The Girl Who Played with Fire is the second book in the Millennium Trilogy by Stieg Larsson. It picks up roughly a year after the last book to find Lisbeth Salander living abroad in the Caribbean before returning to Sweden where she again becomes embroiled in a mystery when she's accuse of a triple murder.
I didn't find this book as engrossing as the first one for a few simple reasons: there were a lot of secondary characters whose necessity to the story line is never really apparent to me, and there's a lot of plot points which weren't paid off by the end of the book. I know the story does continue so I'm hoping that these issues will become mute by the end of the third book. That's not to say I didn't thoroughly enjoy the book, I just felt like it could have down with a bit of editing to tighten it up.
The book succeeded like the first one in keeping me guessing. My initial thoughts on where it was headed turned out to be very wrong which always the sign of a good 'whodunnit' for me. The amount of background research which must have gone into making this book possible is incredible. From complex math equations to the staggering figures of Sweden's illegal immigration for the sex trade, Larsson really knew his stuff. Yet the moral message which was woven throughout the book wasn't overtly in-your-face which I liked. It's easier to get people to your side when you're not beating them over the head with an obvious-stick.
Overall, I enjoyed the book and would definitely recommend it (but only if you've read
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo).
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