The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

A Lisbeth Salander Novel

By: Stieg Larsson, Reg Keeland - translator

Narrated by: Simon Vance

Length: 16 hrs and 19 mins

Publisher's summary

#1 NATIONAL BESTSELLER • The thrilling first book in the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo series featuring Lisbeth Salander: “Combine the chilly Swedish backdrop and moody psychodrama of a Bergman movie with the grisly pyrotechnics of a serial-killer thriller, then add an angry punk heroine and a down-on-his-luck investigative journalist, and you have the ingredients of Stieg Larsson’s first novel” (The New York Times). • Also known as the Millennium series

Harriet Vanger, a scion of one of Sweden's wealthiest families disappeared over forty years ago. All these years later, her aged uncle continues to seek the truth. He hires Mikael Blomkvist, a crusading journalist recently trapped by a libel conviction, to investigate. He is aided by the pierced and tattooed punk prodigy Lisbeth Salander. Together they tap into a vein of unfathomable iniquity and astonishing corruption.

Look for the latest book in the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo series, The Girl in the Eagle's Talons, coming soon!

Listen to the rest of The Millennium Trilogy.

©2008 Stieg Larsson (P)2008 Books on Tape

Critic reviews

"Cases rarely come much colder than the decades-old disappearance of teen heiress Harriet Vanger from her family's remote island retreat north of Stockholm, nor do fiction debuts hotter than this European best seller...At once a strikingly original thriller and a vivisection of Sweden's dirty not-so-little secrets, this first of a trilogy introduces a provocatively odd couple." (Publishers Weekly)

"Combine the chilly Swedish backdrop and moody psychodrama of a Bergman movie with the grisly pyrotechnics of a serial-killer thriller, then add an angry punk heroine and a down-on-his-luck investigative journalist, and you have the ingredients of Stieg Larsson's first novel." (The New York Times)

"The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is a striking novel. Just when I was thinking there wasn't anything new on the horizon, along comes Stieg Larsson with this wonderfully unique story. I was completely absorbed." (Michael Connelly)

Great Story!!

When I first started this story I thought man why is he giving me the names of all these people and why is he jumping around so much, it made it a little hard to follow, one has to listen carefully BUT keep listening. I suddenly found myself having difficulty turning this story off!! I couldn't wait to hear what was going to happen next. Be warned that you may find yourself staying up late at nite for this one!

This Book was Excellent!

While I'll concede that the Swedes seem to have a thing for money, rape, and torture according to this book, but other than that this book is GREAT. Seriously, even in spite of all the complicated Swedish landmarks, names, and strange currency, the book speaks to everyone. It's universally awesome. I must sound really stupid, but it is 1:30 in the morning, pardon my poor syntax and construction.

Totally Excellent

A wonderful 'read'. This book really stayed with me, made me care about the characters. I wish the author had written a couple more chapters!

The Payoff is fantastic

PLEASE give this book a chance! It takes a while to get through the background information, but it is worth it in the end. Stay with it and you will be rewarded. The second book jumps right into the action, and the author delves into Lisbeth's past. I couldn't put it down. The third book is coming out in Europe this October so it will be out here soon. Hopefully they'll keep the same narrator, as he was wonderful. Highly recommended if you can get through the first couple of hours.

Couldn't stop listening

Enjoyed every moment right up to the excellent ending.

Excellent

I've been listening to books for many years and this stands out as one of the best! In regards to the reviewers who claim that the book jumps too much, character development and plot twists may truly be too much for some people. Excellent read! Superbly narrated by Simon Vance!

Simon Vance was Amazing

What I loved: The mystery/thriller part of this book was fascinating, engaging, and quite a ride. I had a hard time figuring out who did it and why. When I found out, it was a great journey to the end, which is far away at that point in the book.

What I liked: Most of the characters were really well thought out. Each one flushed out just enough by the author that you could understand their motivations and personalities. You weren't sitting there at any point going "no way he/she would have done that". Some of the characters are quite shocking though, so be prepared for that.

What I thought was "sorta ok": The financial part of the story was not all that thrilling, at least from my point of view. It was kind of like 2 books in one, like it was hard to decide which one the author really wanted to write. I could have done without "LS" rape scene, it was a little too graphic for me but it was a significant reason she does a lot of things.

What I didn't like: Nothing really. Thought the beginning dragged a bit (first 5 chapters or so) but you quickly forget that as the story starts rolling.

Why I gave it a 4: This was a really well rounded story with intriguing plots, storylines, and characters. There were definite "edge of your seat moments" followed by "let me devour the information presented moments". Had the beginning been a bit more catchy and the financial storyline been a little less detailed, it would have gotten a 5.

Awesome

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I am a James Patterson fan and disagree with others who believe the book is ineffective. Yes the book is long, but it is needed for character building and the twist and turns that take place near the end. Some of the topics in the book are disturbing, yet I understand why the author added them. I highly recommend this book to all my friends and family.

In my opinion the book is an elementary Silence of the Lambs meets Angels and Demons. I am left longing to understand what happens to the "girl with the dragoon tattoo".

Lastly, I too would like to see this as a movie.

Great Audiobook

I very much enjoyed this audio book.

I SHOULD NOT HAVE WAITED...

What a surprise! A book that actually lives up to all the hype! I became completely taken by the unique characters, the world in which they lived (my having little or no knowledge of Sweden), and the absolutely terrific writing, which further amazes me since it was translated from Swedish.

I cannot wait now to see the films made from this mesmerizing book. I wish I hadn't waited so long to listen to it. I'm so excited about completing the trilogy...I don't want it to end!

And I adore Simon Vance's narration. He makes the characters come alive with his smooth, yet intense performance.