Lisbeth Salander's story continues with the third writer jumping into the mix - Karin Smirnoff. Smirnoff did an awesome job picking up this story and making it exciting and true to Stieg Larsson's original concept.

Description:
Change is coming to Sweden’s far north: its untapped natural resources are sparking a gold rush with the criminal underworld leading the charge. But it’s not the prospect of riches that brings Lisbeth Salander to the small town of Gasskas. She has been named guardian to her niece Svala, whose mother has disappeared. Two things soon become clear: Svala is a remarkably gifted teenager—and she’s being watched.

Mikael Blomkvist is also heading north. He has seen better days. Millennium magazine is in its final print issue, and relations with his daughter are strained. Worse still, there are troubling rumors surrounding the man she’s about to marry. When the truth behind the whispers explodes into violence, Salander emerges as Blomkvist’s last hope.

A pulse-pounding thriller, The Girl in the Eagle’s Talons sees Salander and Blomkvist navigating a world of conspiracy and betrayal, old enemies and new friends, ice-bound wilderness and the global corporations that threaten to tear it apart.

My thoughts:
Very well written and a great addition to The Millenium series. I liked this one much better than the previous book in the series. I've seen some bad reviews, but in my case I enjoyed the story. This time Lisbeth and Mikael Blomkvist go up against corporate criminals while both are, oddly enough, in the same town dealing with family situations. I found Lisbeth's niece interesting. The story was fast-paced and exciting, and kept my attention to the end - which is somewhat of a cliffhanger that seems to indicate a follow up to come. I sure hope so as I have followed this series from the beginning.

Thanks to Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor through Netgalley for an advance copy. This book will be published on August 29, 2023.

The Girl in the Eagle’s Talon by Karin Smirnoff is a good read, but it lacks the feel of the original series. Lisbeth is not as edgy. Is it her age? The villain is excellent as is some of the kinky sex, although not a graphic as in the past. The story is multi-pronged, essentially about a man who thinks he can take over the world, no matter what the cost in human lives. The overall setting is the forest in Sweden where there are plans to build a wind farm. Needless to say, not every one is onboard with the project, especially some of the property holders. Branco (the villain)and his followers have a strict policy of ridding the earth of anyone who gets in the way. He has tools: the deliverer, the cleaner, who mostly do his dirty work. He is malformed based on the fact his mother ingested thalidomide while pregnant. It hasn’t affected his brain, or maybe it has. The major tool is Henry Salo who is the town executive. He has done his job acceptably but recently has required some encouragement, hence the kidnapping of his stepson, Mikael Blomqvist’s grandson. Lisbeth is here because of her niece, the daughter of her late brother, Svala, whose mother is missing.

These are good characters, both, but not used to their full potential in this story. True, Blomqvist is getting older but his mind is sharper than ever. The Millennium has published its last edition. It is now a podcast and website. Blomqvist can’t quite adjust. There are so many ins and outs to this story I can’t begin to describe them. It was a good story, about power gone mad. The villain, Branco, was well-written, but most of his handymen were not. The cleaner, also turned out to be a more well-developed character that he was at first glance, with a unique way of disposing of his victims. All-in-all, it was an enjoyable read, just not the girl with the dragon tattoo.

I was invited to read a free e-ARC of The Girl in the Eagle’s Talon by Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage and Anchor. All thoughts and opinions are mine. #Netgalley #Knopf #Pantheon #VintageAndAnchor #KarinSmirnoff #TheGirlInTheEaglesTalon

I had high hopes that Salandar and Blomkvist would regain their previous connection, but it didn't seem to happen. Instead they both seemed marooned in the ice and snow of the impenetrable North, forced to navigate between new relatives (son in law and niece) without really uniting. Larrson set a high bar and I wish Smirnoff hadn't felt she had to veer away from their relationship without a successful end.

Many thanks to the Netgalley for the early copy of The Girl in the Eagle’s Talons by Karin Smirnoff. I have always really enjoyed the Lisbeth Saunders collection, but this book just didn’t flow into the series like I wanted. Lisbeth seems like a side character & maybe the point is to move the series into the direction of another character, but I wasn’t a huge fan. 2.5 stars

A new trilogy in the Millennium series has begun--this time written by a female author, Karin Smirnoff. I read the original three books in this series but skipped the next three, unsure they would be as good. I decided to take a chance on this latest book and was pleasantly surprised. It was enjoyable to catch up with Lisbeth Salander and Mikael Blomkvist as they go up against another extremely evil man and his minions. Some new characters are introduced and there's several neat twists to the plot. I've seen some quite bad reviews, but I'm happy to swim against the stream and say I found this an absorbing, entertaining thriller and look forward to more from Karin Smirnoff.

