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

girl who kicked the hornets nest audiobook

What’s it about? The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest is the finale to Stieg Larsson’s Millennium Trilogy. It picks up right where the second book left off, with Lisbeth Salander in the hospital being treated for her injuries. On her release she will face trial for three murders and one attempted murder. With the help of her friend, Mikael Blomkvist, she must prove her innocence, and identify and denounce those who have allowed the vulnerable, like herself, to become victims of abuse and violence.

Is the narrator any good? If you read my reviews of The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo and The Girl Who Played With Fire, you’ll know that I’m a big fan of Saul Reichlin. In this audio book he once again enriches a narrative already alive with interesting characters. Plus he easily handles the many Swedish names and places that could make it difficult to read, rather than listen, to the book.

The verdict? This final book is a very satisfying conclusion to the trilogy, with Larsson doing an impressive job of tying up loose ends. Having said this, if you have read the first two books in this trilogy then you will surely read The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest without any recommendation from me. If you haven’t read the first two, then hurry up and download The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. The trilogy had me completely hooked from beginning to end, and given the hype that surrounds the three books I know I’m not the only one! The only disappointment is knowing there won’t be any further books from the late Stieg Larsson – what a pity that he’s lost to us!

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The Girl Who Played With Fire by Stieg Larsson

the girl who played with fire audiobookWhat’s it about? In The Girl Who Played With Fire, the second novel in Stieg Larsson’s Millennium Trilogy, Lisbeth Salander is a wanted woman. Mikael Blomkvist and the police are conducting parallel investigations into three horrifying murders – and their initial evidence points straight at Salander whose fingerprints are on the murder weapon. While Blomkvist – alone in his belief in her innocence (well, at least for two of the murders) – investigates the slayings, Lisbeth is drawn into a hunt in which she is the prey, and which compels her to revisit her dark past in an effort to settle with it once and for all.

Is the narrator any good? If you read my review of The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, you will be aware that I’m a big fan of Saul Reichlin. In this audio book he once again enriches a narrative already alive with interesting characters. Plus he easily handles the many Swedish names and places that could make it difficult to read, rather than listen, to the book.

The verdict? I enjoyed The Girl Who Played With Fire as much, if not more, than its predecessor. It’s an intelligent page turner that will keep you guessing until the final page. And the ending will have you running to get the third book ASAP.

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The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson

WThe girl with the dragon tattoo audiobookhat’s it about? The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo (originally titled “Men Who Hate Women”) is an award winning mystery by the late Swedish author and journalist Stieg Larsson. The book is titled after the character Lisabeth Salander, a societal outcast and social ward of the State, uncivilized without any desire to obey societal norms, and replete with piercings, tattoos, and a goth/biker appearance. Lisabeth teams up with Mikael Blomkvist, a once-respected financial journalist who has watched his professional life rapidly crumble around him, to investigate a 40-year old mystery – the disappearance of Harriet Vanger from a family gathering. When the pair link Harriet’s disappearance to a number of grotesque murders from forty years ago, they begin to unravel a dark and appalling family history. However, not everyone is happy that Blomkvist and Salander are digging around in the past.

Is the narrator any good? Saul Reichlin brings this book to life in a wonderful way. It is easy to distinguish between characters, despite a variety of accents (Swedish, Irish, Australian, Russian, etc.) and Reichlin does this without making them into caricatures. Overall, it was a pleasure listening to Reichlin read this book.

The verdict? You’ve probably heard all the rave reviews surrounding this book (and the others in The Trilogy); believe them! This is a thrilling and addictive mystery with characters who are both greatly enduring and refreshingly different. Warning: this book does start very slowly, but if you push through this you will be rewarded.

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