The Girl Who Played With Fire (Millennium Series, Book 2)

1.  Book 1 focussed on Lisbeth Salander's detective and hacking skills which were deployed to solve the mystery of a girl who had disappeared, in partnership with journalist Blomkvist.
2. This book builds on that foundation but in a more dramatic and higher stakes context - Lisbeth is apparently framed for some murders she did not commit. She is on the run while mostly everyone is out to catch her (save for a few who sit on her side of the fence).
3. It took about 200 pages for the book to actually start diving into the main plot and for the blurb at the back of the book to actually come about - which is crazy, drawn out and certainly took far longer than the first book. The 200 pages was essential context but it probably could have been condensed into half the amount.
4. I liked the build up to the end, particularly how the police and investigators tracking her down are biased and assume she is guilty --- but then slowly realise there is evidence that points the other way; I did however feel like the end was a slight letdown and a bit too easy for our heroine. I liked how Lisbeth is largely working on her own this time and is communicating digitally with Blomkvist, which makes for a very different teamwork dynamic this time around.
5. Because this had a higher stakes feel to it, I enjoyed the second book more than the first one overall, but felt the ending was a lot less satisfying than the first book.
6. Score: 4.15/5