In THE GIRL WHO PLAYED WITH FIRE, the second volume in the late Stieg Larsson's Millennium Trilogy, publisher Mikael Blomkvist and the police are conducting parallel investigations into three horrifying murders -- and their initial evidence points straight at young computer genius and social misfit Lisbeth Salander. Kalle Bastard Blomkvist (as Salander has begun referring to him) hasn't seen Salander in nearly two years, except for one night when he happened to witness a huge man attempting to kidnap her and both she and the attacker eluded him. He's bewildered about why she cut him off cold, but had accepted her decision -- until now. He doesn't believe Salander killed these victims. Well, at least not two of them. He has to contact her, find out how she's become embroiled in this, and help her. Salander, as usual, has her own ideas about who she'll see and when....
I'm always amazed by computer geeks, but Salander takes it to a whole new level. She does things that I can't even imagine let alone do. For example, at one point she has her apartment door rigged to let her know if anyone opens it while she is away. Then she can click a few things on her blackberry, or iphone or something and watch through cameras that she has set up. Not only that, but if the intruder doesn't have the password correctly then she has it programmed to dump a lot of paint on them. Now, who could even think of all this stuff, let alone carry it out? Murder, mystery, violence, the story line has it all. The reviews say that this one wasn't as good as The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, but I thought it was just as good. Can't wait to start the third one.
