Pretty good continuation of Lisbeth Salander's story.

By some coincidence, Lisbeth, Mikael Blomquist, the motorcycle gang and hans Faske all find themselves in the same part of North Sweden.. They all get involved in a corruption scandal, leading to all sorts of despicable crimes. A lot of investigative work ensues with a mostly favourable result. The author has also prepared us for further adventures. It fits in well with the Lisbeth Salander series but I have a main complaint: the chapters are too disjointed for me, chopping and changing between characters and flashbacks. This lessens the enjoyment for me. However, as one might expect, the novel is engaging and entertaining. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Not what I expected, a difficult read with abrupt flash backs and disjointed events. A story of ruthless business intent on steamrolling any opposition with threats of blackmail and violence, a set of nasty characters. A wayward child escaping the clutch of criminals turns out to be Lisbeth's niece and a most interesting relationship develops as they cope with being unwitting involved resulting in threats and the intimidating of family members and friends that Lisbeth managers to protect at risk to her own life.

There have been other attempts to continue Stieg Larsson’s Millennium Series none of which I have read, so I can’t comment on their veracity. However, to me, The Girl in the Eagle’s Talons was like finding another Stieg masterpiece. The characterisations and storyline that Karin has crafted here are as close to the original as to be almost indistinguishable.
A very enjoyable read.

The Girl In The Eagle's Talons is the seventh instalment in the late Stieg Larsson's Millennium series which sees exceptionally talented hacker Lisbeth Salander once again teaming up with investigative journalist at Millennium magazine, Mikael Blomkvist. Normally a recluse and never too far away from a computer Lisbeth has travelled to the remote, pristine town of Gasskas in northern Sweden. As far beyond the mass media spotlight, there is currently unrest among the usually placid Swedish population due to plans being made in Norrland. It has become a wild west and a free for all caused by the presence of untapped natural resources attracting many international companies, who will spare no expense to access said resources and land areas; gold miners and criminal gangs attracted by the huge influx of new money and opportunities operate in these murky shadowlands. Multiple interests are at stake in the North, lands that are barely inhabited and rich in natural resources are coveted by the most powerful multinationals under the disguise of environmentalism.

Corruption and easy money soon attract the most dangerous criminal groups. But that isn't the reason either Salander or Blomkvist have hot-tailed it there at the same time. Lisbeth has gone to assume temporary custody of her 13-year-old niece Svala whose mother, Sami, is missing millions of dollars worth of bitcoins and whose father, Lisander's brother, is dead. Blomkvist is also heading north on the train to Älvsbyn for awkward family business: his daughter's wedding. Mikael barely knows the groom-to-be, despite him being one of the most influential politicians in the region, the town's head commissioner, Henry Salo, but he seems to be hiding something. At the wedding, Marcus Branco, founder of a secret energy company hellbent on acquiring land in Gasskas, orders his henchmen to kidnap Blomkvist's grandson as leverage against decision-maker Salo. And just when you thought it couldn't get any worse the boy ends up in the hands of a deadly serial killer, therefore, Lisbeth and Mikael knowing trust goes a long way in these situations, join forces to unravel the criminal conspiracy and its links to two missing relatives.

This is a compelling and propulsive addition to the series with tonnes of action packed into its pages and a mystery that gives you that real sense of urgency that makes you want to read faster and faster. Lisbeth is an introverted and tenacious computer nerd with an admirable punk attitude to boot making her a pleasure to follow on her adventures, and Mikael, you can tell has his heart in exactly the right place regarding family. We follow them as they make sacrifices and place themselves in danger in an attempt to find their loved ones. Needless to say, there was no skimping on emotion throughout and the twists, turns and endless deceit left me shocked in parts. It's a cleverly woven yarn with such vivid descriptions of the stark scenery and cold climate in which our protagonists navigate a world of conspiracy and betrayal, old enemies and new friends, ice-bound wilderness and the global corporations that threaten to tear it all apart. This is high-stakes Scandinavian noir punctuated by neo-Nazis, bikers, drug smugglers and other such quotidian villains where the cold north becomes the stage for the exciting, gasp-worthy and risky showdown between Salander, Blomkvist and the indomitable Svala who face a network of corruption embedded in the exploitation of renewable energies and will combat violence against women amid a political environment in which the ultra-right is rising unstoppably.

I’ve read all of the previous novels in this series and looked forward to this one. The story took a bit of getting into but once I did was very well executed. I didn’t think the main characters featured as much as they have in previous books but all in all was a good read.

