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 book, great narrator!

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes, the narrator is very good.

What did you like best about this story?

Book well written and well developed.

What does Simon Vance bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

gives personality to each character through voice and tone. Each character is given a certain tone and pitch.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes, it is well narrator.

Great!

Loved every minute of it. Keeps you listening right through to the end. I can not wait till another book in this series comes out.

Great Book, kept my interest

Listened to the three book series twice, once after the other. It was entertaining the first time, but the second time more details came into focus. I would recommend this book if you like mystery and intrigue.

An engaging listen

I found this read a bit slow and difficult to get into at first; mostly because of the unfamiliar names and places that I couldn't keep straight. However, the story grabbed me and I couldn't wait to listen everyday and find out what would happen next. While I didn't enjoy the explicit sex scenes and brutal violence, I found these scenes helped the author develop his characters gradually and you learned a bit more as the story went on. I am definitely going to read the next book.

Good read

The story is slow at first but gets really good halfway. Narrator did quite a good job.

Fabulous Trilogy!

Would you consider the audio edition of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo to be better than the print version?

I love audio, for the freedom it gives me the read anytime and anywhere.

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

Sometimes. These books go into great detail and the detail can sometimes slow down the suspense, but these stories had some amazingly suspenseful moments. I loved all three books and will probably listen again and again.

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

He didn't really make anyone jump out at you. He was at times a little droll, but he still kept the story very engaging.

Slow Start from the author

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

This is the first book of Larsson's I have listened/read. The performance was great. The Author however - Very slow start, almost decided not to listen to the rest of it. Glad I stuck to it though. Made me want to see the movie, but since the movie got mixed reviews I decided to wait until it comes out on rental.

Which scene was your favorite?

Most memorable was the revenge on the Guardian of the girl with the dragon tattoo

Any additional comments?

the ending was disappointingly flat.

Great book if your into dialogue

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

Multi stories that come together.

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

Yes I enjoyed getting to know all the characters. Not an easy read so you need to pay attention.

Which scene was your favorite?

When Lisbeth comes back after ride on the motorcycle.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

You feel Lisbeth soften and I enjoy her humor.

Any additional comments?

Enjoy the information at the beginning of the book, then it really starts to get good when they introduce Lisbeth.

Doesn't Live Up to the Hype

When I actually read this book the first time, I was challenged by the Swedish names of locations in the book. Stumbling through them really threw off the flow of the storyline for me. In addition, it was a slow read as the plot is often painfully bogged down by excessive details. With all the rave reviews it???s received though, I was compelled to try it again ??? this time in audio. Listening to it was much more enjoyable. Overall though, I still don???t feel it lives up all the hype.

Excellent Narration takes it to the next level

What else can I say? I the story is excellent and the narration really takes it to the next level. After listening to dozens of audiobooks this (series) is the best narrated I have heard.