The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest by Stieg Larsson

            Usually readers consider taking a break after completing a 600+ page novel, but I literally finished The Girl Who Played with Fire and started The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest within seconds of each other.  First of all I had to find out if Salander was going to live (which I figured she would – this was, after all, supposed to be a series of ten novels, had the author not suffered a fatal heart attack after writing just three).  Secondly, I was interested to see if this third book would actually have a conclusion, or if it would leave the reader hanging as much as the first two.  I was not disappointed.

            So this novel was focused around Salander and her “spy” father, whom she hacked up with an axe in self-defense in the second novel.  After recovering from brain surgery (because her father shot her and buried her alive) Salander is in the hospital only yards away from where her father is recovering also.  One night he tries to limp down to her room and end it for good, but he is unsuccessful.  It turns out that he doesn’t get another opportunity. 

            A majority of this novel is hard for me to follow, not knowing the government organizations of Sweden, but I believe it to be very similar to what we would consider a CIA story.  (Again, this series reminds me of the Jason Bourne series with a Law and Order twist.)  There were many new characters in this novel, but a lot of the regulars, including Michael Blomkvist and Berger, play major roles.  Basically the plot revolves around Salander’s court case and the crew of characters who work behind the scenes to make sure she is proven innocent and declared competent.  Many characters are put in harms way and there are many intense, suspenseful scenes, but overall I was pleased with the outcome and the series. 

            This was a very challenging read: many characters to keep track of, many Swedish words that I was (and still am) unfamiliar with, and FULL of new information from start to finish.  But I encourage strong readers to give it a try (and mature readers, due to graphic language, violence, and sexual scenes).