Judith L. (jlautner) reviewed on 11/10/2010 + 105 more book reviews

Larsson's investigative background takes over in this last episode of the series. I could tell that he did not want to skip steps and wanted to be as accurate as possible in describing the various governmental agencies that would be involved in an unusual case like that of Lisbeth Salander. Thus he painstakingly introduces us to members of the secret police ("Sapo"), different local police agencies, the prime minister, and more. In each of these agencies are several characters and we get to meet them as well as read about their backgrounds.

The result, for much of the first part of the book, is that there is a cast of thousands and it sometimes was confusing to me.

The great majority of this book also focuses on plodding investigation, rather a lot of pencil-pushing and discussion and not a lot of physical action. The various agencies and organizations involved each did their own investigations, which is what you'd expect in the real world, but in a book it tended to slow the movement.

I found that I both appreciated this approach and was at times a little frustrated by it. I love accuracy and with this kind of detail I was able to see how the different parts would work and I could comprehend the restrictions placed on each as well.

The main character, Salander, was in a hospital for the better part of the book. She didn't have much to contribute until she was functioning at some level, thus we are not treated to her prickly character until well into the book. Meanwhile, journalist Mikael Blomqvist is everywhere. He has a primary goal: to see Lisbeth exonerated of all charges against her and removed from guardianship. Secondarily, he is interested in seeing a secret group within Sapo exposed and its members sent to prison. The group had "managed" Russian defector Zalachenko for many years, which meant covering up when he broke laws. The act that most infuriated Blomqvist was their maneuvering to get Salander committed to a psychiatric institution at age 12, after she struck out against her abusive father, Zalachenko.

Interesting to me was the focus on restoring Salander's rights and the outrage that her rights had been violated. I couldn't help but think that in this country there would be less outrage at such action. Every day young persons have their liberties and rights taken from them, supposedly for their own good. Of course in this series of novels there are highly abusive persons who further damaged Salander's trust of other persons. She has become so suspicious and cynical that it is very difficult for her to form and maintain friendships.

It also struck me that in this novel Larsson wrote out some wishful thinking. He carefully crafted a complex series of events and interchanges designed to bring about a good result. So many things could have gone wrong and so many different persons could have misread the facts, yet ultimately the agencies all worked to the same end, with a few bad apples thrown in here and there to complicate the situation. More than once characters would read forensic reports and other information and come, almost by magic, to the right conclusions.

I could sense the passion of Larsson's quest for justice against corruption. This passion drives the books more than anything else. However, ultimately it is the characters that kept me reading. Blomqvist, Salander, Berger, and several new characters are challenged in their personal as well as professional lives. Salander has to face her feelings for Blomqvist. Blomqvist has to face his tendency to fly from relationship to relationship. And Salander has to find a way to "be" in the world.

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