Book Review: The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest

Title: The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest
Author: Stieg Larsson
Category: Mystery/Suspense; Adult; Fiction
Length: 563 pages
My Rating: 7 – Very good

From Goodreads.com: Lisbeth Salander—the heart of Larsson’s two previous novels—lies in critical condition, a bullet wound to her head, in the intensive care unit of a Swedish city hospital. She’s fighting for her life in more ways than one: if and when she recovers, she’ll be taken back to Stockholm to stand trial for three murders. With the help of her friend, journalist Mikael Blomkvist, she will not only have to prove her innocence, but also identify and denounce those in authority who have allowed the vulnerable, like herself, to suffer abuse and violence. And, on her own, she will plot revenge—against the man who tried to kill her, and the corrupt government institutions that very nearly destroyed her life.

Once upon a time, she was a victim. Now Salander is fighting back.

My Thoughts
 

I host a little online book club with some of my Facebook friends and Facebook friends of friends (this is getting confusing!). We have a weekly check-in that serves to hold us accountable to a year-long reading goal. It's quite fun. Anyway, one of the participants was reading this book, and I was reminded that I hadn't read it yet.

Normally, I do not leave a series unread. If I start a series and enjoy it enough to continue on to the second book, I usually keep reading until I've completed the series (unless, of course, I have to wait for a book to be published). This trilogy was a little different because I listened to the first two books while I was commuting, but didn't get a chance to finish all three as my going back to work was only temporary. I really wanted to listen to the third book, so I kept putting it off. 

In the end, I can't believe I put off an ending for this long! It's been over two years since I listened to The Girl Who Played with Fire and, for anyone who has read this series, you know that book leaves you hanging. I liked this book better than the second, but think the first one was the best of all three. And I really wish I had gotten the chance to listen to it. The first two were great audiobooks—I loved the narrator—and think this one would have been awesome read aloud. Oh well.

My biggest complaint about this book is the ending. I was all on board until she found and disposed of N. I would have been more satisfied if he had just disappeared. For me, the ending was just a little too tidy. 

I doubt I will ever re-read this series, but I very much enjoyed this story.