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)

Very good after the first few chapters.

The story was slow to get started and hard to follow the accents until a few chapters in. Good characters and great story line. Family full of crazies. Good listen and I would recommend it if you have not seen the movie. I will not watch the movie now that I know the ending. I recommend this book.

A dark and twisted tale.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is a twisted roller coaster of a mystery. The story starts off a little slow, but as the book goes on it becomes increasingly disturbing and dark.

While much of the story focuses on the love life of Mikhail, which I could have done with out, Lisbeth steals the spotlight with her intelligence and bravery.

This story is one where you never quite know what is going on until the very end, but hang in there, it's a pretty great ending.

Engaging

I have been known to have my mind wander when I drive (listen to a story, but then realize I'm day dreaming about something unrelated). I was surprised how long this tale kept me engaged. Riveting! Allow more time to get into it up front, but before long, you'll be wishing the traffic lights would turn red so you could hear more of the story, like I did. (Listen to this audio book before you're tempted to see its Swedish film).

spellbinding!! Kept me listening.

If you could sum up The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo in three words, what would they be?

Mystery, Intrigue, and romance.

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

Just when you think that you have figured out "who done it" the story took another curve!

Which scene was your favorite?

When she rescued him from the hidden chamber!!!

Any additional comments?

I listened to this while on my treadmill, most times I went longer than I planned because I wanted to see what was going to happen.

The Perfect Mystery Novel

This was the perfect mystery. I wish it were twice as long because I loved it so much! Great story, characters, and performance!

Better than the movie :)

At least, much better than the remake, and par with the Swedish one! I recommend it wholeheartedly. The performance was also very much on point.

Great suspense story

This was a great suspense/action story. I do not often get into this genre of book, but this one was clever even if it was formulaic and I enjoyed “reading” it very much.

An oldie but a goodie

I've listened to this book more than once. It keeps me intrigued to the very end. I highly recommend it.

Brilliantly written, Lizbeth Salander is shocking!

Where does The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Very close to the top, however the girl who played with fire ... bumped it out of first place.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo?

Hacking and I hate hackers ... but this character brings hacking to another level.

Which character – as performed by Simon Vance – was your favorite?

All

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

Little wasp has big STING!

Any additional comments?

Read it you will enjoy it.

Really good

Based on what I'd heard about this book, I thought it would somehow be life-altering. It didn't quite meet that expectation, but it is a fantastic, suspenseful story, driven by three things: Larsson's ability to manage plot strands and deliver revelations in a surprising but not outrageous way; Lisbeth Salander, a phenomenally interesting heroine; and Simon Vance's magnificent narration. Vance is amazing, carrying a large cast of characters with diverse accents and a long list of Swedish names and places with expert clarity and eloquence. Prepare yourself to be patient - the first half is slow, with a lot of setup, before things take off in the second half. I think it's worth it though - I dove right into the second book in the series.