I am so happy I didn’t pay for it! The book came in the PDF format which looks weird on kindle. I kept wondering why they couldn’t be bothered to change the format before putting it up on Netgalley for Kindle/ Kobo readers? There are no chapters either. The story was too choppy. It Jumped from one storyline/ character to next. I’m not sure if it is because it’s PDF. I don’t understand where the dialogues/ scenes end & start. This is exhausting.

Why is this book about Lisbeth or Mikael Blomkvist? She’s missing from the book till we’re 20% in the book. She’s only mentioned once, in passing, at about 8% in & she’s nowhere to be found.

Hans Faste, the original stupid, corrupt police officer shows up. But barely & also he’s so neutral & ineffective to the story line. So do Svavelsjö MC, but they’re pointless too.

This book is all over the place. Bad guys are evil but they have good intentions. The number of times Greta Thunberg & eco-nazis are mentioned is staggering. Are we supposed to empathize or just decide that these are morally corrupt people because they don’t like a climate activist? This is lazy writing at its worst. Half the time I don’t know who is saying what. Conversations run into each other. There’s little proper punctuation. Action is confusing. Story lines blend into each other & the reader has to fill in the gaps. I love when authors are smart & treat the reader in the same manner. I love it when they show & don’t tell. But there’s little telling here and even less showing. I don’t understand what’s happening half the time. And don’t get me started on Lisbeth. She’s in love with Mikael & sulky & then in love with a police officer, of all people, & sulky! There’s no trace of Lisbeth’s intelligence & tenacity. She just goes with the flow & doesn’t shower much, as a sign of protest against the society I guess?! Her name could have been Macarena Yorgovich & it wouldn’t have made any difference to the story whatsoever. She’s just another boring stock character in a long line of stock characters. Blomkvist is virtually non-present & he cries a lot if he is. There’s a mini-Lizbeth in the form of a 13-year old copy as her niece. The niece’s mom’s boyfriend happens to be marrying Blomkvist’s daughter, whose son gets kidnapped & left with the boyfriend/ husband’s brother who went missing 30 years ago. Everybody knows everybody in this book. Makes me wonder how many people live in Sweden when everyone has met everyone at least once before. Even the refugee has met the murderer before. I absolutely hated this whole setup/ exploitation of characters we love for the sake of money & sale.

This book was a riveting read right till the end. I took longer to read this book than usual to savour it. Karin Smirnoff picks up were Stieg Larsson’s Trilogy ends and a new chapter in Lisbeth’s life is beginning. Great story line and some new characters add to the excitement. I personally can’t wait for the next book.

I'm sorry, but I did not enjoy this book at all. If it wasn't for the fact it was an ARC, I probably wouldn't have even finished it. Some of the blame for this is how the ARC was formatted: there was no delineation between chapters, or changes in point of view. Often a character's mind would jump into a memory from the past, but it would occur in the middle of a lot of action. It just didn't flow well for me.

Also, I felt Lisbeth and Mikael were shells of their former selves. Lisbeth did come to resemble a portion of her former self later in the book, but I felt Mikael was just stuck and gloomy about Millennium the whole time.

I would like to thank NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my honest review.
#NetGalley #TheGirlinthe EaglesTalons #KarinSmirnoff

I tried to read this book and give a fair appraisal however the quality of the Kindle was very poor; jumping from one scene to another without a sufficient break (one time in the middle of a line}. It also appeared that some of the chronology was mixed up. I gave up at about 25%
Oh, I need at least 100 characters to send the review...please tell me when I've reached that 100 characters. Don't know if that's the reason I can't send my comments, guess I'll copy this text a couple of times and try again.
h, I need at least 100 characters to send the review...please tell me when I've reached that 100 characters. Don't know if that's the reason I can't send my comments, guess I'll copy this text a couple of times and try again.h, I need at least 100 characters to send the review...please tell me when I've reached that 100 characters. Don't know if that's the reason I can't send my comments, guess I'll copy this text a couple of times and try again.h, I need at least 100 characters to send the review...please tell me when I've reached that 100 characters. Don't know if that's the reason I can't send my comments, guess I'll copy this text a couple of times and try again.h, I need at least 100 characters to send the review...please tell me when I've reached that 100 characters. Don't know if that's the reason I can't send my comments, guess I'll copy this text a couple of times and try again.h, I need at least 100 characters to send the review...please tell me when I've reached that 100 characters. Don't know if that's the reason I can't send my comments, guess I'll copy this text a couple of times and try again.

I loved the three original books in this series. I have not read the others after those so this was my reintroduction to Lisbeth and crew.

Some parts of this story are far fetched but I was able to suspend disbelief and go along with the plot. Some parts were disturbing and graphic and it will take me a while to forget them.

