Book Review

Influenced by Swedish inequality, the book The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson

creates a story of mystery, romance and suspense. Taking place in Sweden, Larsson allows the

adventure to take you into the lives of the Vanger Clan and the deep dark secrets it holds.

The book starts off with an introduction of all main characters in the book such as Mikael

Blomkvist, Dragan Armansky, Harald Vanger and Lisbeth Salander. Blomkvist is employed by Vanger for

two purposes, to find out who murdered his beloved niece Harriet Vanger, and to write a family

biography of the entire Vanger Clan. When Blomkvist can’t get something he needs, he employs the

help of Lisbeth Salander, a very skilled private investigator to help him. In doing so, he discovers the

deepest and darkest secrets of the Vanger Clan, some that even Harald didn’t know himself.

As Salander and Blomkvist start working together, which involves living in the same house, they

soon realize what actually happened to Harriet Vanger. That’s when the threats start coming, in the

most vile of ways. “On the porch lay the half-charred corpse of a cat. The cat’s legs and head had been

cut off, then the body had been flayed… He ought to file a police report for animal cruelty, possibly

intimidation, but he did not think he would want to explain why the intimidation had taken place.” (398,

400) Salander and Blokmkvist are put in a life or death situation with not many possible ways to get out

of it.

When Salander and Blomkvist start figuring out where to go, they figure out just how cruel

people can actually be. With animal cruelty, a serial killer, suicide and sexual assault, it changes the

views of theirs and the readers on the world. 

                This is book is a wonderful read for those who like mystery and romance yet have the stomach to read through some of the more interesting parts.