I don't generally read mysteries - or stories set in current day.  I don't generally find them interesting, but I wanted to challenge myself with reading something out of the normal - for myself.

If you're unfamiliar with the book, the author Stieg Larsson passed away in 2004 and this book was not published until 2008.  It was also written in his native language and the first in a trilogy.  Wikipedia does a good job of explaining it here.  I think that some of the original shimmer must have disappeared in the translated work - which is still good and engaging - but I think if I understood the setting and context better I would find it much more compelling.  I, however, read a lot of fantasy so I can fill in the blanks when we mention kroner instead of dollars.

The Setting in the book throws me and a few times I consulted a map before saying Screw it!   I just trust that these places exist and I don't have to know where they are.  However things seem European enough; though I wonder at all of the one or two room cabins in a modern-day, not everything is all Americanized  :P

The Plot! OMG It's the best thing about this book.  The writing is good, but the plot is so intricate I could only stay a few steps ahead.  I had some vague idea of how it would turn out but I was never 100% sure.  It's got a lot of layers, a lot of things going on, and if you can keep track of who is who it's what keeps you reading.

The Characters. This is where I have a problem.  The main character? Yeah, I think he's like a whitewashed wall.  Salander (sp?) is about the most interesting character and most of the time I find her believable.  What I don't find believable is the almost author-fantasy way the female characters jump in and out of bed with the male MC (whose name I can't spell) and nonchalantly say hello to each other as they pass in the hallway as the next female hops in his bed. 

And while I like endings that aren't ....and they lived happily ever after.  I didn't like the ending. I won't spoil it, but it left me unstaisfied and reaching for something light hearted and funny - because at the end of this book I was grumpy, unhappy, and unsatisfied.