One of the (many) benefits of being retired is the freedom to take two days in the middle of a week to do nothing but read, especially when an author such as Steig Larsson ‘appears.’

I’ve written elsewhere (click here) about his first book, ‘The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo’.  His second book, ‘The Girl Who Played With Fire’, was published in the US Tuesday, July 28th, and I am most pleased to report that it’s every bit as involving and page turning as his first.

As I did in my post about his first book, I won’t try to capture (so to speak) the story or the details of ‘The Girl Who Played With Fire.’  I’ll leave that discovery to you.

But if you enjoyed the first one, I believe you will not be disappointed by this one.

It picks up almost where you left off, with the same characters and a plot line every bit as intriguing as his first novel.

This one perhaps starts a bit slowly, but it gathers steam pretty quickly, and my advice to the potential reader is similar to what I said about his first one: don’t start it if you do not have an unencumbered day or two ahead of you.

Folks may quibble which of the two is better, but don’t waste your time trying to learn if one is better than the other. 

‘The Girl Who Played With Fire’ is simply a good read., and if you were intrigued by the character of Lisbeth Salander in the first book, you will be pleased to know that she is even more central and developed in this one.

Let me know what you think once you’ve finished it.

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Larsson died in 2004, prior to the publishing of the trilogy. Reportedly, he had written a fourth volume, not finished, and had outlined a number of future plots.

For more on Larsson, his background, and his writing, there is a website that may interest you. Click here.