Review: #253
Title: The Girl Who Played With Fire
Series: Millennium Series - 2nd book
Author: Stieg Larsson
Read Before: no
My Comments: An absorbing and engaging novel. That said, the first 100 pages or so were very boring and unnecessary. The author spent a lot time setting up the story, to the point where I didn't know where the novel was going to go. Once that finished, the story picked up, the plot was intense. I was surprised at the two murders, and equally surprised at the suspected murderer. Throughout the whole novel, a lot was kept back, and slowly revealed, piece by piece. I would have rather it was revealed faster, as it was getting annoying when the characters kept hinting something but not explaining it until much later (a prime example is the character Zala, who was only mentioned, and who’s background was only eventually revealed in the last 100 pages or so). It felt much more incredible than the previous book; I couldn't put the book down once things got rolling. I got confused between a few characters, since they were introduced and seemed to be the same, I couldn't wait and see how things would turn out, how everything fitted together. The ending felt a bit abrupt; and I wouldn’t really say it was a cliffhanger but it somewhat felt like one. I would have preferred if the ending included what happened afterwards, how the police investigation finished up, and everyone going back to their lives (i.e. a typical one). It’s not an elegant and deeply complex plot, what made it so good was the writing. All in all, a better novel than I had expected.
Rating: 7/10