The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet's Nest

*Disclaimer: This is one of a number of book reviews I will be posting before the end of 2011. Beginning in 2012 the format for book reviews will change and I will post once at the end of each month, reviewing all books read during that month.

Synopsis: "As The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest opens, Lisbeth Salander-the heart and soul of Larsson's two previous novels-is under close supervision in the intensive care unit of a provincial Swedish city hospital. And she's fighting for her life in more ways than one: when she's well enough, she'll be taken back to Stockholm to stand trial for a triple murder. With the help of her friend, journalist Mikael Blomkvist, she will have to prove her innocence, and identify and denounce the corrupt politicians who have allowed the vulnerable, like herself, to become victims of abuse and violence. And, on her own, she will plot her revenge-against the man who tried to kill her, and the government institutions that very nearly destroyed her life. Once upon a time, she was a victim. Now, Lisbeth Salander is ready to fight back."

In the third and final installment of the "Girl" series, we find Salander under close guard in a hospital for the majority of the novel, as Blomkvist desperately tries to prove her innocence in a series of brutal murders. She is technology-less for a large portion of the novel, rendering her almost useless in a way, as technology is not only what defines her, but is how she interacts with the world.

I have to admit I found this novel much slower than its predecessors, and, sadly, a bit of a disappointment. If read as a whole, the climax of the series is really towards the end of the second book, leaving the third book a bit flat. I had to force myself to finish the novel. In part, because I was hoping it would get better as it went along, and also because I needed to see all of the trilogy's loose ends tied up. Larsson did a great job at bringing at all together at the end, but overall it simply didn't live up to the end-of-your-seat suspense of the first two novels.