

Average Rating:

Rating: - The girl who played with fire

Dont buy this unless you have the fre time to read from cover to cover as you wont want to put it down - even better than The Girl with the dragon tatoo. I got to the last 100 pages and realised I had to order the sequel immediately even if it meant buying that in hardback. Superb! Outstanding! the best books I have read in ages - just guttefd there will not be more!

Rating: - The Girl who played with fire
I loved this book, I read it straight after the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo Both books were refreshingly different and this sequel was just as gripping as the first .I am looking forward to the final book.

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Rating: - A tiring read but still engrossing
I really didn't want to read this book, I didn't believe the sequel could have the same effect on me as the first book. I was so engrossed in the first book - i couldn't put it down. This second book is good, the character of Lisbeth is still as endearing as before and we get to know her better. But, the book is slightly more complex - there seems to be a lot more characters - police, the baddies , Armansky's men, the reporters. I was almost halfway through the book before I had a good handle on who was who. That's not necessarily a bad thing - but made it sometimes a tiring read, maybe that's not fair ?

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Rating: - disappointing!
I loved the book, but didn't like this audio version. I didn't like the reader's natural voice, or the weird range of accents put on. I found the translation to be irritating too - I didn't have any problems with the translation in the book, perhaps it is the way it has been abridged. The audio didn't feel like a page turner. I did wonder whether it would have been better read by a woman!

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Rating: - readable
an interesting and readable sequel but overall a rather dissapointing and predictable thriller that was overly long.

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