I was excited to receive this book as I have read all the books in the Millennium series, however I was a little disappointed with it. It had the usual drama that you expect in these books but was lacking in other aspects. The chemistry between Lisbeth and Mikael was missing, and when Mikael’s grandson is kidnapped, he just goes to work at the newspaper as if it’s no big deal! And I still don’t get why his daughter was so angry at him. I did like the new character Svala. I hope she shows up in any future books.

This was my first venture into reading Lisbeth Salander's story since Stieg Larsson passed away. I was really excited to be reading one written by a woman but this novel felt so disjointed. It had the usual Salander foibles, sexual abuse, young women, corrupt corporations and government...but it was missing something. The characters didn't feel fully alive and fleshed out like they once did. I probably won't continue reading this series anymore to be quite honest.

Thank you to the publishers and netgalley for the e-arc.

Don’t read if you want to sleep anytime soon. But that is what you expect from this series. Feels the like the same as the other writers.

Once again Lisbeth Salander is on the job. She works with Mikael Blomkovist to solve a mystery. Well written, follows along the lines of the previous books. Definitely doesn’t disappoint.

<b>Lisbeth Salander & her Mini-Me</b>
<i>Review of the Knopf/Penguin Canada eBook obtained July 2023 as an ARC via Netgalley & to be published August 29, 2023 translated by [author:Sarah Death|379533] from the Swedish language original Havsörnens skrik [The Sea Eagle’s Cry] (November 4, 2022)</i>

<blockquote><i>Lisbeth puts down the sun visor and adjusts the mirror slightly. Sticks her hand in her inner pocket. Produces a bit of blood, earth and ash and paints on the soul of a warrior.
"You look like Noomi Rapace," says Svala.
"Who?"
"Doesn't matter," says Svala.</i> - the author winks at the fans of the Swedish language films adapting the original Stieg Larsson novels.</blockquote>

[3.5 rating]
Writers of continuation series walk a fine line. If you diverge too much from the original characters and go in an entirely new direction, the old school fans might lament that diversion. If you repeat too much of the original, you may be accused of simplified pastiche and lack of originality. With <i>The Girl in the Eagle's Talons</i>, Swedish author Karin Smirnoff takes up the challenge and attempts to satisfy both old and new readers of the Millennium (aka The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo) series. This follows the original Stieg Larsson trilogy (2005-07) and David Lagercrantz's first continuation trilogy (2015-19).

Smirnoff sets her tale in Norbotten, the northernmost county of Sweden, in the fictional town of Gasskas. The book continues with Stieg Larsson's themes of criminal organizations tied in with corrupt authorities with actions often expressed through misogyny and racism. The landscape surrounding Gasskas is the planned site of a huge windfarm project, except that holdouts among the local population of Sami reindeer herders are refusing the sell their lands. A crime conglomerate hiding under a corporate umbrella is scheming to absorb the entire project for themselves and in anticipation has corrupted a local official and enlisted a motorcycle club as enforcers. The corporate/criminal mastermind is as grotesque a figure as can be imagined.

Into this scenario the leads of the previous books are separately brought north from their base in Stockholm. Journalist Mikael Blomkvist is attending the wedding of his daughter Pernilla to a Gasskas municipal official. He is at loose ends career wise, as the investigative journal Millenium has ended its print format and is now a podcast. The feisty hacker/security consultant Lisbeth Salander is being interviewed by local social workers in an attempt to convince her to become guardian to her 13-year-old niece Svala, the daughter of deceased half-brother Ronald Niedermann, whose indigenous Sami mother has gone missing. Svala has inherited the congenital analgesia of her father, making her impervious to pain. She also has a strain of recklessness not far removed from that of her aunt.

