The Girl in the Eagle's Talons

What a treat it is to be returning to Lisbeth Salander and Mikael Blomkvist! Karin Smirnoff, and her translator Sarah Death, do an excellent job in this continuation. Stieg Larsson’s distinctive characters and interest in social justice are both preserved and built upon - this is an up-to-date outing, complete with TikTok - and I prefer this revival of the Millennium series over previous efforts.

Having read other novels by Stig Larson starting with the Girl with the Dragon tattoo I was intrigued to know how the story of Lisbeth Sanders and Mikel Blomquist could continue.
Libeth gets a call from social services to help her niece whom she has never met as no other family members are able to look after her when her grandmother dies.
Svala, the niece's mother has gone missing .
Blomquist is attending the wedding of his daughter in the same town. She is marring a local councellor involved in shady dealings and a land grab to build a large wind farm.
Third parties try to apply pressure including an old enemy of Libeth's, a motor bike gang from Stockholm.
Anyone who has read Stig's books will enjoy this.
After the first chapter which was a bit difficult to follow at first, I really enjoyed the book and it was true to the style. I think I enjoyed it even more than the others in the series.

I have read and, for the most part, enjoyed all of the previous instalments in the Millennium saga and was very grateful to receive an ARC from NetGalley. In fact, the opportunity to apply for an ARC of The Girl in the Eagle's Talons was the reason I decided to join NetGalley in the first place which is probably why I feel so underwhelmed by the return to Lisbeth's life and that of Mikael Blomkvist.

The story doesn't really feel like a continuation of the series; rather an attempt to introduce new characters that we are going to see in future books (potentially even a YA spinoff featuring Lisbeth's niece Svala) and precariously tie them in to the Millennium universe.

Many of the references to Swedish culture, places, songs and products have been lost in translation and are not explained to readers from other regions which I found off putting as I was either resorting to texting a Swedish friend or searching Google for the answers which all distracted me from the events that were unfolding and the picture that was being painted. I had the same issue with many aspects of the combat with technical terms being used that not even Google could help me with.

Overall I am not unhappy that I have read the book but it has made me wonder if I am going to continue with the series, especially if Lisbeth is featured so little in future novels and the relationship between her and Mikael continues to stall out.

I really enjoyed this book, although Lisbeth (and Mikael) have lost some of their original depth since they were first created, no surprise since this is the 3rd author to add to the series. The storyline and the way that everything comes together is clever and enjoyable, the book is dark but not too graphic and I think the author has a done a great job of creating new characters who I’m hoping we’ll meet again. I’m really happy I had a chance to read this, thank you to NetGalley and the Author/Publisher

Karin Smirnoff takes on the mantle of writing the next three follow-ups to Stig Larsen's Millennium trilogy. Elisabethg Salander, now a IT security business owner in Stockholm, travels north because her sister has vanished. Strangely enough Michael Blomquist travels up to the same town, where his daughter is getting married - to the boss of the local authority who is currently negotiating a huge development project. Unfortunately he is crippled by gambling debt and thus open to manipulation by some of the seedier outfits who are trying to get in on the development and there are some very bad actors indeed. Much murder, torture ands mayhem ensue delivering a cracking 5 star thriller read..

An enjoyable return to the Girl With … series with outings for Michael and Lisbeth, and assorted villains from previous stories.

Lisbeth is in the north to meet social workers about a niece that would otherwise go into care and Michael for the wedding of his daughter to the local head of the municipal council. Little do they know how linked everything is.

If you enjoyed the originals you wont be disappointed to be returning to Lisbeth Salander and Mikael Blomkvist - I enjoyed the book tremendously and felt the author did justice to the characters and the storyline.

I would like to thank Net Galley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This series is back on top form - 5*

I first fell in love with the Millennium series in 2014. It was my first introduction into Scandinavian literature. I was thrilled and obsessed when I read the trilogy. I was then devastated to find out of Larsson's suicide that he was so troubled writing these fantastic books and there would be no more. Thankfully, Lagercrantz took over the series for three books, which I found filled my need for Salander and Blomkvist but was missing something.

Fast forward to Smirnoff taking the reigns of the Millennium series. I feel whatever was missing by the previous author isn't noticeable in this book. I CONSUMED this book. I love conspiracies and theories; I really enjoyed the premise of the book. I liked the introduction of Salander's niece and how this showed new sides to a character we all well and truly love. Blomkvist was quite a side character in this book but it turned out I didn't really mind. The supporting characters and the plot was so strong that I had no time to miss Blomkvist.

I really hope Smirnoff continues the series because she's proven she has a true understanding of what the Millennium series is. She understands the complexities of the characters and the importance of a pacey, well-written and deeply thought out plot.

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.