I received an arc from the author and publisher via NetGalley. My review is voluntary and the opinions expressed are my own.

{3.5 stars}

“‘Fear does things to people. Makes them take irrational decisions just to survive.’

‘Even if their children are the ones who suffer?’”

—————————-

Lisbeth Salander is back! In this latest installment, she and Blomkvist cross paths again as they are both dealing with change in their personal lives. Lisbeth has had a niece surface as her mother has gone missing. Mikael's daughter is getting married to a suspicious character putting his grandson at risk. These two circumstances slowly wind themselves towards one another as the story progresses.

Full disclosure, I did not read the Lagercrantz volumes of this story. I'm not sure you need to though. I enjoyed the story but it's not the jaw dropping, pulse pounding that the original three were. The writing was a bit hard to follow at times for me, the POVs change a lot and sometimes we are observing and other times we get thoughts. It was just a bit all over the place for me. Was nice to be back with familiar characters and setting. Also loved the appearance of the Sami people and their part in the plot.

Thanks to Knopf for the gifted copy. All opinions above are my own.

Thanks #NetGalley and #KnopfPantheonVintageAndAnchor for the Arc of #TheGirlInTheEaglesTalons by #KarinSmirnoff. I have always enjoyed the Lisbeth and Mikael saga and this book is no different. Although the books are continued under a new author, I liked it just as well.

The Girl in the Eagle’s Talons is the seventh book the Millennium series starring Lisbeth Salander, this one written by, new author to the series, Karin Smirnoff. In Lisbeth Salander’s return, she finds herself in the small town of Gasskas where she has been named the guardian of her niece, Svala, whose mother has disappeared. Mikael Blomkvist also finds himself in Gasskas for his daughters wedding. When kidnappings start and a mystery emerges, Lisbeth and Mikael team up to get to the bottom of it and find justice the only way they know how.

I am a big fan of the original books in this series, but this is the first book by a different author that I had read. This book has all of the normal Lisbeth Salander elements and it should have made for a great book, but I just couldn’t find myself getting into it that much. Maybe it was because it’s been so long since I’ve read the first books in this series so I found myself getting more of a nostalgic feeling for Lisbeth and Mikael instead of being invested in their current story. I don’t know what it was for sure, but I didn’t connect with this book like I did the originals. I did enjoy revisiting these two characters that I love and am glad I read this book, but it just didn’t live up to my expectations. If you are a fan of this series, this is worth giving a try. You may be able to connect with this in a way that I couldn’t.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book!

As a fan of the entire series, the much anticipated book in the series did not disappoint. its a fast read with lots of twists and turns along the way. I really hope the series continues into the future.

Stieg Larsson, David Lagercrantz, and now Karin Smirnoff keep the incredible saga of Lisbeth Salander alive. In this, the first of a new trilogy, Lisbeth meets her niece Svala for the first time when her mother disappears, and she becomes Svala's caretaker. The family resemblance goes beyond outward appearances. Blomkvist is also in rural Gasskas for his no-longer estranged daughter's second wedding. The motorcycle gang has also made its way up north, as have nefarious multinational corporations trying to cash in on the wind farms Sweden is building in remote places.

From here, we have several kidnappings, torture, and blackmail, and Lisbeth and Blomkvist work separately and together to try to expose the criminals.

Svala blends seamlessly with the rest of the Salander family. Looking forward to reading more about her in the next two books. Also new is ubervillain Marcus Branco who I suspect we'll also hear more about.

Blending contemporary Sweden's issues, violence against women, crass corporate greed, and of course journalism, Smirnoff spends less time on Lisbeth's hacking and general badassery, and more on Blomkvist's relationships. The change of focus doesn't detract; it's moving the series in a different trajectory, one I enjoyed.

While the new Lisbeth Salander book has all the ingredients of a successful follow-on in the series .. corporate greed, Nordic noir, conspiracies, it lacked the hooks that make a thriller thrilling. Maybe it was the shifting points of view, or the cliched characters, but I was very disappointed in this book and had to force myself to finish.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This novel is a fitting continuation of the Millennium/Lisbeth Salander series. While maintaining the format and pacing of the previous books, the plot is propulsive and the characters continue to grow and evolve. The interconnection between characters, which has become a staple of these novels, is ever present and still surprising and unexpected.

Thanks to Netgalley and Knopf for the opportunity to read and review this title prior to publication. This series is one of my favorites, and I was delighted to see it was getting a portion of the series and being written by a woman. Book #7 brings the main characters out of Stockholm to the northern tundra. One of the best parts of this series is the intricate plotting, with a number of huge storylines weaving together so that you have no idea how the author will possibly bring them all together. Smirnoff pulls it off beautifully in this installment, book #7 in the series. I really loved the introduction of Svala, Lisbeth's niece, and I can't wait to read more about the two of them in coming books. There were a number of times I had to suspend disbelief, but I was so happy to be back with Lisbeth and Mikael. Also really fun reading about the bitter cold landscape during a run of hot weather!