The Cleaner is a man with a talent. He can make people disappear and, as the reader meets him, he has a fresh consignment delivered to him. Living alone in the forest with only the sea eagles for company he makes full use of it. But his solitary existence is about to come to an end as the local council in Gasskas, the remote town beyond the forest, is considering placing a major eco project right in the forest.
Svala, a 13 year old girl, also has a talent which others want to exploit. She has Vittangi’s disease which is the inability to feel pain and she’s good at cracking codes. She is searching for her missing mother, Marta, who may hold the password to a crypto fortune. But others, far more dangerous, are also on her trail. Alone in the world, Savala has only one living relative to take care of her who has never met her and will have to travel to Gasskas to meet her.
Mikael Blomkvist, ex Millenium editor as it’s now become a podcast, is also on his way to the town but for a much happier reason. Pernilla, his daughter is marrying Henry Salo, a prominent member of the town council. Mikael is now a grandad and is looking forward to seeing his grandson, Lukas.
And in the shadows, waiting for his chance is the creepy Marcus Branco. He is the owner of the company that wants all of the eco project and not just a share in it. He will stop at nothing.
Gasskas looks on the surface looks like a small, dull town bit has a dark underbelly with young girls going missing and never being seen again. The final person to travel there is Svala’s guardian. Lisbeth Salander.
Pernilla’s wedding day will be unforgettable for all the wrong reasons. An armed gang storm the venue and Lukas is kidnapped. Mikael joins forces with Lisbeth in the search and everything builds towards an explosive finale at a secluded mountain top eyrie.
It’s been a long time since I’ve spent time with Lisbeth Salander. A clever, resourceful antihero with a rage within her that may never be assuaged. She does not want the responsibility of looking after Svala but they develop a kinship as they are very similar in some ways. Outsiders with limited resources who live by their wits and their talents.
Lisbeth and Mikael were fated to meet again but as I have not read the books by David Lagercrantz I don’t know what happened in between.
The pace is terrific, the book really zips along but I was able to keep track of all the characters and their connections to each other. There was several ‘ah!’ moments as another piece of the jigsaw fitted into place. The narrative never lets up and is a real rollercoaster of emotions and plotting. Especially when the reader learns the other reason that the Cleaner got his name. The author, Karin Smirnoff has managed to continue Steig Larssons’s work – Lisbeth is as prickly and focussed as ever and Mikael cannot resist getting involved in uncovering Gasskas’A dark secrets.
I could not put the book done, it was so gripping and such a riveting read. The translator. Sarah Death, has done a sterling job and the whole book made me want to read more. Welcome back Lisbeth, what will you do next?

Many thanks to the publisher and author for an ARC in return for an honest review

With no reflection on anyone I was very disappointed in this and could not recommend

After reading the first three books in the Millennium series earlier this year, I was so excited to read the newest instalment to in the series ‘The Girl in the Eagle’s Talons’. However this ended up being such a disappointment.

Firstly, other than having the same first names, the characters felt completely different to the original characters and the interactions between Lisbeth and Mikael didn’t have any of the banter which makes them so magnetic in the first three books. There were also too many side characters and they had very little personality so I found it very difficult to feel invested in the story.

The translation of this book made it extremely confusing to read. For example pronouns were used a lot and it was often unclear who they were referring to and the changes in tense often weren’t very clear.

Overall I found this book extremely difficult to get through and I didn’t enjoy what I understood of the story.

As a huge fan of the first few books in the Lisbeth Salander (Girl with the Dragon Tattoo) series of books I was excited to receive a advance review copy of this latest instalment in the series (even having managed to miss a couple of episodes). I was intrigued to see that yet another author had been brought in to continue the series, and to see how their writing compared to previous writers in the series. This book didn't disappoint. It felt to me very much like the earlier books - I appreciate that for some the level of gore and horror in those books may feel unpleasant and unnecessary. There was again a high level of violence and explicit reference to how individuals were mutilated or murdered. The story itself though was fast-paced and kept me reading. The introduction of Lisbeth's niece brought something new, and I'm intrigued to see if she appears again in later instalments.

Excellent read. Many characters which sometimes makes it difficult as to who is who in the storyline but it all comes clear the further you read and the story unfolds. Well written. Undoubtedly it will be a best seller.

