The Girl Who Finished The Girl Who Played with Fire

I finally finished The Girl Who Played with Fire last night.

Honestly, I was ready to write the book off as a mess somewhere around the point where Paolo Roberto, Deus Ex Machina Boxer Extraordinaire, showed up. We had spent way too much with the endlessly boring police investigation and the plot seemed like a convoluted tangle that wasn't about to untangle itself. Lisbeth and Blomkvist had barely interacted and I was getting tired of the multiple viewpoints.

And then crap started to go down, and the plot started to click together. Wow. I have to hand it to Larsson: that is some really good plotting. I honestly didn't think he would be able to make it all work together, but he really did. Zala turning out to be Salander's father was just freaky and made perfect sense. Niedermann, the blonde giant, turning out to be her brother is even weirder. I have to say that Niedermann stretched credulity a lot. Come on, the guy is like seven feet tall and can't feel pain, with a unique skeletal structure and fast healing? Is this Marvel Comics? Larsson sort of waves it away by making it clear there's something Seriously Wrong with him, but still, it's pretty hard to swallow.

As is the sudden appearance of Paolo Roberto, Walking Plot Device. And you know what's really weird? He's a real person. There is a real Paolo Roberto, who actually played himself in the Swedish movie version. I don't understand why Larsson would slot a real person into the story, especially in such a clumsy way.

But back to the awesomeness! Badass Blomkvist! Lisbeth being shot in the freaking head! Major cliffhanger! The ending was pretty terrific stuff, and I was really impressed by the full story of Lisbeth's childhood. Knowing Larsson, I was afraid that she had been molested by her father, but the fact that it was her mother who was the victim makes perfect sense. The whole backstory fit perfectly into the already-established continuity, and answers the questions about Bjurman, Teleborian and Palmgren. I was really surprised by how satisfying it was.

Anyway, I have to save most of my big thoughts for the official review. Suffice it to say that 1) I ended up really liking the book, 2) although still not as much as the first one and 3) I'll be happy if I never have to read the name Bublanski again. Now I have to run off and choose my next book!