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The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo - Review

As book reviews go THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO is hardly in need of another.

What can I say, it is a great book, but not without its problems. The central story of a long missing girl is fabulous, that is until Larsson tires of it and wraps it up a little too conveniently.

[Spoiler: Highlight to read] T

The two main characters happen upon two separate pieces of information that essentially solves the crime at the same time is difficult to believe in the context of the story. Up til now the reader has been lead to believe that the missing girl's Great Uncle has pursued this case relentlessly for the last 40 years. That he could not have come upon similar information was hard for me to swallow.

Ultimately this is a minor quibble as it is all written fantastically. I think I am just expressing my disappointment that it was coming to an end because until then the book and this story of long dead family secrets is enthralling. DRAGON TATTOO certainly does not lack for scope. It pleased me to no end that Mr. Larsson seemed to manage the careful act of story and character. In the eternal debate of character vs. story. Character in Crime Fiction has been great, really wonderful from a number of author over the last few years. However, I have certainly felt that the story end has suffered in Crime Fiction.

What does not work so well is the bookend story that begins and end the DRAGON TATTOO. In the beginning I see the point of it all. It certainly sets up our lead character Mikael. It is a bit long, the story of Mikael's fall from grace after losing a libel case for publishing an article on a Swedish industrialist. However, I'm a sucker for character and story details so I did not mind too much. But as that story of the missing girl is resolved there was still nearly 100 pages to go in the book.

[Spoiler: Highlight to read]

These pages detail how Mikael exacts his 'revenge' against the Swedish industrialist with another article and book, this time proving his corruption. Truth wins out over injustice, but this sequence is written in an almost dream like scenario. The resolution could not work out any better for Mikael if he tried, and it rings absolutely false.

Let me state very clearly that this does not undo what I think is a fabulous book. Just that these sections play as an agenda of the author and not an organic element of the book. The second of the series releases in the US on the 28th of July.
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