When the original Girl with the Dragon Tattoo series came out, I was so caught up in the stories. While I am glad that the mantle has been picked up to continue the series, the elements of writing that captured my attention are not present in this book. The main character, Lisbeth, has a severely reduced role in the story. As an individual story, this was not bad, but I would hesitate to classify it as part of the series.

**DNF 9%. I would tater not leave a star rating, but I can’t submit without it**

I was granted an early release copy. I was reluctant to read it as I so loved the Stieg Larsson books. I tapped out when Lagercrantz took over and I felt mildly excited when Smirnoff came along.

I had hoped that with a woman doing the writing that perhaps the violence against women would be less, but sadly I didn’t get that. And, if I’m being honest I just wasn’t in the mood to read another book that features a woman abused by a man. Especially in today’s climate.

Maybe I’ll pick it up again when I’m in a better headspace.

The girl with the dragon tattoo was a great read. So when I got the chance to read this one I was so happy. I did think this book fell flat compared to the other one but it was still thrilling and I was invested.

I think I like this series because it was always so unique with a cool kickass FMC.

My hubby even likes this and the hacker is his favorite character.

I didn't read the last one before this one though, and it just put me off. I will come back and update if I get a chance to read that one or even give my husband's POV.

This is a continuation of the Lisbeth Salander series, written by a different author. I very much enjoyed the original books. While this took me back to that place, the themes were darker than I found to be enjoyable.

Women in Translation

Havsörnens skrik

I blame the original trilogy for my introduction to Nordic noir, and subsequent obsession with Scandinavia. Just as Fever fueled my trip to Ireland, this one is to blame for me going to Sweden.

Then, Stieg died, and another author took over. I tried the first of his books and it was not for me. While this one seems more promising, it still lacks the magic of the original. Some of it got a little meta, which I personally didn't find funny.

It's always nice to revisit a cast of characters. Though deeply flawed, I have love for both Mikael and Lisbeth. In this installment, we follow Lisbeth's niece, Svala, and her chaotic home life. I enjoyed watching Lisbeth and her niece's relationship grow, and the crimes happening concurrently.

📱 Thank you to NetGalley and Knopf

I really like Lisbeth Salander, so it was fun getting another book involving this unique character. The setting in the far north of Sweden was interesting, and the story, especially as it came to a conclusion was exciting.

I did struggle a bit with the frequent changing of points of view and timelines, even mid chapter. It was sometimes difficult for me to keep track of who I was reading about and what was happening. However, I was glad I pushed through because as things and people came together, it was a lot of fun.

I really liked the original books in this series and the last one was also enjoyable, even though you could tell it was a different author.

This one didn't cut it for me. It was too jarringly different. I didn't like it. Which is why I gave up after 10%.

I won't be continuing on with this series and wouldn't recommend this book.

3.5. This has the usual extensive cast of characters that end up coming together but lacks the writing quality of the previous two trilogies. The addition of the niece into the story is an interesting twist though it seems just a blatant effort to keep the story alive. Not sure I’ll be continuing on in the series but by the end of the book Svala & Lisbeth once again had me completely in their thrall! Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.

I have been a big fan of this series since it's beginning, and I'm happy that Karin Smirnoff has taken up the gauntlet in a most pleasing way.

While ultimately I did enjoy Lisbeth begin pulled into the role of a caretaker, and watching her character develop from there. Ultimately, I think this series has been drawn out a little too long.

Lisbeth Salander and I have been best friends since the day she was created. I remember reading her character late in high school and thinking about how much I could relate to her on another level. This was another fantastic read that did not disappointment. It was great to see some of the old characters again - Mikeael is by far my favorite.

“You look like Noomi Rapace.”
“Who?”
“Nevermind.”

I’d been resistant to picking up any of the Steig Larsson follow-on novels since his death. They always felt a little opportunistic to me, using his style to profit off his success with his three-book start to the Millenium series. When I saw The Girl in the Eagle’s Talons on Goodreads, I decided to get over myself and give it a try. I’m glad I did. From the start it’s clear that the tone of the book is cold - cold earth, cold killing, cold justice. It’s very fast paced and I found myself needing to flip back to remind myself of who the characters were. The summary at the beginning is helpful for remembering background characters from prior books. I didn’t feel like I’d lost anything not reading the interim three novels. Eagle’s Talons felt like it could have been picked up from the end of Hornet’s Nest. I wasn’t disappointed by the strength and resourcefulness and even humor of the women whose lives have been forged by the cruelty of men and their greed. The writing style was a bit hard to follow at times, and the story was pretty predictable, but I enjoyed it, maybe because it reminded me of how much I enjoyed Steig Larsson’s writing. Thanks to NetGalley and Knopf for the opportunity to read and review.

This novel added to the series does not have half of the intensity of the previous novels. It was a brave and admirable attempt for Karin Smirnoff in wanting to continue this story. The characters of Lisbaeth Salander and Mikael Blomkvist come alive off the pages from the original books by Stieg Larsson. Those are big shoes to fill and unfortunately I found this to be a watered down comparison. I was disappointed as I anticipated the feeling of suspense and danger experienced previously. I think that David Langerkrantz made a decent contribution with his 3 additions.

It was nice to consider how Lisbeth handled her devious sister Camilla's suicide leaving her daughter Svala in Lizbeth's care. It seems that criminal minds run in the family as this talented 13 year-old is capable of safe cracking as a means of paying off her mother's "debt". Lisbeth has always been somewhat of a rebellious loner who didn't cry when her father, head of a dangerous criminal empire, died. Then, there's Mikael Blomkvist who had wrapped affairs with Millennium publication. His daughter Pernilla is getting married to Henry Salo who happens to be a gambler. Of course, things don't go as planned and bullets fly and people get killed.

I think this series needs to RIP, please before we forget how great a story Stieg Larsson created.

I haven't picked up this series in a long time - could be the reason I couldn't get into this book. I can usually get behind a strong woman lead book - but these villains were so threadbare.

I am a fan of the original Millennium series and I found this new addition to the series to be very disappointing. Our main characters are not central to the story and feel like completely different characters from earlier in the series. They seemed like watered down versions of themselves. The overall mystery felt contrived and forced and uninteresting. Overall this story was bad and the characters were disappointing.

I liked this book but didn’t love it. I thought the beginning was a little choppy but I liked the relationship between Lisbeth and Svala, I got a little lost in the flashback scenes, but overall I’m rating it 4 stars.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed as in this review are completely my own.

This was a good read - I really enjoyed this book. I'm so glad that I got the chance to read it early and will definitely be recommending it to multiple people who enjoy these types of novels. I enjoyed the characters and especially enjoyed the writing by this author. I'm excited to see what the author comes out with next as I'll definitely be reading it! Thank you to the publisher for my early copy of this book!

I really wanted to enjoy this because I loved The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo but I just couldn't connect with the book. While I did still enjoy the read, it wasn't anything memorable or something that I would recommend likely to anyone especially if they had read the original series.

I read 13% and I’m sorry to say I was bored and not invested in the story or characters. I’ve read previous books in this series and enjoyed them, but this one wasn’t for me.