The first three books in the series are among my favourites with strong plots and great characters (especially Lisbeth Salander). I liked Book 4 as well, Book 5 was decent, but Book 6 was disappointing. I was curious about this one as it kicks off with a new author. To the credit of both David Lagercrantz & Karin Smirnoff, the characters of Lisbeth Salander and Mikael Blomkvist do stay somewhat true to the original. But over the course of these 7 books, the thrill and excitement in the plot and characters is very much diminished though there are decent current themes in the stories.

The story takes us to Gasskas in Northern Sweden and both Mikael Blomkvist and Lisbeth Salander get there for different reasons. Lisbeth is called by child protective services to be the guardian of 13-year-old Svala, who recently has become an orphan and is the daughter of her late half-brother. Though initially sceptical, Lisbeth strikes a bond and is protective of the intelligent girl. Blomkvist’s career is at a crossroads as the Millenium magazine is closing its print edition and will be only digital. His daughter Pernille is set to marry an influential local man, Henry Salo. There are ambitious projects for renewable energy which have been kicked off in the area, and gangs have got involved.

I liked the introduction of Svala’s character and some of the gang crime in the story. Both Blomkvist and Lisbeth come across as lower energy versions of their previous selves. The sense of excitement and anticipation, as also the brilliant interplay between Blomkvist and Lisbeth in the earlier books of the series was missing. It is also possible that the translation and average audio narration made it appear so. Hopefully, the books to come, get back to being closer to the best of the series.

I loved the original Millennium Trilogy written by Stieg Larsson and it remains one of my favourites to this day. Lisbeth Salander captured my heart, so I was beyond excited to receive an early reading copy of The Girl in the Eagle’s Talons.

This is the seventh book in the series, and third author. While the novel continues along the same vein of corruption and violence, I felt that there was something lacking, almost a disconnect.

Salander’s story moves from Stockholm to northern Sweden, and she doesn’t make an appearance until about ¼ of the way in, and even then, her narrative is limited. The plot is often confusing with numerous POVs.

I really wanted to love this more, unfortunately it fell a little flat for me. Not sure I’ll read any more of the series after this.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ALC

Overall I did enjoy this continuation of the excellent Millennium series. Obviously nothing is ever going to surpass the original trilogy written by Steig Larsson, but it is fun to see some of the beloved characters in new scenarios. As per the rest of the series, it's not exactly a barrel of laughs as it does deal with some difficult topics. The story itself was serviceable, although it felt slightly convenient that all of the characters conveniently turned up in the same place at the same. Putting that aside, I was intrigued throughout and there were a few mild surprises along the way.

I am happy to continue to read the series and enjoy it on it's on merit, because it isn't really comparable to the level of detail put into the original books, so just have that expectation going in.

I was kindly granted access to the audiobook by the publisher via Netgalley. Overall the audiobook was good, however I found it a strange choice to change narrator at this point in the series. The previous 6 instalments in the series used the same narrator and that very gave a sense of cohesion between the first and second trilogies, but now we have a new narrator, which just makes it a separate thing. Also the narrator wasn't a native English speaker and mispronounced words occasionally.

Overall it was a positive reading experience and I will be continuing to read the series if there are more released, but it's really out of nostalgia because I loved the original books sooooo much!

I loved the first three Lisbeth Salander books and was keen to listen to the audiobook of the latest book, The Girl in the Eagle's Talons by Karin Smirnoff.

In this book Lisbeth is protecting a niece she hadn’t known existed up until this book! Of course, Mikael Blomkvist makes an appearance.

There was a lot going on and I don’t know whether I’d have faired better if I’d have the book version as opposed to the audiobook version. There were multiple POVs and I wanted to go back and and check names, which is harder to do with an audiobook.

I think in this case for me, I’d have faired better and enjoyed the book more had it been in a different format.

Huge thanks to NetGalley and the publishers, Quercus Audio, for making the audio-ARC available to me in exchange for a fair and honest review.

💭 ᴍʏ ᴛʜᴏᴜɢʜᴛꜱ:
There were so many different POVs at the start that I found it difficult to get into the story. It took me about 35/40% before I figured out who was who and what was going on. The pace did pick up a bit after that but I couldn’t really connect with the characters anymore. It did have some good suspense, especially towards to the end. But ultimately, this wasn’t for me.
⭐️⭐️⭐️

🤓 ʀᴇᴀᴅ ɪꜰ ʏᴏᴜ ʟɪᴋᴇ:
Multiple POVs
Suspense
Strong female lead

ꜱʏɴᴏᴘꜱɪꜱ:
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 good story well paced. A few themes environmental, big business all combine to make an enjoyable read. Some old friends and new ones in this first of a new Millennium trilogy book seven. kajsa Mohammar's narration added depth to this novel I was given this book from the publishers for a review.