My one main complaint about this book is that it left a lot of loose ends. Perhaps that is intentional and another book will be in the works? I hope so as I would love to see justice served.

Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for the ARC of this book.

Special thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a free electronic ARC of this novel in exchange for my honest review. Anticipated publication date August, 29, 2023.

I am an absolute die hard fan of the original trilogy that started the Millennium series - Stieg Larsson was an unbelievably talented writer.

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo was a fast paced, edge of your seat psychological thriller that introduced me to a whole new genre I’d previously not explored.

After Larsson’s death in 2004, the subsequent books written by carefully chosen replacement authors all had their various flaws and highlights, and this newest release is no exception.

The Girl in the Eagle’s Talons by new (to this series) author Karin Smirnoff is described as, “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.”

I did find it hard to follow due to it being an uncorrected version (there were no chapter breaks, multiple POVs I found hard to follow, the writing didn’t flow as smoothly as in previous Salander adventures) but I persevered through as I was interested in the conclusion of the story.

Fans of the series will enjoy this newest release as we see the return of well loved characters Lisbeth & Mikael, with the addition of Salander’s niece and ward Svala. I enjoyed it for what it was, and will definitely pick up the subsequent novels when/if they continue to be released!

2.5/5 stars rounding up to 3 for love of the series!!

The original three books in the series were compelling reading - the first e-books I read back to back, buying the next one immediately.

Thanks to NetGalley, I was able to read an advanced copy of this new book, #7 in the Millenium series.

I found it engaging, but not as compelling. Some of that is good - the world can do with fewer graphic depictions of violence and sadistic sexual assault.

Lots more psychological depth in this book, and far more a woman’s voice. I was grateful for the list of characters at the beginning - I would have been lost without it.

Mid book I lost my willing suspension of disbelief, with some coincidences that were too obvious to be credible. But that passed and I fell back into the writer’s world again.

I would read it again, and recommend it. And I look forward to the next book.

I enjoyed reading this book. It had a good story to it. I liked the variety of characters in it. It was a well written book. I have read the other books in this series and liked them too.

Book # 7 in the Millennium series featuring Lisbeth Salander and Mikael Blomkvist

I read the previous installments with joy and I have loved them all. The style has varied and the narration and dialogue of high quality through the years have been steady. Most of all it provided us with excitement following the attics of a high skilled hacker and her journalist friend. Steig Larson was the creator after his death David Lagercrantz took the reins and provided us the same quality we came to love. The chance then was given to Ms. Smirnoff. What a challenge this new writer has in her hands...

My thoughts on this latest will be guarded since I have no idea what was going on for ½ of the book. The story is so convoluted at its best and so boring at its worst. This latest lacks flare the previous novels had and the heroine take way too long to show her face. The pacing in the part I read was slow and totally off, hard to know what was going on. What I took out it this story is in Gasskas there is a project brewing were a vast park of wind turbines will be built where the project had attracted organized crime. The style has no wits and fizz the previous installments gave us. It provides us with so much that is become difficult to keep everything straight...I gave up not wanted to waste any more time.

Definitely not the best book I read this year so far.

Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free, electronic ARC of this novel received in exchange for an honest review.
Expected publication date: August 29, 2023
Lisbeth Salander is back in yet another installment of the Millenium series, this time in “The Girl in the Eagle’s Talons”, by Karin Smirnoff. “Talons” is the first Salander novel to be written (and translated) by a woman, but is the seventh novel in the series, kicked off by “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo”, penned by the late Stieg Larsson.
Lisbeth Salander has come to the small town of Gasskas, not to investigate the corrupt government who is paying (and killing) off residents who refuse to give their property over to the development of the country’s new wind farm, but to claim responsibility for her niece, Svala, after Svala’s mother goes missing. Reluctantly, Lisbeth takes the girl under her wing (temporarily if Lisbeth has anything to say about it) but Svala is determined to find her mother and, to ensure Svala’s safety, Lisbeth agrees to help in the search. Mikael Blomkvist is also heading to Gasskas for an entirely different reason, his estranged daughter’s wedding. After the dissolution of Millenium, Mikael hopes to rekindle his relationship with his daughter and continue to bond with his grandson, Lukas. But Mikael’s new son-in-law is up to his ears in corruption and when Lukas is kidnapped, Mikael finds himself, once again, immersed in the lives of the powerful and the dangerous, in hopes of bringing Lukas home safe.
The Millenium series catapulted Larsson to success when “Dragon Tattoo” launched, and each novel in the original trilogy was just as captivating and intense. After his death, the novels kept on coming, penned by Swedish authors, with beloved Lisbeth at the centre. Due to this, many of the “Girl” novels can be read as stand-alones, and “Talons” is one of them.
This novel had no chapters at all, and hardly any paragraph breaks (although this was an advanced copy, so it may change in the final published version) which made the novel’s flow a bit challenging, especially since the main narrator changed frequently without warning. Lisbeth, Mikael, Svala and various other characters told their story, which was informative and helped with character development, but it took some adjustment on my end, as the reader. Due to this, and other reasons, I was not fully invested in the storyline until well past the beginning of the novel, but once “Talons” hooked me (pun not intended), I was in it until the end.
“Talons”, like its predecessors, is not an easy read, due to its government conspiracy plots and multiple characters, but it is always great to see Lisbeth and Mikael again. Smirnoff does an excellent job with the continuation of this series, and I hope that she returns as the author for a few more Lisbeth novels.

