The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson

Set in the icy background of the Swedish countryside and with a reasonably unusual hero, the murder mystery cum story of financial trickery, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, soon gained a cult status, by being a publishing sensation. The first of the Millennium Trilogy, this book and its sequels were published after the death of the Swedish author and journalist, Stieg Larsson. Summary of the Book The protagonist, journalist Mikael Blomkvist, loses a libel case filed against him by a Swedish industrialist. After a short term in prison, Blomkvist goes into exile in the Swedish countryside where he begins to work for billionaire called Henrik Vagner. Vagner is keen on getting his family history chronicled by Blomkvist. The maverick heroine, Lisbeth Salander, is essentially unusual. A computer whiz kid, the rebellious Salander with her numerous body piercings, dysfunctional family history and asocial tendencies first scrutinizes Blomkvist on Vagner's behalf. But she later ends up teaming up with Blomkvist, to hunt down a serial killer. The book also delicately traces the growing, sensual love affair between Blomkvist and Salander. About Stieg Larsson Stieg Larsson was a Swedish journalist and independent researcher. Other popular books by him are: The Girl Who Played with Fire and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets' Nest. When his parents went to Stockholm for work, they left the young Larsson with his grandparents. He spent his childhood in the Swedish countryside, which became the inspiration for the setting of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Before penning the Millennium Series, Larsson had written many science fiction books. Stieg passed away in 2004, due to cardiac arrest. The texts of the Millennium Series were found in his apartment and Larsson had allegedly never attempted to get the books published. But when the books did get published, they created history in their own right.