The Girl Who Played with Fire (2009)

Another thrilling masterpiece by the late Stieg Larsson, we are again treated to amazing characters and non-stop action. Having transferred a fortune from the offshore accounts ofWennerstrom, an industrial billionaire who sued her friend Blomkvist, Lizbeth Salander took time to travel, recuperate, and stay out of sight. Lizbeth is a terrific heroine in that she is smart and fearless and sexy. "Salander was the woman who hated men who hate women."

During her absence, the magazine publisher, Mikael Blomkvist tries to publish information about sex trafficking both in his magazine and as a book. The authors of the article and the book are killed as is Salander's guardian, an odious man who raped her and would have continued to abuse her if she didn't tape the abuse and threaten him with it. Found at the scene was the guardian's gun which Salander handled and left her fingerprints. A man hunt was out for her.

Blomkvist, sure of her innocence, and Salander both launch their own investigations. Knowing her ability with computers and hacking, Blomkvist finds an ingenious way to communicate with Salander. They discover the identities of the murderers, clear her name, and discover more about her history in the meantime.

The action is high for the whole book and the reader will fly through the 724 pages and by thirsty for the third and last installment.

My rating for this book: +++++