What readers think of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, plus links to write your own review.

To call this book a "crime thriller" or a "techno thriller" or even a "murder mystery" is to do it an injustice. It starts out a bit slowly but builds by midpoint to one of those books you just can't put down. What at first looks like a closed-room mystery turns out to be a very meticulously built set of parallel stories that eventually come together in unexpected and explosive ways. The character of techno-punk, deeply damaged Lisbeth Salander has to be one of the most intriguing heroines to have graced the page in recent years.

A bonus book with 3 stories in one, one theme ends and leads to the next only to be brought back to the original. The first 10 pages left some doubt about the ability to stay with the book. Then, it picked up speed and never stopped; even the ending was a surprise.

The references to misogyny were subtle and a good reminder of what an unchecked society can allow. This condition is alive and well throughout the world.

The reader of this outstanding book will be intrigued by its plot, character studies and thrilling mysteries. However, there is much more to be gained from it. The late author was an expert Nazi hunter who understood better than most how sadism and economic greed motivated the followers of Adolph Hitler. One caveat: this book contains explicit sexual violence.

In "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo", Stieg Larsson has written a blockbuster read with, after a slow start, breathtaking plot development and several of the oddest, most intriguing and likable characters in crime fiction. As a fan of the mystery genre, I couldn't help but compare Stieg's character Lisbeth Salander with Carol O'Connell's Kathy Mallory. Both protagonists are somewhat "damaged"; Kathy by living on the streets as a child and Lisbeth by being misdiagnosed as mentally incompetent and cruelly abused by a sadistic guardian. Both have a unique sense of justice and are brilliant computer experts working outside of the rules. Having such characters helps to keep the work fresh and unpredictable. Stieg's main character, Mikael Blomkvist, is equally fleshed out, but Lisbeth outshines him (see the title). Stieg cleverly blends several plot lines together to form a cohesive story line that will keep everybody guessing and reading! (The reader should be aware that there is quite a bit of graphic violence.) I highly recommend this book. You won't be disappointed!

Any novel that starts with a diagram of the genealogy of a family scares me, but this one proved to be a winner of a mystery. Descriptions of the characters and the setting bring the story to life and even though some of the story line is predictable, it is still a page turner.

Although not a fan of crime fiction, I could not put this book down. I have shouted to the rooftops to anyone I know that they must purchase this book.A compelling mystery, binding a dysfunctional family with larger themes of corruption, greed,and investigative journalism makes this book the number one book of the year!

I can't say that I've ever read a book that I "couldn't put down", but occasionally I've found one that made it difficult to stop thinking about and get on with whatever my task is. This book is one of those. It's a very different take on a "closed room" mystery with two very strong lead characters and a satisfying conclusion. I highly recommend it to anyone that likes a good, well written mystery .

I love a literary mystery, and this one delivers. The reader must be patient at the beginning. The Swedish simplicity of lifestyle and sexual freedom are a little disconcerting, but minor to the mystery. A touch of James Patterson's criminal depravity, but overall a well designed plot with a family's secrets revealed. The characters are well fleshed out. The first of a trilogy; I can't wait for the next two books. How sad he died before this was published.