The Girl who Played with Fire (Millennium #2) by Stieg Larsson

The Girl who Played with Fire (Millennium #2)
By Stieg Larsson






Translated by: Reg Keeland
Format: Kindle Edition, 724 pages
Published: July 28th 2009 by Vintage (first published 2006)
Genre: Adult, Thriller

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Stieg Larsson Official Website

Mikael Blomkvist, crusading journalist and publisher of the magazine Millennium, has decided to run a story that will expose an extensive sex trafficking operation between Eastern Europe and Sweden, implicating well-known and highly placed members of Swedish society, business, and government.

But he has no idea just how explosive the story will be until, on the eve of publication, the two investigating reporters are murdered. And even more shocking for Blomkvist: the fingerprints found on the murder weapon belong to Lisbeth Salander — the troubled, wise-beyond-her-years genius hacker who came to his aid in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, and who now becomes the focus and fierce heart of The Girl Who Played with Fire.

As Blomkvist, alone in his belief in Salander’s innocence, plunges into an investigation of the slayings, Salander herself is drawn into a murderous hunt in which she is the prey, and which compels her to revisit her dark past in an effort to settle with it once and for all. -Goodreads.com

Review

"She fantasized about a gasoline can and a match." (710)

Such intense suspense! The tables are turned and the search is on for Lisbeth Salander, wanted in a string of murders. With several groups looking for her, (The Millennium crew, The Milton Security firm, some thugs and of course, The Police,) her image is being dragged through filth as she is on the run to save herself. With a plot weaved in murder, sex trafficking, and conspiracy we get a more in depth view of Salander's life and how she got to where she's at. Is she guilty?

"Nobody was innocent. There were only varying degrees of responsibility." (583)

I really love how this book really got up and personal with everyone, explaining just about every person in the book's backstory and relationships. When Lisbeth Salander became the main focus, that's when the plot really took off. Although this book's plot is entirely different from the first book, I enjoyed the continuity of the characters. I enjoyed how it began with a seemingly complex mystery of murder and exposure before dwindling down to a simple person connecting everything, especially Salander. There were a lot of surprises and thrills that, especially since we get to know the characters so well, rocked my emotions. That ending is tortuous and makes me want to immediately pick up and read the next book of the series. If you loved The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, then you need to read this!

"Salander was the woman who hated men who hated women." (667)

First Line: "She lay on her back fastened by leather straps to a narrow bed with a steel frame." (3)
Last Line: "He put it on the floor, took out his mobile, and dialed the number for emergency services." (724)
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Quotes

"She felt that some fundamental change had taken place or was taking place in her life. ... Maybe it was the adult world which was belatedly pushing its way into her life. Maybe it was the realization that, with her mother's death, her childhood had come to an end." (120)

"Lisbeth was ready. She threw a milk carton she had filled with gasoline into the car. Then she threw in a burning match." (667)