Allie's Must Read of the Month

Maybe I'll start a new series of posts...

But for now, I just have to express my love for this book series I've recently discovered, called "The Millennium Trilogy".

"The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo" is the first in the series by the late Swedish author, Steig Larson. It is followed by "The Girl Who Played With Fire", which I am in the process of reading, and "The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet's Nest". They've taken the NY Times Best Seller List by storm, and the first Hollywood movie is already in the works.

Larson has woven a very complex, intriguing plot of mystery and murder together with a set of unconventional but fascinating characters to create a suspenseful nail-biter that I can't put down! (Or I can't stop listening to, in my case, since I downloaded the audiobooks from Audible.com for my commutes back and forth from Memphis to Jackson.)  Being a long-time murder/mystery fiction fan, I've gotten to a point where I can predict a lot of the endings and twists in many books that I read. Don't get me wrong, Mary Higgins Clark is a quick, enjoyable read for me, but sometimes I just want to be knocked off my feet!

That's exactly what this book delivers.

One of my favorite things about this book is the heroine, Lisbeth. She's not your typical "I'm beautiful and smart, but I just don't realize it" or "My parents divorced when I was young, so I've never trusted anyone... until now" type of heroine. She's rough, in the way she looks and the way she acts. She's the girl you'd stare at and judge if you passed her on the street, but she'll surprise you.

I love her for many reasons. She's not a victim, even though most people in her situation would be. She moves ahead, and takes care of business. She's an absolute genius, and extremely talented, and could easily use her talents to her advantage. But she's incredibly and surprisingly moral, so she only uses her gifts to give people what they deserve. There is lots of bad-guy butt-kicking involved! I can't help but cheer for her the entire time, and feel oddly proud of her as she evolves and "grows up" from the end of the first book and into the second.

I tweeted right after I cut my hair shorter and dyed it darker that it make me feel like Lisbeth! Of course, I don't want to be just like her- I'll pass on the piercings and tattoos and terrible goth clothes she sports in the first book. However, she has a mental toughness and take-charge-of-her-life attitude that I wouldn't mind sharing!



The American movie "The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo" is filming now, and set to be released in late 2011. I. CAN'T. WAIT. For now, I've watched the Swedish version several times, and "The Girl Who Played With Fire" is on it's way to me from Netflix. Here's a trailer of the Swedish movie if you are interested!

**** Obviously, these books are only suitable for adults. I find the crimes committed particularly disturbing, even though I have read countless thriller novels and I don't scare easily. (Wikipedia the book or ask me if you are curious). If you can handle this, I highly recommend reading them, because it makes Lisbeth's butt-kicking even more awesome and justified!****