The Girl in the Spider’s Web by David Lagercrantz

I found myself pleasantly surprised while reading The Girl in the Spider’s Web and maybe I shouldn’t have been. You just never know if a different writer will be able to bring someone else’s characters to life in the same way you remember them. David Lagercrantz delivered on that, bringing Lisbeth Salandar and Mikael Blomkvist back to life.

I read Stieg Larsson’s Millenium Series a few years ago and I really enjoyed them. I can even remember being stuck on a plane on a runway while reading one of them – I had no idea we sat there for two hours as I was so into the book. (Funny aside, I could see Snoop Dogg’s green socks in first class). Larsson created two fantastic characters in both Salandar and Blomkvist and all three books were hard to put down. Plus, Lisbeth Salandar is a baddass who takes care of men who hurt women and children. How can you not like her!

The Girl in the Spider’s Web had all the right ingredients – the original characters back, some great new characters, interesting hacking happening, adventures in so many ways and the chase for a story that created a story in the book itself. That was my take at least and it was one I had trouble putting down. Plus, just a little something at the end that left me thinking that Lagercrantz will bring Salandar and Blomkvist back again.

The story also delved back into Salandar’s life and I learned more about her. The author continued to add to her story despite not creating her originally and her backstory drives so much of what she does and who she is. And he kept the parts of her that make her such a special character – badassness, immense intelligence and her view of the world.

If you enjoyed the original series, I think you’ll enjoy this one as well. And if you haven’t read the Millenium Series, I’d definitely encourage you to go back and start with The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. If you like adventure, mystery and action, they’re certainly all worth reading.

Enjoy!

K

(Book 4 – don’t worry, I’m not that far behind, I’m still reading lots!)