David Lagerkrantz | Fiction 2019

Lagercrantz took over the Dragon Tattoo series with Lisbeth Salander and Mikael Blomkvist after Stieg Larsson died in 2004, so you may very well already be familiar with the primary characters in The Girl Who Lived Twice, Lisbeth and Mikael.

I believe Lagercrantz does quite a good job of carrying forward the Larsson legacy.  That’s a hard task!  The Girl Who Lived Twice is fast-paced, interesting, a mystery and thriller.  I enjoyed it, especially the author’s ability to move the story forward at a good pace.

There are two plots that interweave.  One is Lisbeth’s hate for and revenge for her sister, who Lisbeth THINKS she wants to kill.  The other is Mikael’s search for the identity of, and the story behind, a homeless man who dies on the streets, but has a colorful Everest history!  The Washington Post couldn’t resist this statement in the opening line of their 08/23/2019 review, “Salander irons an abusive husband's dress shirt with him in it.”  Piques one's interest at least!

However, Lagercrantz has too many characters and not quite enough of Lisbeth and Mikael.   He put a character list at the beginning of the book, but unfortunately, only included major characters.  It is not the major characters that the reader has trouble keeping track of!  So, I was confused at times.  Hence, three hearts.