The Girl Who Played With Fire

The Girl Who Played With Fire by Stieg Larsson Quercus, HK$114

It is one of the saddest stories of recent literary history. Having dedicated his life to fighting neo-fascist organisations, Swedish journalist and graphic designer Stieg Larsson wrote three crime novels: in 2005, the first part of his Millennium trilogy, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, was published; it sold millions of copies across the world. Tragically, Larsson had died of a heart attack in 2004. Part two, The Girl Who Played With Fire, is even stronger than part one. Once again, our heroes are Mikael Blomkvist and Lisbeth Salander, an unlikely pair of detectives. Blomkvist, a crusading journalist-amateur sleuth, plays second fiddle to Salander, a damaged cyber-punk and mathematical genius, computer hacker and girl with a dragon tattoo. After a brief affair, Salander is avoiding Blomkvist for reasons he cannot fathom. When she becomes the prime suspect in the murder of three men, Blomkvist fears he has his answer. Beginning his own investigation, he learns not only that all three 'victims' worked in the sex trafficking trade but also a brutal truth about Salander's past. Part polemic against misogyny and part brilliant thriller, The Girl Who Played With Fire is extraordinary.