The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo has my personal recommendation as one of the best books I’ve had the pleasure to read. Unputdownable!

But I’ll let Julie Darragh, representative for Murdoch Book, Queensland and a Sunshine Coast local and mother tell you more about it.

Deb Perry

Let's play corpse and robbers

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson is a huge 500+ page opus - a
multi-layered, multi-character tale by a writer of considerable
power.

Full of social conscience and compassion and considerable insight into the nature of moral corruption, it just knocked me over!

This book took over my life while I was reading it. I was trying to snatch some quiet time, which is difficult with a young daughter over the Christmas holiday period.

The final stint was a five hour marathon with strong coffee that took me into the very early hours of the morning.

It was 3am when I finally closed the book and my eyes surrendered despite my mind being locked into this crime novel I was unable to sleep as my head was filled with the high-definition world that Larsson has crafted.

I consider this novel one of the greatest crime-fiction novels I have ever read.

It could be the crime-fiction novel of 2008. A big call considering its so early in the year.

The most interesting aspects of this novel are the vast array of characters that Larsson populates with story with, as well as unfamiliar landscape which captivates the reader as the tale unravels to an unexpected and chilling solution.

I'll try and give you a snap shot of the story line with out ruining your read.

Forty years ago, Harriet Vanger disappeared off the secluded island owned
and inhabited by the powerful Vanger family.

Harriet's uncle, Henrik is convinced that she was murdered by someone in her own family - the deeply dysfunctional Vanger clan.

Disgraced journalist Mikael Blomqvist is hired to investigate, but when he links Harriet's disappearance to a string of gruesome murders from forty years ago, he needs a competent assistant and he gets one: computer hacker Lisbeth Salander - a tattooed, truculent, angry girl who rides a motorbike like a Hell's Angel and handles makeshift weapons with the skill born of remorseless rage.

This unlikely pair form a fragile bond as they delve into the sinister past of this secretive, island-bound, tight-knit family.

And so begins this tortured tale of family secrets, evil and compassion that takes the protagonists from a desolate Swedish island during a frigid winter, to London and then to Australia.

A violent and bloody thriller; a sinister family saga; a mystery of massive financial fraud; a ambiguous and haunting love story.

A genuinely complex and unique read.

I can only suggest that you investigate the world of Stieg Larsson as this work sits right at the top of the genre.

For those who are interested, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is the first book published by Maclehose Press, a new Quercus imprint lead by Christopher Maclehose, a former Harvill publisher.

While Maclehose was at the helm, Harvill brought to the English-speaking world authors such as Henning Mankell, Fred Vargas, Jose Saramago, Haruki Murakami and David Lodge.

Stieg Larsson was a financial journalist. He finished the three novels that are the Millennium Trilogy and then telephoned a publisher delivering all three manuscripts.

He died shortly after the publication of the first book in the series in Sweden which has sold over 1 million copies.

The second instalment - The Girl Who Played With Fire is due for publication in
Australia January/February 2009.

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson is published for Quercus with a recommended retail price of $32.95.

About Murdoch Books
Murdoch Books is an independent, international book publishing company, under private Australian ownership.

The company traditionally published high quality, predominantly illustrated non fiction, in the Leisure/Lifestyle categories, particularly Cooking, DIY, Gardening and Craft.

More recently we have been extending our range to include other lifestyle categories such as health.

The successful launch and development of our Pier 9 imprint will herald further growth in the general narrative non-fiction area while the recent acquisition of UK imprint Quercus has seen the emergence of a fascinating range of fiction, crime and non-fiction to further diversify the catalogue.