<img src="https://i.pinimg.com/originals/a7/98/c1/a798c1b0618c16ce081d898077718764.jpg">
<i>Swedish actor Noomi Rapace as Lisbeth Salander in the Swedish language trilogy of films adapting the original Stieg Larsson novels. Image sourced from <a href="https://www.pinterest.ca/pin/147070744051816642/">Pinterest</a>.</i>

There was a sense in this book of the baton being passed. Blomkvist does gradually become involved with local Gasskas journalists, but he is in more of mentoring role rather than the investigator & writer of the exposes of the early books. Salander, although initially reluctant, does begin to accept some responsibility for her niece, even to the point of self-defense coaching. The idea of a Mini-Me Salander seems a bridge too far though. The Blomkvist/Salander partnership is held in reserve through much of the book so that this first of the new trilogy has the feel of a teaser for more to come. Certainly enough of the villains are left on the run at the end for further to be done. Old fans will certainly want to know what comes next.

<img src="https://www.bokforlagetpolaris.se/_cover_media/270b/9789177959281.jpg">
<i>The cover of the original Swedish language edition as published by Bokförlaget Polaris in 2022. Image sourced from <a href="https://www.bokforlagetpolaris.se/havsoernens-skrik/t-0/9789177959281">Bokförlaget Polaris</a>.</i>

I read this Advance Reading Copy of <i>The Girl in the Eagle's Talons</i> in eBook format thanks to the publisher Penguin Random House Canada and the Net Galley website in exchange for which I provide this honest review.

<b>Soundtrack</b>
Ok, even if it has nothing to do with the new book, I couldn't resist revisiting the initial teaser trailer for David Fincher's English language film adaptation of <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YKWXEfXGWtA">The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo</a> (2011) with its cover of Led Zeppelin's "Immigrant Song" as performed by Karen O, Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross. Full song available <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fkP3urtYCkc">here</a>.

<b>Other Reviews</b>
<a href="https://www.svt.se/kultur/recension-havsornens-skrik-millenium-av-karin-smirnoff">The Cry of the Sea Eagle</a> by Ingrid Elam, SVT Kultur, November 4, 2022. [Swedish language review]

<b>Trivia and Links</b>
I've avoided describing the earlier books above, but this new book's introductory section provides some brief character descriptions of the main earlier figures. For a summary of the publishing history of the earlier books with plot summaries (spoilers obviously) the Wikipedia article on the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Millennium_(novel_series)">Millennium Series</a> is quite helpful.

Author Karin Smirnoff has published an earlier Northern Sweden based trilogy known as the <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/series/279854-jana-kippo">Jana Kippo</a> (2018-20) series. The first of those has been translated into English as [book:My Brother|55708459] (2021).

I love that Lisbeth is back! The location of the story (northern Sweden) and a storyline that includes the development of a wind farm and potential new mine fits in so well with real concerns locally to me and my job as well as globally. Mix that in with some politics and Mikael Blomkvist, it is a great setting for the story.

As with the last switch in authors after book three, there’s a bit of a difference in the characters with perhaps some smoothing of some edges. But you do see them in a different light this time around, adding more dimension and expanding on them.

At the start of the story I found the translation seemed awkward; it did improve. I am not sure what Bloomquist was doing except as he fulfilled the requirement for him to be present in the story. I might say the same for our usual heroine, Lisbeth. She was outperformed by her niece who in the end disappeared into obscurity with her grandparents. I was disappointed that the two main characters who in previous novels had dimension became a shallow absent father and a pizza obsessed lesbian. Not the follow up that was expected for this franchise.

I really really want to love this book because I was such a huge fan of the original trilogy but I cannot understand what is going on. This arc has no formatting so we are switching points of view without any warnings, not even a paragraph break. I am hoping that in the finished copy that chapter breaks would be added in.

Along with the lack of formatting or chapters, I really feel like something is being lost in translation. I can't follow who anyone is or where we are at any given moment. The voices are so confused together,

Thank you for the opportunity - I might try and read a finished copy but I cannot continue to fight through at this time.

I tried, i really did. But i struggled to get into it. I enjoyed the other books in the series but this one felt like it dragged and then I just found myself not wanting to pick it up.

