I’ll admit it, The Girl Who Played With Fire didn’t grab me the way that The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo did. I mean, even with that one, it took about 15% of the way in (remember no page numbers on my Kindle), for me to be hooked. This one took even longer … for two reasons. First, I do not like it when bad things happen to characters I like. And the minute Lisbeth’s guardian returned, plotting against her, it set me off. So I did what anyone would do who doesn’t really like suspense, I found an online synopsis (which, by the way, had incorrect details – damn Wikipedia), so I knew the outcome and then I continued.
The second reason has to do with the author’s style. After a point, his attention to detail (do I really care what she eats at every meal, down to the brand of pizza?) and showing certain events from every character’s point of view, felt a bit like mental masturbation to me. It seemed to slow the story down rather than staying on pace to an amazing crescendo. Actually, it makes me wonder if he didn’t have a bit of Lisbeth’s mental skills within him.
Basically, I wasn’t hooked again until 50% of my way through the book. At 60% I didn’t put it down and finished it in a sitting (hey, I have to have the third one read by March 18 for Book Club.
Do I recommend it? Yep, but don’t be afraid to skim through some of the fluff.