A brilliant and complex dose of scandi noir which I thoroughly enjoyed 🙌

So I hadn’t read any of these since The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, and must admit it was hard to remember and keep track of all the characters and their history because of that. I’d also say it’s a fairly high brow crime novel, so you do have to put your thinking cap on, but I understood enough to be able to enjoy and appreciate it! Lots of brilliant, fearless female characters, that cold, atmospheric setting and a plot that goes into the political, environmental and just plain sadistic = a compelling read! Although no one ever mention sea eagles to me again please!

My thanks to Quercus Audio MacLehose Press for a review copy via NetGalley of the unabridged audiobook edition of ‘The Girl in the Eagle’s Talons’ by Karin Smirnoff. It was translated from the Swedish by Sarah Death. The audiobook is narrated by Kajsa Mohammar.

This is Book 7 in the Millennium series that began with ‘The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo’ by Stieg Larrson, first published in English in 2008. Following Larrson’s untimely death and the publication of the original trilogy, David Lagercrantz was commissioned to write a further three books. Karin Smirnoff has now taken over for a new trilogy featuring Larsson’s characters and setting.

Smirnoff is a best selling crime author in her own right and said in an interview “The Millennium books are classics in their genre, where the combination of unforgettable characters and the strong political and societal engagement still fascinates readers. I will continue to build on Stieg Larsson's core themes, such as violence, abuse of power, and contemporary political currents.”

Those themes are apparent throughout ‘The Girl in the Eagle’s Talons’. In Sweden’s far north change is coming. Its untapped natural resources are sparking a gold rush with members of the criminal underworld, corrupt politicians, and greedy business types all competing for position.

Both Lisbeth Salander and Mikael Blomkvist are headed to the region, though neither due to these shady activities. Lisbeth has been named guardian to her niece Svala, whose mother has disappeared. She is reluctant to take on the role, though Svala proves a remarkably gifted teenager ­yet one in danger from shadowy forces.

Mikael’s journey north is also related to family as his daughter Pernilla is about to marry. Yet there are rumours that her intended husband’s involvement in the building of local wind farms could be dodgy. Luckily when Blomkvist’s situation escalates, Salander is close to hand to bring her unique skills into the mix.

Prior to this I had read the original trilogy as well as the first novel by David Lagercrantz. While there is plenty of action along with labyrinthine conspiracies (and sea-eagles) in ‘The Girl in the Eagle's Talons’, for me it had similar issues to ‘The Girl in the Spider’s Web’ (Millennium 4) in that it lacked the sheer raw brilliance of the original trilogy. I did also feel that it relied a little too much on coincidences.

However, I was pleased that a woman had been chosen to continue the Millennium series into this new phase. I felt that Karin Smirnoff demonstrated respect for the source material and characters. Still, the narrative did at times feel restrained. Hopefully as Smirnoff continues writing the rest of her trilogy she will gain more confidence with these iconic characters.

With respect to the audiobook, this appears to be
Swedish actor Kajsa Mohammar’s first foray into audiobook narration. I thought that after six audiobooks with male narrators it was appropriate given the prominence of Lisbeth Salander that a woman be its reader. I felt that she did well and that her voice was light and clear, proving a pleasure to listen to.

Overall, I felt that ‘The Girl in the Eagle’s Talons’ was a perfectly fine crime thriller that addressed the kind of social issues that often feature in Scandinavian Noir. It might not attain the level of the original trilogy but still was an engaging read. I feel that I will likely continue reading the series as they are published in English.

The Girl in the Eagle’s Talons is the 7th book in what is known as the Swedish set Millennium series. I’d heard of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo but had never read it or even seen the film but I found I was able to enjoy this story anyway. What I hadn’t realised is this series, created by Stieg Larsson has had more than one writer since it’s creation. Stieg Larsson wrote the first 3 novels, David Lagercrantz wrote the next 3 and now Karin Smirnoff has written this one and is set to wrote 2 more. I find this really interesting that multiple authors have written this series and would be interested to hear from those who have read them how much they notice different writing styles, quality of story etc.
In The Girl in the Eagle’s Talons, we meet teenager Svala who lives with her grandmother. Her father is dead and her mother is missing. When she comes home to find her grandmother dead, social services call her only other relative, Lisbeth Salander to care for her. Salander is reluctant, being someone doesn’t feel she can care for someone else but when she realises the girl is in danger, she decides to look after her.
Mikel Blomkvist a journalist who published the Millennium magazine is travelling to Gasskas for his daughter’s wedding. He isn’t close to his daughter and has yet to meet her groom but is very fond of his grandson Lukas.
I found the story quite hard to follow at times and a little confusing but I’m not sure if this was because I didn’t know the background to any of the characters having not read the earlier books in the series or because I listened to the audio version which meant I found it difficult to keep track of all the characters and the multiple POVs.
I did enjoy the story – I especially liked Svala and how Lisbeth gradually warms to her and I liked Mikel’s relationship with his grandson. I felt the narration was done well. Having read this, it has definitely piqued my interest in the first book and I may go back and read it one day (or in the very least watch the movie!)