Thanks to Karin and NetGalley for allowing me to read this book before the publication date.
Having read the original Millenium series and the follow-on books by David Lagercrantz, I was looking forward to reading this. However I was very disappointed. The formatting of the ARC was so poor that it ran from one chapter into another with no obvious break, making it difficult to follow. It would benefit from Chapter headings.
On the positive side, providing the names of the main characters and their relationships was helpful for any reader who is new to the series.
The storyline was slow to begin with and bringing Lisbeth, Mikael and the expanded biker gang to the same small northern town was too much of a coincidence.
I felt that the story was contrived with the sole aim of introducing Svala’s character (i.e. Lisbeth version2). In the process, the characters of both Lisbeth Salander and Mikael Blomkvist were diminished and changed beyond recognition

Thank you to the publisher for the opportunity to read this ARC, unfortunately, I couldn’t get into this. This is no reflection on the author, and I’m really grateful regardless of my review.

A great read with a fabulous plot.

Thank you to the writer, publisher, and NetGalley for allowing me to read this book.

The latest in The Millennium Series following on from the original series by Stieg Larsson (and subsequently David Lagercrantz) and continues the “adventures” of Mikael Blomkvist and Lisbeth Salander. The Millennium paper has closed as it is being turned into a podcast and Blomkvist doesn’t know what he wants to do next. His immediate plan is to travel north from Stockholm for the wedding of his daughter to a high flying council leader, Salo, in the town of Gasskas. This is a well paced and exciting read, some bits might have been lost in translation, but I found it an entertaining read.

Briefly, when Blomkvist arrives in Gasskas he discovers that a number of people have gone missing and Salo is under serious pressure to grant Marco Branco the rights to build the worlds largest wind farm rather than sharing with other companies. Branco is not a nice man! Salander is also in Gasskas as social services called her to look after her niece, the clever and precocious 13 year old Svala, following her mothers disappearance. Everything kicks off when at the wedding three gunmen run into the party and kidnap Blomkvist’s grandson Lucas to pressurise Salo to approve the Wind Farm deal.

It’s great to see Blomkvist and Salander back doing what they do best, investigating corruption and criminal masterminds, although Blomkvist takes a bit of a back seat this time. There is quite a bit of violence, not unexpectedly, but it doesn’t take away the excellence of the story. As is the norm with these two matters come to a climactic end. Bring on the next book soon.

I was looking forward to the sequel of the Millennium series but this just wasn’t the same. Written by Karin Smirnoff with some of the same characters, and the usual murders etc, it didn’t flow as well as the previous ones - maybe to do with the translation. It was harder to get stuck into.

Most fans of Steig Larsson’s Millennium series will enjoy it but it just didn’t work for me.
Thank you to NetGalley and Quercus for the advance copy

Great to pick up the story but at times it didn't flow (probably due to translation)and then at other times it did. I think it's time to leave this series now.

This is a follow on book to Stieg Larsson's series and it's great to read about Lisbeth Salander and Mikael Blomkvist again.
Salander is asked to look after her 13 year-old niece following her mother's disappearance. Meanwhile Blomkvist's grandson is kidnapped.
All this takes place in a small municipality in the north - are these incidents linked?
Maybe not quite as in depth as Larsson's series, but still a good read.

This review is probably closer to 2.5 stars but I’ve rounded up.

I’ve been a big fan of all previous Millennium books so I was super excited to be approved for this one, but sadly it just did not do it for me.

I don’t know if it was the writing or the translation but I just didn’t feel that this flowed as it should have. I also just couldn’t get my head around the whole safe opening magic - too fantastical for this type of book.

Lisbeth and Mikael are back but their voices didn’t have the same alluring pull as I’ve felt before. They existed as characters to fill the story but I felt they’d lost some of their depth.

The story did pick up in the second half but I don’t think it was enough to redeem it. The way this ended has left the door open for more books, but I’m not sure I would pick another up.

Thanks as ever to netgalley for the opportunity to review this book.

Firstly I found this Netgalley version of the book very hard to follow due to translation and spacing. That said, I did not enjoy this as much as the other books in the series. The characterisation is not as good as in the previous books and unbelievable at times. Disappointed.

My thanks to Netgalley for my copy of The Girl in the Eagle's Talons which I had very much been looking forward to reading having enjoyed the original three novels by Stieg Larsson. Sadly, although all the usual deaths and torture were still there I found the two main protaganist's chararcters to be somewhat diluted in this novel.
I also found the writing style and the plotline confusing., especially as one character's story line seemed to drift into another with no warning other than a change of paragraph.
Overall it was good to see Salander and Blookvist again but the book slightly disappointing.