Synopsis (from Netgalley, the provider of the book for me to review.)
*********************************************************

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 rumours 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.

Lizbeth is back ... but she seems like she is running out of steam. After the attack that happened in the first book, she was such a badass....now she has ... mellowed? Maybe it is because her family is softening her. Yes, softening Lizbeth. (All I can ever think when I think of her is her walking home in agony after her attack ... and the ire and rage that fuelled her from there.)

Not a bad book ... but not a great book. AN honest ty by a new author taking over her legacy, maybe it lost something in the translation??? #shortbutsweetreviews

The original Millennium trilogy by Steig Larsson ranks at the top of my all-time thrillers. I loved the characters of Lisbeth Salander and Mikael Blomkvist. The next three by Lagercrantz were quite exciting, but they would have worked better as mysteries with new lead characters rather than a continuation of Larsson's books. I couldn't stop thinking that his Lisbeth was an impersonator using that name. I have forgotten the storylines and didn't finish the 6th book in the series. Readers who remember the last three books and the new characters they introduced will find this one easier to follow than I did.

I was delighted to receive the early ARC from NetGalley and the publisher and to see the story would be told from a female author's point of view. I regret I was soon disappointed. The beginning about land grabs, rivalry in the development of windmills to bring electricity to the far north of Sweden, mining, and the resulting destruction of nature did not draw me in. Especially the frequent mention of Swedish political parties bored me. This was quite tedious, and had trouble relating to the story and characters.

Lisbeth hardly appeared until the 30% mark and seemed like a shell of her former self. Her energy was lacking, and she was indecisive. She was reluctant to take responsibility for her 12-year-old niece, Svala, who needed to be guarded from ruthless villains and child welfare authorities. She was a brilliant young girl with some of Lisbeth's unusual personality traits, plus a lack of fear due to an underdeveloped sense of pain. Maybe the plan is to make her a lead in further stories. Blomkvist shows up later and seems like an afterthought. He is introduced playing a grandfatherly role and is concerned his newspaper has gone digital.

I am sad to say that I found the writing choppy and that it lacked a comfortable flow. Local politics, political maneuvering, and concerns may diminish its appeal to other countries. The joy of seeing Lisbeth and Mikael working together to solve easy-to-understand criminal activities was missing. The translation seemed off with strange words and phrases. I am rarely aware when I read a book in translation, but this was obvious.

First I would like to thank both NetGalley as well as the publisher for the eARC in exchange for my honest review. Stieg Larsson was the original creator/author of the Millennium Series, his writing will never be matched. The first third of this seventh book written by the third author in the series Karin Smirnoff was painfully slow and if not for the last third would have scored lower.

I only read the first couple of chapters. The very beginning was very disturbing and I didn’t want to read any more of the book.

The Girl in the Eagle's Talons is the seventh book in the Millennium series. This is writen by Karin Smirnoff, and does not have a feminine tone to it like I feared. In fact, this felt much like the original trilogy by Stieg Larsson. David Lagercrantz's books were good as well but didn't have quite the same vibe as the originals.

I've been reading some reviews on Karin Smirnoff's book and I think several readers are disappointed that this is not an extension of the first three books instead of a natural progression from where Lagercrantz's books left off. From where we ended from book six, this is the beginning of major life changes for both Lisbeth and Mikael, and we get introduced to new problems as well as several new players. Many of the characters from the previous books are dead or unnecessary to the plot going forward, although a few have made a brief cameo.

I liked the coy references to the titles of the 6 books. I enjoyed being introduced to Svala, Pernilla, Lukas, etc as well as being reunited with Lisbeth and Mikael. And I would love if, in the 8th book, Lisbeth and Mikael worked closely together again.

One of the things I didn't like was the rushed ending. For sure there will be another book after this one, that much is clear, but I hope Smirnoff takes her time to tie up loose ends. There were a few unresolved issues by the end of this book which I'm assuming will be dealt with in the next one. Also, there are a few things hinted at between Lisbeth and Mikael that will probably be addressed later as well.

All in all, not terrible but not perfection. 3.5 stars rounded up. Thank you to Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.