Immediately following the trial, he received a mysterious offer. Henrik Vanger, former CEO of the Vanger Corporation, is interested in hiring him to write a family history ... and something more. The family mystery he is truly hired to investigate revolves around Harriet Vanger, niece to Henrik, and her unexplained disappearance over 40 years previously.
It happened on a day filled with chaos. Children's Day 1966: she was photographed attending the parade. She came back to the house, asked to talk to Henrik, and was never seen again. Simultaneously, there was a terrible accident on the bridge blocking all traffic. The only way on or off the island was via a fireboat. No one had seen her leave, in fact, no one had seen her since 3 pm that afternoon.
An extensive search of the island over many weeks, stretching into months and years, turned up no trace of her. What they did find was a cryptic list of names and phone numbers, which no one has been able to crack, and a series of events which fail to account for her whereabouts. Vanger is convinced that someone killed her, but every year on his birthday someone delivers a pressed flower in a frame to his home. A reminder that they got away with it? He doesn't know, but he thinks it's a clue. Mikael is intrigued, and begins work on a case that is 44 years cold.
Meanwhile, we learn about Lisbeth Salander, a goth-punk tattooed and pierced 24 year old who first learns of Mikael when she is asked to do a background investigation on him. Her hacking skills are so advanced that she easily gains access to his computer. Over the course of his own digging, he learns of her report on him. It's so thorough and well-researched, he decides to hire her to help him. Will they uncover new evidence pointing to one of the Vanger family member as Harriet's killer? What is the mystery behind the phone numbers? What could the significance behind the pressed flowers be?
Technically, this is not a YA title. It's a good crossover for older teens, and does include some sexual violence (so be warned). This international best seller (originally written in Swedish, and translated) sucks you in and doesn't let go. The mystery is so intricate, and the characters are so interesting, it's easy to see why everyone loves it. Larsson submitted all three manuscripts to his publisher, with the promise of a 10 book series, but sadly passed away before the books were even published.
"Salander felt that her composure was barely skin-deep and that she really wasn't in complete control of her nerves. This totally unlooked-for visit had shaken her in a way that she had never experienced in connection with her work. Her bread and butter was spying on people. In fact she had never thought of what she did for Armansky as a real job; she thought of it more as a complicated pastime, a sort of hobby.*Library Link*
The truth was that she enjoyed digging into the lives of other people and exposing secrets they were trying to hide. She had been doing it, in one form or another, for as long as she could remember. And she was still doing it today, not only when Armansky gave her an assignment, but sometimes for the sheer fun of it. It gave her a kick. It was like a complicated computer game, except that it dealt with real live people. And now one of her hobbies was sitting right here in her kitchen, feeding her bagels. It was totally absurd," (Larsson pg. 264, 2008).
If you liked this, check out:
The Girl Who Played With Fire by Stieg Larsson
Smila's Sense of Snow by Peter Hoeg
The Angel Experiment by James Patterson (Book 1, Maximum Ride series)
Larsson, S., & Keeland, R. (2008). The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. New York: Alfred A. Knopf.
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