#75: The Girl Who Takes an Eye for an Eye by David Lagercrantz

Lisbeth Salander is in prison--for, basically, everything that happened in the last four books--and ends up in the sights of a murderous prison boss; while on the outside, her old friend, journalist Mikael Blomqvist, starts to uncover the details of an unethical experiment Salander was a part of as a child.

How these stories slowly, and then quickly, intertwine is at the crux of David Lagercrantz's The Girl Who Takes an Eye for an Eye.

This is the second novel Lagercrantz has written as an extension of the story began as a trilogy by Stieg Larsson, who died before writing more but is generally credited with launching the boom in Scandinavian noir in the U.S. (of which I have been a grateful recipient).

There has been a fair amount of controversy from many quarters about this series being continued, but on their own merits I think Lagercrantz has done a nice job with his two contributions.

I listened to a good audiobook reading of this novel on loan from the New Castle-Henry County Public Library in New Castle, Indiana.

#8: The Girl in the Spider's Web by David Lagercrantz

A crusading journalist at a failing magazine lucks into a hot story involving the murder of a computer genius; at the same time, a famous hacker (and his sometimes lover) decides to get involved in the mystery as well in The Girl in the Spider's Web, a continuation of the Millennium Series.

The series, which began with Stieg Larsson's The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, seemed to open the floodgates for interest in Scandinavian mysteries and crime stories.  Unfortunately Larsson died abruptly after completing only three novels, and in his wake was quite a bit of controversy about writing he left behind as well as his estate in general.

I decided I would read Lagercrantz's novel on its own merits, outside of the controversy.  I actually found this to be a largely seamless transition to a new author, capturing Larsson's knack for earthy storytelling and larger-than-life villains. 

Blomkvist and Salander have a more cerebral adventure this time out, dealing quite a bit with Artificial Intelligence and Autism and political maneuverings, peppered with action.  Lagercrantz definitely left elbow room for another book, if this one goes over well, and I hope it does.

I listened to a very good audiobook version of this novel on loan from the Morrisson-Reeves Public Library in Richmond, Indiana.