Forty years ago, Harriet Vanger disappeared from a family gathering on the island owned and inhabited by the powerful Vanger clan. Her body was never found, yet her uncle is convinced it was murder and that the killer is a member of his own tightly knit but dysfunctional family. He employs disgraced financial journalist Mikael Blomkvist and the tattooed, ruthless computer hacker Lisbeth Salander to investigate. When the pair link Harriet's disappearance to a number of grotesque murders from almost forty years ago, they begin to unravel a dark and appalling family history. But the Vanger's are a secretive clan, and Blomkvist and Salander are about to find out just how far they are prepared to go to protect themselves.

It is always a shame when a book doesn't live up to the hype surrounding it. I found Girl with the dragon tattoo far too long with the pace only building in the latter half. Larsson slipped into journalese too frequently and this showed in thin character development. Perhaps the translation is partly to blame - after all it's hard to imagine a "snivelling backside". Still, it was a reasonable read and an opportunity to delve into Swedish crime fiction. ( )