I have enjoyed this series of books, and this one is a great addition. However I found it a little difficult to follow with the audio. I don't know why, I really do enjoy listening to audio books but i found myself relisting to chapters over again.
I think for me personally I need to read the Tree book of this to get full enjoyment out of it.

it needs a whole lot of concentration to follow it.

If you are a fan of Stieg Larsson then you won't be disappointed, the new author appears to have got the spirit of the original series back. However I didn't like the narration of the book, kept drifting in tone and expression, so I might buy the written copy to read again. This story was equally about Michel and Lisbeth and less about the investigative journalism, maybe the author is setting the scene for the new writing series? Great action from start to finish and really enjoyed the plot and story line, still a fair amount of violence and all set in an era of reality, politics, geography, climate and economy. It's a yes from me. Thank you #NetGalley for the audiobook to review.

The Girl in the Eagle's Talons by Karin Smirnoff

I received an advance review copy for free thanks to NetGalley and Quercus Books and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Blurb

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.

My Opinion

I have been a fan of this series from the beginning and whilst each author change has led to a difference in the writing I have not been put off. This is not an easy read - it has a very detailed plot, but it is very worth the effort. Smirnoff has added another great addition to the series.

Rating 4/5

Lisbeth Salander comes to Gasskas to help Svala (her niece) after her mother disappears. Lisbeth is not sure how to cope with a teenager and what is going on in Gasskas? At the same time Michael Blomkvist needs Salander when his grandson is kidnapped. Are these linked?

Lisbeth must investigate and time is not on her side. Snow is deep and so is the intrigue in this novel. Twists and turns, violence and danger. Just what we expect in these novels. I listened to the audiobook and enjoyed it.

Not sure this translated to Audio as I struggled to get into this book and at times it felt like I was listening to 2 different storylines which got confusing
I got into chapter 38 and then went back to the start which helped me grasp some of the story but not enough to enjoy the book sorry

It took a while to get into this story. Several threads are introduced at the beginning and it took time for a plot to emerge but once I had the gist of what was going on I began to enjoy it more. The story was fairly predictable, the climate change politics rather well worn and I felt the author attempted to bring in too many references to the original stories rather than moving forward. The ending left me a little dissatisfied, some things left hanging - no doubt for a sequel but I didn’t feel that characters had changed or developed in anyway.

This is probably a book I would have preferred to read rather than listen to. There are some passages where characters are reminded of earlier times in flashback and it is sometimes difficult to distinguish these from the main story so the plot seems a little disjointed at times. I enjoyed listening to a native Swedish speaker narrating in English but sometimes the names of the characters were not very clear. The narrator also chose not to give different voices to the characters so it was not always easy to distinguish between them. She seemed a little tired and almost wistful at times but I did enjoy the exchanges between Lizbeth and her niece. Lizbeth's presence livened up the narration and also moved the story along more quickly whereas Svala's personal vendetta made less compelling listening. I would have liked Mikail to have played a larger part in the story as he too is a character who drives the plot forwards.
Not bad but it doesn't quite capture the addictive story telling of the original Larsson books.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy.

I didn't mind listening to this story although I'm still not entirely sure that I know what it was all about. It could quite easily not have involved Salander and Blomkvist from the original Stieg Larsson trilogy, because they didn't really take centre stage. It was more about another Salander-esque precocious teenager, who somehow ends up being looked after by Salander, and Blomkvist seemed to be barely in it at all. As a story on its own it was quite good, but as part of this series, it didn't work for me since it just felt like it was riding on the coattails of the original series by including characters that were hardly used. Honestly I think the series should have been left with the three original books - sometimes you can have too much of a good thing. (And this is apparently the 7th???)

Unfortunately I found this one a little drawn out and dull - the Millennium series is possibly under th law of diminishing returns since Steig Larsson died. Unlike the early novels this does not have Lisbeth And Blomqvist front and centre snd it suffers for that - I found it a struggle to care about the characters or what happened to them.

Sorry to say it, but this wasn't one for me.

It's always a good feeling when your favourite series has their next installment. This one was a slow burn for me with my interest waning a bit. An ok read for me.


Thank you Quercus Audio and NetGalley for the e-arc in exchange of my unbiased review.

I really struggled with this book and it was nothing like I had expected, having read and enjoyed the original Stieg Larsson trilogy.

Lisbeth’s relatively small role in the book is her unexpected guardianship of a gifted young girl, but this is small element of the overall book, which focuses on wind farms and the dodgy characters who become involved. I didn’t like or care for any of the characters. It was confusing and stilted. Blomkvist is merely an afterthought.

I listened to the audiobook and this may not have helped as the narration was half whispered and half mumbled. Much wasn’t distinguishable and this was frustrating.

Thanks to Netgalley, the author and the publisher for an ARC in return for an honest review.

I’ve previously read this book but decided to listen to it in audio too! Fantastic! Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review. This was a creative and absorbing tale! Definitely recommend this one!