The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest by Stieg Larsson

The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest is the third and final book in the Millennium Trilogy. It is an excellent novel and such a page turner that I had a hard time putting it down. It is a 500 page book with some pretty dense language, but I was able to finish it in only a couple days.

The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest starts directly after the events of The Girl Who Played with Fire. Lisbeth Salander is fighting for her life the hospital after being shot in the head at the end of the last novel. Although Lisbeth is wounded and locked away for a large part of the novel, she is a formidable foe. Her allies Mikael Blomkvist, Annika Gianni (Blomkvist’s sister and Lisbeth’s lawyer), Anders Jonasson, and Dragon Armansky work together to help free Lisbeth from murder allegations and to expose the massive government cover-up that has led to Lisbeth being abused for much of her life. Exposure of this conspiracy will not only vindicate Lisbeth, but will rock the Swedish government.

Larsson wrote this novel with meticulous detail, which I have read complaints about in other reviews. I like the detail and still was able to briskly read through the novel. It was a bit slow at the beginning and the end, but overall a good read.

Was anyone else scared by the scene of Zalachenko trying to get to Lisbeth’s room in the hospital on his crutches? The thought of being confined to a hospital bed and being able to hear your attacker’s crutches coming down the hall is terrifying. I wanted to know why the two were only doors apart when they were both in the hospital after trying to kill each other! That seems like a problem!

While the novel was a thrilling read, my favorite part of it was the strong women. Lisbeth herself is a unique heroine and although she is small in stature, she doesn’t let life take control of her, she takes firm control of life. Other female characters such as Monica Figuerola and Erika Berger were tough women in a man’s world. I liked the exerpts about amazons and women warriors. The first book in this trilogy may have been about “men who hate women,” but the third book is about women triumphantly fighting back.

I enjoyed this book and the entire series. If you haven’t read them yet, I highly recommend them. Are the Swedish movies worth watching or should I wait for the American versions?

Book Source: The Kewaunee Public Library