The beginning of this title is slow and confusing. Around the middle it gets interesting and more like the other titles in the series. Lisbeth does not seem as hardened with this author.

This could also be called Salander and Her Mini Me. Lisbeth Salander is back and apparently she has a niece and that niece's mother has gotten herself mixed up w/ a criminal organization. There is also a wind farm that needs building but there are hold-outs and the criminal organization that kidnapped the niece's mother, is not above murder to get things done. Anyway, more of the same but not as well-written. Honestly, I agree with Larsson's partner, and this trilogy should have stopped at his death, no matter how many more Salander and Blomkvist stories were left behind. I'm not sure if something was lost in the English translation or if it was, in fact, the author that made this story convoluted and confusing. The main characters don't even seem themselves anymore. I hope this is the end but I fear it's not when there's money to be made. If this story was just a run-of-the-mill Swedish crime novel, I think I would have liked it better.

*Special thanks to NetGalley and Knopf for this e-arc.*

I am a huge fan of the character, Lisbeth Salander, and have read all the books in the series. Unfortunately, this latest one did fit into the original ones written by Stieg Larssons. A formerly strong character now seems weak, as I've enjoyed Lisbeth's badassery. I also too found some translations challenging to understand.

Please serve up more of Mikael with more intersections with Lisbeth as the tension makes the story a much better read.

Thank you Knopf for the complimentary copy.

This book was fine. I am a big fan of the first three installments in this series written by the original author, Stieg Larson. Lisbeth Salander is a favorite character of mine in those first three, I felt that Stieg wrote her in such a way that her uniqueness, hardness, intelligence and strength is what made her so special and beautiful.

I feel that the previous author that took over the series and now this new author Karin Smirnoff have both put in a great effort in a nearly impossible situation to pull off. This series just isn't the same without Larson writing these characters.

In this novel, I just felt the character of Lisbeth lacking a but and felt a lot of the characterizations were one dimensional and not developed enough. I enjoy a multiple POV story like this one and it ends in a cliffhanger, so I am expecting that this series will continue. I will continue to read it but very much miss Mr. Larson's voice.

This is probably the last book that I will read in this series. I really enjoyed the first three books in the Millennium series that introduced us to the characters of Lisbeth Salander and Mikael Blomkist. The next three books, after the death of the original author, Steig Larssson, were OK, but began to lose steam with the new author, David Lagercrantz. It should have stopped there. But now there is a third author to continue this series.

In this, the seventh book, and possibly first book in a new trilogy, Lisbeth Salander, a gifted computer hacker, is now part owner of Milton Security and is still as unconventional as usual, but now she is faced with taking in her thirteen-year-old niece, Svala. Svala is as precocious as Lisbeth was in her youth, except now it seems overdone.

Blomkist no longer works as a journalist for Millennium magazine, because it's now only a podcast. He soon uses his investigative skills to unravel a convoluted scheme of bribery, theft, kidnapping, and murder that involves his new son-in-law. I must say that his interaction with his grandson is touching though.

I had such high hopes going into reading this book. However, the topics of wind farming, mining, and reindeer herding didn't hold my interest, the narrative didn't flow well, and the suspense that existed in the earliest books was lacking.

Karen Smirnoff, the third author to step into this popular series, may be a talented Swedish author and I can't be sure that something might have been lost in the translation of the story or if it just wasn't right for me, but I will continue to remember the first three books fondly.

My sincere thanks to NetGalley and Knopf for the digital ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.

I was a huge fan of the original Lisbeth Salander trilogy. They were complex and sometimes confusing but there was always Lisbeth to root for. This addition to the series, however, has so much going on that I got lost. Lisbeth is still compelling but the scenario- even for a veteran reader of Scand-noir- was over the top in spots and silly in others. Ultimately and regrettably, I opted to put this down. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. I was disappointed.

I had read the first three books by Stieg Larson and loved them. I tried to get into book 4 in the series after Larson had died by David Lagercrantz and failed. So when I saw that there was a new writer bring back the characters, I thought I'd give it another go. Smirnoff adds some depth to the characters as she brings in family and rounds out the characters a bit. The story is fast paced, although the "bad guys" feel very expected. Still, the story is engaging and kept my attention. And as the story progressed, I had a hard time putting it down!

I look forward to Smirnoff's next book in this series.

A thanks to Netgalley, Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor for this copy to read. The book will be published August 28, 2023.