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The Girl Who Played with Fire  By  cover art

The Girl Who Played with Fire

By: Stieg Larsson, Reg Keeland - translator
Narrated by: Simon Vance
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Editorial reviews

Stieg Larsson was a crusading Swedish journalist, committed to the fight against political extremism and racism in his home country. In his spare time he completed a trilogy of striking crime novels, which he delivered to his publishers just before his untimely death in 2004. The first novel, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, centred on Mikhail Blomkvist, a crusading journalist with a social conscience; its sequel, The Girl Who Played with Fire, shifts focus onto the socially awkward computer hacker Lisbeth Salander, who becomes entangled in an investigation into sex trafficking, murder, and establishment corruption. This unusual central character is the story's main strength, allowing it to stand apart from the raft of contemporary and classic crime novels which Larsson fondly draws on. An expert hacker and mathematics-obsessive, Salander is a clenched fist of a character; difficult, psychologically traumatised, and capable of extreme violence.

Simon Vance endows her with the accent of an East London street urchin, a fitting voice for this embattled woman. While his narration is crisp, Vance's other characters range from working-class Northern English accents for Blomkvist, assorted police, and journalists, while others are given accents somewhere between Scandinavian and Bela Lugosi. However, as the plot thickens, such incongruities are forgotten, and a compelling social reality is created by Vance's skilled performance, which includes a sensitive rendition of a stroke victim's voice. Vance's cool delivery also suits the reportage feel of much of the writing; characters are introduced through their occupation, address, and educational background, while a mass of tiny observations (such as coffee mugs decorated with the logo of the civil service union) at times convey the tone of a police report. It is a tribute to Vance's delivery that the narrative thrust carries the accumulation of detail effortlessly from one action-packed set-piece to the next.

Larsson's published books have been a European phenomenon, due less, perhaps, to any narrative or thematic innovations as to the author's visceral anger at social injustice and the mistreatment of the vulnerable, particularly women. Violence against women is the work's central motif: the Swedish title of the first book in the series translates as Men Who Hate Women, and Salander is "the woman who hates men who hate women". In fact, there is an element of salacious revenge fantasy to much of her actions as she fights fire with fire; the story treads a fine line between condemning sadism and revelling in sadistic imagery. The real enemy of the tale is institutionalised machismo: policemen are loutish, rape is endemic, and villains enjoy guns, motorbikes, and magazines about motorbikes. Everyone, meanwhile, summers in wood shacks in the Swedish countryside.

While very much part of a larger whole (there are numerous references to events that occurred in the first part of the trilogy), The Girl Who Played with Fire stands alone as a highly enjoyable, if not always smooth - and often disquieting - mixture of classic crime tropes, searing violence, and vivid characterization. Dafydd Phillips

Publisher's summary

The electrifying follow-up to the phenomenal best seller The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo ("An intelligent, ingeniously plotted, utterly engrossing thriller" The Washington Post), and this time it is Lisbeth Salander, the troubled, wise-beyond-her-years genius hacker, who is the focus and fierce heart of the story.

Mikael Blomkvist, crusading journalist and publisher of the magazine Millennium, has decided to publish a story exposing an extensive sex trafficking operation between Eastern Europe and Sweden, implicating well-known and highly placed members of Swedish society, business, and government.

On the eve of publication, the two reporters responsible for the story are brutally murdered. But perhaps more shocking for Blomkvist: the fingerprints found on the murder weapon belong to Lisbeth Salander.

Now, as Blomkvist, alone in his belief in her innocence, plunges into his own investigation of the slayings, Salander is drawn into a murderous 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.

Listen to the rest of The Millennium Trilogy.
©2009 Stieg Larsson (P)2009 Random House

Critic reviews

“Boasts an intricate, puzzle-like story line . . . even as it accelerates toward its startling and violent conclusion.” (Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times)
“[A] gripping, stay-up-all-night read.” ( Entertainment Weekly)
“Gripping stuff. . . . A nail-biting tale of murder and cover-ups.” ( People)

Featured Article: The Best British Narrators


If you're looking for an audiobook in an accent, check out these listens from our favorite British narrators. Authenticity is something many listeners value in their audiobook experiences, and that often boils down to narration style and accents. Although so many audiobooks are narrated by many talented actors with wide ranges, sometimes it's just nice to listen to an audiobook performed by someone in their native accent. If you're searching for the best British narrators, look no further. We’ve done the tough job of picking just ten of our favorite British narrators that you'll love listening to.

What listeners say about The Girl Who Played with Fire

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great book

love the girl with the dragon tattoo series they're great books once I start them I can't stop listening wish there was more than 4 books

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Awesome

The Story, the narration, it's all Awesome! it's sad that this author is no longer with us, what a great story writer!

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Very good - kept me involved the entire time

I have really liked this series so far, very entertaining and the narrator is good. Highly recommend if you liked the first one.

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Fantastic Story/Performance

One of the greatest story/performances I’ve heard on Audible to date.

The narrator is extremely dynamic and does the story line justice.

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Fantastic!

Stieg Larsson struck again with another great work! Love the narrator as well. Excellent job!

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headline

Thank you very much for the offer to make that room a gaming room goes live we'll never get them out.

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Love

love these books. I had a hard time turning them off to do other things.

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Awesome book from an awesome series

Super characters and storyline that kept me on the edge of my seat throughout. The first book is the best, but this second book is also fantastic.

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Fabulous!

What did you love best about The Girl Who Played with Fire?

This book was such an enjoyable read (listen). The plot kept me enthralled the whole time. Stieg Larsson does such a fantastic job building suspense. I kept wanting to listen late into the night.

What about Simon Vance’s performance did you like?

Simon Vance is one of my favorite narrators. He always does such a great job with characterization and he has such a pleasant voice to listen to. The only thing that was odd was listening to Swedish characters speak in British accents. But I guess if Daniel Craig can be Blomqvist with a British accent in the movie then Simon Vance can get away with it too.

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A Must Read!

I was skeptical about this selection, but ended up binge-listening the WHOLE SERIES in just a few days because they were so good. The characters have depth, the plot kept my attention at every turn, and the narrator's voice is easing to listen to--I found this narrator to be perhaps my most favorite of all narrators I've heard thus far. He didn't add any unnecessary dramatic flare and read with fluidity--it felt as though he wrote the story! I would highly recommend this series to anyone!

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