The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson

I admit, I was wary to pick up this book.  I know you've all heard of it because it's on of the hottest novels on the shelves right now and the upcoming movie is causing quite a stir due to the difficult casting choice for heroine Lisbeth Salander, but as /i typically avoid bandwagons, I put off reading this for quite a long time.

I regret this.

Many best sellers with mass followings are not deserving of such attention...but I won't name names. ;]  But this book?  This book IS NOT ONE OF THEM.  This book deserves EVERY rave review and comment of praise it has ever received.  This book is possibly one of the most addictive, enthralling, and exciting books I've ever read.  This book is AMAZING.

From Publisher's Weekly:

Cases rarely come much colder than the decades-old disappearance of teen heiress Harriet Vanger from her family's remote island retreat north of Stockholm, nor do fiction debuts hotter than this European bestseller by muckraking Swedish journalist Larsson. At once a strikingly original thriller and a vivisection of Sweden's dirty not-so-little secrets (as suggested by its original title, Men Who Hate Women), this first of a trilogy introduces a provocatively odd couple: disgraced financial journalist Mikael Blomkvist, freshly sentenced to jail for libeling a shady businessman, and the multipierced and tattooed Lisbeth Salander, a feral but vulnerable superhacker. Hired by octogenarian industrialist Henrik Vanger, who wants to find out what happened to his beloved great-niece before he dies, the duo gradually uncover a festering morass of familial corruption—at the same time, Larsson skillfully bares some of the similar horrors that have left Salander such a marked woman.

WOW.  WOWWWWW.

There's nothing more I can say really.  Within the first few paragraphs, the book sets a pace that only gains momentum with each turn of the page.  There is an incredible mystery within this tale that one can only wonder as to how Larsson ever conceived of it.  What starts as a simple investigation into a missing persons case snowballs into something sick and twisted, a horror story of misogyny and multi-generational sadism. 

Blonkivst is a mild, loveable hero and his eventual partner in crime (solving) is the polar opposite.  Salander is a barbed, hardcore bitch who doesn't take shit and knows where she stands.  I loved her and saw a lot of myself in her, which my mom had made note of before I had even begun reading.  Together they form a team that is infinitely resourceful and ever reliable to get the job done, though often coming near to demise in the process.

Larsson uses numerous perspectives to unravel the plot and the voice of each is as distinct at their persona.  His prose is never too wordy or intentionally verbose, and the mix of dialogue and description is perfectly balanced.  At times there are scenes of intense sexual violence, so if you're squeamish be forewarned.  The only complaint I really have is minor, and it is that sometimes his analysis of the economy and business dealings gets a bit hard to understand, but part of that is due to my lack of interest and knowledge in the area.

Honestly, there's not a ton more I can say other than you REALLY ought to read this book if you haven't already.  I absolutely loved every minute of it and often found myself reading late into the night, promising that I'd put it down after the next page, only to keep on reading as another startling plot twist was revealed.

Plus, the paperback only costs $4.88 at Sam's Club.  :]

I'm now deep into the sequel and let me tell you...it is every bit as good.  But I'll save that for the next review.

Happy reading!