I feel sick saying that because I hateeeee DNF books with a passion. And had high hopes for this one. I'll just chalk it up with the "it's not them, it's me" or definitely wrong book wrong time category.

I do appreciate the gifted arc. and hope it finds many happy readers.

I looked forward to getting into this installment of the Lisbeth Salander/Mikael Blomkvist saga however I did find it confusing at times. In parts the translation didn’t seem to make sense and the plot seems to be all over the place. There seemed to be a lot of loose ends but I suppose in the end it did all come together - with a cliff hanger. I would recommend to those who have enjoyed the series but not to new comers.
Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Random House Canada for the advance copy.

I absolutely loved this book!! I couldn’t put it down.
I just loved all the characters. I highly recommend this book.

I did not enjoy this book as much as the other Salander books. Salander doesn't even show up until chapter eleven. And the head hopping from one POV view to another in the middle of scenes just about drove me crazy. It was impossible to tell who those interjections came from. Sometimes they seems to be internal monologue, but at other times an omniscient narrator as they imparted information the person who seemed to be speaking couldn't know. That about wreaked the book for me. I wouldn't recommend it to fans of the Salander series, and I probably won't read the next two.

Hugely disappointed. I was so looking to more of this series.

I liked the original trilogy of the Millennium (Girl With The Dragon Tattoo) series by Stieg Larsson, and though I was at first excited by David Lagercrantz’s follow-up trilogy, my interest waned, and I never got around to read Book Six in the series.

Now we have what appears to be the start of a new trilogy, this one written by Karin Smirnoff; the first book of which is The Girl in the Eagle’s Talons.

The plot, as usual, revolves around criminal organizations and corrupt government officials, with sexual deviants thrown in for good measure. It takes place in Gasskas, a fictional town in the province of Norbotten, in northern Sweden.

The simple outline is that the municipality of Gasskas is courting bidders to build wind farms in its vast open land—a potential financial boon for the town, and one that can make the tree huggers back in Stockholm happy. There have been a couple of foreign bidders, but a new bidder emerges, an unknown company led by a wheelchair-bound sort of James-Bondish supervillain with despotic intentions of global domination. He threatens Salo, a corrupt municipal leader, with the lives of his ex lover, mother and current fiance’s child to force him to sell him all the land, exclusive of the other bidders.

Which brings us to series regulars Lizbeth Salander and Mikael Bloomkvist. Coincidentally both have left Stockholm and are currently in Gasskas. Bloomkvist is there for his daughter, Pernilla’s wedding to Salo, the corrupt town official. She has a son from a previous relationship, Lukas.

Lizbeth is there to meet local social workers who want her to take care of her teenage niece Svala, a native of Gasskas, and the daughter of Lizbeth’s deceased half brother Niedermann. Svala’s mother is missing and none of her other relatives want to take care of her. Svala has inherited from her father to ability to withstand pain and seems to have some super abilities that make her of above average intelligence for her age. To tie both plotlines together, Svala is being chased by the bad guys because she may have the password to a long missing cryptocurrency folder that may have lots of money. For some reason the old motorcycle club from the first trilogy is also thrown in—again, like Lizbeth and Bloomkvist, to tie this into the Millennium series.

Other than a couple scenes of action towards the end, Lizbeth is mostly a secondary figure. And Bloomkvist, now retired after his investigative newspaper, Millennium, has shut down, raves against modern journalism and podcasts, but otherwise does nothing.

I was less than impressed with this book and I think my time with this series is over. I give new author Smirnoff (the first female author of this series) credit for attempting to “pass the baton” as it were, introduce some new characters and maybe write others out., but the whole thing seems forced and at times convoluted.

I felt the plot could have been written for any book and Lizbeth and Bloomkvist written in just to connect with the series. They weren’t really necessary. In fact Lizbeth doesn’t really figure in until almost halfway through, and most of the time she’s looking after Svala .

