The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
The way the mystery wrapped up provided closure in some ways, but it also left me conflicted. The decision Mikael made to cover up the Vanger family's dark secrets for the so-called "greater good" was frustrating, but I couldn’t deny the logic behind it. Sure, it saved the family’s legacy and avoided public scandal, but it left a bitter taste like justice for the victims was only partially served, and the fact that Mikael thought this was the best solution felt like a compromise. The central mystery was compelling, and I enjoyed the way it slowly unravelled into something bigger. Harriet being dead never sat right with me because there was no 'body', so I was glad when she turned out to be alive. It felt like a fairytale ending where things worked out, and I appreciated that little moment of happiness after all the grim reveals. The novel had quite a few red herrings, which got frustrating at times, but the eventual payoff made it worth it. While Martin was high on my list of suspects, I was unsure about Gottfried’s involvement until it became clear, which added another dark twist to the family’s history. His deeper involvement added a disturbing layer of generational trauma to the story. I loathed Isabella like she was despicable, and I’m convinced she belongs in the same place in hell (the deepest darkest most horrendous part) as Martin, Gottfried, Bjurman, and probably Harald too. So many LOATHSOME characters in the book really and not many redeemable ones. As for the financial subplot... it’s not what I signed up for. The whole Wennerström angle felt like filler in parts, and it struggled to hold my attention, especially when it drifted away from the core mystery about Harriet. It did add some complexity to Mikael’s character and showed his skills as a journalist, but I found myself skimming through most of it.
When it comes to characters I found the whole relationship dynamic between Mikael, Berger, Cecilia, and eventually Lisbeth kind of wild?? Like it's not often we come across open relationships like these in books and idk, it just felt kinda wacky but works ig. The age gap between Mikael and Lisbeth being 18 years didn’t sit well with me, even though Lisbeth is a 24-year-old adult. I'm not a fan of age-gap relationships in general and when I sensed the two of them might be paired together, it put a damper on my mood. What with Dragan hitting on her first and then Bjurman abusing her and like why doesn't she get paired with someone a little closer in age (I have a close irl friend who's married to someone 18 years her senior and I get that it works and like they've a really happy sweet relationship but my mind would still never be able to wrap around such huge gaps. Just a personal ick) I can understand Lisbeth's someone who comes with a lot of baggage and needs someone reliable and Mikael seems to offer just the kind of support she needs, I'm not too positively motivated by them being together cuz there still feels a little imbalance of power sort of.
Anyhoo, despite all that, I really liked Lisbeth’s character—she’s the standout for me. She’s fierce, intelligent, and deeply complex. If I were to continue the series, it would be solely because of her.
As for the villains—Martin, Gottfried, even Bjurman were all thoroughly vile. What I found most compelling was how the novel didn’t shy away from presenting them as evil without much room for nuance, especially in the case of Martin and Gottfried. It’s a brutal portrayal of power and abuse, but it’s not sugar-coated. The way the book handles these men, especially in the context of Lisbeth’s personal traumas, gives the story a raw edge. The violence is harrowing, but it doesn’t feel gratuitous—it serves to illustrate just how broken these systems of power and control are to me.
It really took me back to the times I'd be fully invested in mostly male crime-fiction writers and like there was this familiarity yet also clarity on how male-gazey some of these write ups are and how I hadn't really picked up on that before. In the end, I think I'd rate this 3.5 stars. The mystery was strong, and Lisbeth was incredible, but the pacing issues and some of the side plots, particularly the financial stuff, dragged the overall experience down for me.
