The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets' Nest [Hardcover]

A young girl lies in a hospital room, her tattooed body very close to death -- there is a bullet lodged in her brain. Several rooms away is the man who tried to kill her, his own body grievously wounded from axe blows inflicted by the girl he has tried to kill. She is Lisbeth Salander, computer hacker and investigator, and the man is her father, a murderous Russian gangster. If Salander recovers from her injuries, she is more than likely to be put on trial for three murders -- the authorities regard her as a dangerous individual. But she won't see the inside of a courtroom if her father manages to kill her first.

This is the high-tension opening premise of the third book in Stieg Larsson’s phenomenally successful trilogy of crime novels which the late author (a crusading journalist) delivered to his publisher just before his death. But does it match up to its two electrifying predecessors, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and The Girl who Played with Fire? The success of Larsson’s remarkable sequence of books is, to some degree, unprecedented. Crime fiction in translation has, of course, made a mark before (notably with Peter Hoeg’s Miss Smilla’s Feeling for Snow, published, in fact, by Larsson's British publisher, Christopher MacLehose). But even the success of that book gave no hint of the juggernauts that the Salander books would be (the late author's secondary hero is the journalist Blomqvist -- who bears more than a passing resemblance to Stieg Larsson himself).

There are two overriding reasons for the hold that this massive trilogy has attained on the public: machine-tooled plotting which juggles the various narrative elements with a master's touch and (above all) the vividly realised character of Lisbeth Salander herself. She is something of a unique creation in the field of crime and thriller fiction: emotionally damaged, vulnerable and sociopathic (all of this concealed behind a forbidding Goth appearance), but she is also the ultimate survivor, somehow managing to stay alive despite the machinations of some deeply unpleasant villains (and the new book has a slew of those) as well as the hostility of often stupid establishment figures, who want her out of the picture quite as passionately as the bad guys. She is, of course, aided by the protective journalist Blomqvist, despite the fact that she had dumped him as a lover. The Girl who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest brings together all the elements that have made the previous books of the sequence so successful. Its relentless pace may be a bit exhausting for some readers, but most will be happy to strap themselves in for the ride. It's just a shame that this will be the final book in the sequence (though conspiracy theorists are hinting that Larsson began another manuscript before his untimely death…) --Barry Forshaw

'A cyclonic force of a story, I experienced the same happiness and feverish excitement with which I read Dumas's Three Musketeers or the novels of Dickens… exceptional… I repeat, without any shame whatsoever: fantastic' Mario Vargas Llosa in El Pais.

'By some alchemy, Larsson has made a character who ought to be completely unbelievable into one of the most compelling and convincing in modern fiction … one wonders what Sherlock Holmes and Miss Marple would make of her, but Lisbeth Salander bids fair to join them in the ranks of crime fiction's true immortals' Daily Telegraph.

'The pace rarely lets up … it's an exhilarating read … this is a strong and satisfying conclusion to a massively ambitious, richly textured trilogy' Daily Express.

'There is comparison with that other great work of contemporary entertainment, The Wire, in the rage and clarity with which injustice becomes the driver of a novel way of looking at society. Be warned: the trilogy, like The Wire, is seriously addictive.' Guardian.

'Complex, satisfying, clever, moral ... a grown-up novel for grown-up readers ... this is why the Millennium Trilogy is rightly a publishing phenomenon all over the world' Kate Mosse.

'Fans will not be disappointed; this another roller-coaster ride that keeps you reading far too late into the night. Intricate but flawlessly plotted, it has complex characters as well as a satisfying, clear moral thrust … most compelling is the character of Salander … I cackled with glee as she turned the tables on her enemies in a climactic courtroom scene … Who'd have thought a Swedish geek could set British pulses racing' Evening Standard.

'The completion of the trilogy confirms Larsson as one of the great talents of contemporary crime fiction' Joan Smith, Sunday Times. 'A strong and satisfying conclusion to a massively ambitious, richly textured trilogy' Barry Forshaw, Daily Express. 'Fans will not be disappointed; this another roller-coaster ride that keeps you reading far too late into the night' Andrew Neather, Evening Standard. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Salander is plotting her revenge - against the man who tried to kill her, and against the government institutions that very nearly destroyed her life. But it is not going to be a straightforward campaign. After taking a bullet to the head, Salander is under close supervision in Intensive Care, and is set to face trial for three murders and one attempted murder on her eventual release. With the help of journalist Mikael Blomkvist and his researchers at Millennium magazine, Salander must not only prove her innocence, but identify and denounce the corrupt politicians that have allowed the vulnerable to become victims of abuse and violence. Once a victim herself, Salander is now ready to fight back.

THE TRIAL: Lisbeth Salander - outsider and apparent enemy of society - is charged with attempted murder. The state has also ruled that she is mentally unstable, and should be locked away in an institution once again. But she is closely guarded in a hospital, having taken a bullet to the head, so how will she prove her innocence? THE ENEMY: Pulling the strings of the prosecution is the powerful inner circle of Sapo, the state security police. Determined to protect the secrets and corruption at Sweden's rotten core, Sapo is not an adversary to take on alone. THE GIRL WHO KICKED THE HORNETS' NEST: Only with the help of Mikael Blomkvist and the journalists at Millennium magazine can Salander avoid the fate that has been decided for her. Together they form a compelling and dynamic alliance. This final volume of the Millennium Trilogy is the culmination of one of the mesmerizing fictional achievements of our time. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Stieg Larsson was the founder and editor-in-chief of the anti-racist magazine Expo. He was a renowned expert on right-wing extremist organisations. He died in 2004, soon after delivering the text of the novels that make up the Millennium Trilogy. Reg Keeland is the translator of many fine writers from Swedish.