The ending seems to suggest that other books are coming and fans of this series may be excited to see where the author takes this. I just don’t think I’ll be one those fans, unfortunately

A worthy successor to the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo series, with much less of the descriptive violence found in earlier books.

Lisbeth Salander and Mikael Blomqvist are back in a thriller that takes place in the northern town of Gasskas. Lisbeth learns that she has a niece who is fated to experience a childhood filled with foster homes, unless she intervenes.

Mikael’s daughter is about to marry a member of the local business council, who is being pressured to award the construction of a wind farm to a suspicious enterprise.

When circumstances bring Lisbeth and Mikael together, the action ramps up, and mysteries start to unfold. This book has it all.. A missing woman. A kidnapped boy. Corrupt officials. A notorious biker gang. And, a viscous and violent criminal mastermind, to round out the cast of characters.

A solid 4 stars.

Thank you Netgalley and Penguin Random House Canada for my advanced copy to read and review.

I’ll start by saying that I wanted to love this book so much. It was my most anticipated read of 2023. I mean, if you weren’t aware, the millennium trilogy is the series I rave about any chance I get. It is my absolute favorite Nordic Noir series, but unfortunately its author died after the third installment.
The publishers then decided to continue with the series, commissioning David Lagercrantz to write the next three books. But he wasn’t nearly as popular as Larson. Then comes Smirnoff. Not only is she an acclaimed author, but that means that Lizbeth Salander, my very favorite female character ever is back!!
I had a very hard time following the story due to formatting issues. I’ve read egalleys before, but this one was by far the most confusing.
Hence, until I read the actual physical book that is properly edited, I will give the book a tentative rating. If I have to base it on the arc, I would say that I’m very disappointed with the seventh installment. But hopefully once I reread the finished copy I can enjoy it more.
Nevertheless, I will still recommend you read this book if you’re a Nordic Noir fan and loved the original Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.

Review of the Knopf/Penguin Canada eBook obtained August 2023 as an ARC via Netgalley & to be published August 29, 2023 translated by Sarah Death from the Swedish language original Havsörnens skrik [The Sea Eagle’s Cry] (November 4, 2022)

It may be that the advanced copy did. not have chapters or proper paragraphs that led to my confusion. I found myself having to go back a reread as the story progressed as I felt that I had missed something,

Watch for the book if you have read the series. I am sure you will not be disappointed.

I have Just finished reading The Girl in the Eagle’s Talons, by Karin Smirnoff, Sarah Death (Translator)

I had previously read the first three books in this series by author Stieg Laesson and thoroughly enjoyed them.

Then read the 4th book by Author David Lagercrantz, and thought this new author did a good job carrying on with the series.

I have yet to read book 5 & 6 by this author but jumped at the opportunity to read this newest book.

I must say that I was really let down by this one, and quite frankly had a hard time even finishing it, which is a rare occasion for me.

Overall, I found it quite disjointed, and not at all engaging.

Perhaps it was the translation, I am not sure, but it really was a difficult read for me.

#netgalley

This was a very disappointing read. I am a long time fan of the Millennium series, having been faithfully reading all the books since The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo released. This book is a complete disservice to the characters of Lisbeth Salander and Mikael Blomkvist. The plot was also mediocre, nothing of the sort you come to expect from this series. I sincerely hope this author will be replaced for any future Millennium books.
Additionally, the reading experience of the format of this ARC ebook was awful with no line breaks or chapter formatting. I would be reluctant to request from this publisher again if all ebook ARCs are formatted so poorly.

I regretfully found this book very difficult and challenging to read. I rarely give up on a book but this one was too much work to sort out and finally set it aside. Too bad really as I loved the original trilogy.

A very different take on the Lisbeth Salander character. Not nearly as compelling as the original books by Stieg Larson and David Lagercrantz. I found the pace to be off and the character development sorely lacking. There is also something off in the translation as some of the dialogue does not make sense. All in all I was very underwhelmed.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Random House Canada who provided me with a copy of this book. I am voluntarily leaving an honest review.