I enjoyed this book and found it compelling reading by virtue of the author's finesse. The emotions here are quieter, more subdued, yet familiar and poignant. The book doesn't have the usual dramatic hook, nor does it build to a swelling crescendo either in action or emotion. Still, the reader is lifted along with gentle hands in this ultimate voyeurism -- watching the living through the eyes of the deceased, with all the wonderment and revelation it contains.

The second two books of the trilogy are really as one, with the third book starting as though the chapters were continuous. I had to wait for my wife to finish the third before I could start and I was chomping at the bit! Larsson is a master of tying up loose ends, which seem endless in this complex and mesmerizing tale of how an amazingly gifted yet flawed young woman is caught up and implicated in multiple murders while powers high up in the security police go to extreme measures to keep secrets and mislead investigators. A thrilling and compelling read. The only real let down is getting to the end and knowing that we will not see Larsson's hand continue the stories of Lisbeth Salander.