The Girl Who Takes an Eye for an Eye

This morning Matt and I were talking about the Millennium books. He has read the original trilogy, but not the first Lagercrantz yet. I told him that I was finding this book kind of disappointing (even though it is still objectively fine as a crime novel), for a number of reasons.

Me: “You know how like, every book starts with how their magazine has been disgraced, and Mikael Blomkvist has to do some crazy journalism work to bring reputability back to the publication, and then the next book it's back to having been disgraced and in need of saving again?”
Him: “Yep! All while sleeping with his editor on and off.”
Me: “Yes! Except that neither the magazine nor the editor is featured in this one. Like, AT ALL. And Lisbeth isn't even in it that much. Blomkvist has hardly slept with anyone! So it's just a regular crime novel.”

It feels like Lagercrantz is trying to take these books in a totally different direction.

I liked the story of Dan and Leo and the Registry, but I agree with Emma: how much longer are we going to mine Lisbeth's past for book fodder?

I get Benito as a foil for Lisbeth, but she was too much - I don't know what her deal is with that stupid knife, but it was mentioned enough times that it bordered on ridiculous. She was almost a caricature.

Another thing that bothered me: I don't remember the previous books having a feel of a definitive time and place; they almost felt like they could have been set at any point during the 21st century. This one definitely had a more current feel to it, like it was specifically intended to be set in the world when 45 is president, and I hated that. There was mention of “alternative facts” and “post-truth” society, and there was anti-Semitic language and an Islamic-extremist honor killing (and that whole side story was heavy in a this-is-reality-for-women-in-some-countries way, even though mostly these books have hinged on heaviness-due-to-conspiracy rather than heaviness-due-to-reality).

And like, I don't read these books for a commentary on the world or the current political system. I read them because Lisbeth is a badass and I like her, and I usually like all the stuff Blomkvist does while Lisbeth is busy hacking into things and giving every person she meets exactly what they deserve because to hell with it all. I mean, in book two she got shot multiple times and buried alive, and DUG HERSELF BACK OUT in order to kill her abusive crime-ring-leader father! This is still escapism, even if it's dark, gritty escapism. And in Eye for an Eye, I kept getting hauled back into reality.

Maybe it's just time to move on from these. 2.5 stars.