The Girl with Ice in Her Veins: A Lisbeth Salander Novel

Millennium #8

by Karin Smirnoff, Simon Vance (Narrator)

“Lisbeth Salander is back—and maybe better than ever.”—Lee Child

“Fresh, fearless. . . . One of the great crime series of our time could not be in safer, more capable hands.”—Chris Whitaker

INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER Lisbeth Salander returns in this chilling new installment of the multi-million-copy bestselling Millennium series.

Sweden’s far north is growing colder; even in springtime, the town of Gasskas is buried under a relentless snow. As temperatures drop, tensions rise between a global corporation shamelessly exploiting the area's natural resources and wary locals who have scores to settle. A bomb blasts apart a crucial bridge. Soon after, a young journalist is found murdered.

Meanwhile, Lisbeth is at home in Stockholm, looking to fill the void her last lover left behind. When she discovers that fellow hacker Plague has been kidnapped and taken up north, and finds her niece, Svala, on her doorstep, she has no choice but to return to Gasskas—with Mikael Blomkvist at her side. Blomkvist takes the helm at Gasskas's newspaper, and Lisbeth tries to locate Plague. But then Svala goes missing, and Lisbeth's worst fears come to haunt her. . .

Lured back to a lawless town full of predators disguised as saviors and foes disguised as friends, forced to face down their own troubling pasts and those of their loved ones, Salander and Blomkvist must untangle a history of violence before it's too late. The Girl with Ice in Her Veins is a twisty, vertiginous, hard-hitting thriller that breathes new life into Stieg Larsson's epic series and unforgettable characters.

Genres: Fiction, Mystery, Thriller, Crime, Audiobook, Nordic Noir, Mystery Thriller

Audible Audio

First published January 1, 2024

About the author

Karin Smirnoff (b. 1964) lives in the small village of Yttre Hertsånger, in northern Sweden. She worked as a journalist before she decided to change direction and bought a wooden factory. After a few years Smirnoff yearned back to the practice of writing and decided to pick it up again – but this time in literary form. She applied to Lund University’s Writer’s school with what would become her debut as an author: My Brother. It received triumphant reviews and was nominated for the esteemed August Prize in 2018. The following year Smirnoff returned with My Mother and in 2020 she ended the trilogy about Jana Kippo with Then I Went Home Smirnoff brought something entirely new into the literary field with her immensely appreciated trilogy that has sold more than 500 000 copies in Sweden.

In 2021 Karin Smirnoff was announced as the author to continue the legacy of Stieg Larsson’s Millennium series.

source: Amazon

Reviews

[Scott · Rating 1 out of 5]

First of all, I must say right up front that I am a big fan of Stieg Larsson’s original Millennium trilogy and consider it one of the best mystery/suspense trilogies that I have ever read. I loved reading those books and was deeply saddened by his unexpected passing and ensuing estate battles between his father/brother and his longtime live-in girlfriend and fiancée. I personally think she got robbed and mistreated in ways that I cannot express without getting downright angry. Mostly, I miss Stieg not getting to continue writing his wonderful series and further developing his unique and riveting characters.

Putting that aside, I had very mixed feelings when it was announced that the father/brother were hiring another writer to continue the series. In my mind no one could come anywhere near capturing the magic that Stieg produced and it was hard not to have a feeling of a money grab. In 2015, a new author, David Lagercrantz, wrote “The Girl in the Spider’s Web” and I read it. In 2017, he followed it up with “The Girl Who Takes an Eye for an Eye”. In 2019, his third and final Millennium novel – “The Girl Who Lived twice” – was published.

Lagercrantz treated his three books – numbers four through six in the series – as a second trilogy in the millennium series, using the final one to wrap up his storylines of exploring Lisbeth’s family history and her personal feud with her evil twin, Camille.

Overall, I was really surprised by Lagercrantz’s marked improvement from his first book through to third. Let’s be honest, taking on Stieg’s Millennium series has a bar so high that it is virtually impossible for anyone to come close to his unique ability to tell an intricate and layered story that draws heavily on our emotions. That is no insult to any writer. It is simply the truth. Still, I believe that Lagercrantz was able to successfully capture a little bit of the Stieg magic and make it work on a smaller level.

After finishing the Lagercrantz’s follow books, I really didn’t want to see the Larsson family find another author to take up the mantle of writing of further stories. I would much have preferred for them to allow Blomkvist and Lisbeth to rest in peace. I didn’t really think there was much left to discover in those characters that had not already been shared and didn’t want to demean the quality of Stieg Larsson’s great legacy.

Then came Karin Smirnoff with the next Millenium continuation trilogy, starting with “The Girl in the Eagle’s Talons” in 2022, which I was severely disappointed with on several levels. When her follow-up - “The Girl with Ice in Her Veins” – was published this year (2025) I seriously contemplated whether or not I should give it a shot. In the end, hope won and I read it this weekend.

The result was a mistake. And I paid the price for it… I should have walked away and let this series rest in peace, along with Stieg Larsson’s legacy.

*** WARNING – BEFORE YOU READ FURTHER, KNOW THAT ALTHOUGH I WILL AVOID SPOILERS, THERE WILL BE STRONG AND CRITICAL COMMENTS SHARED THAT WILL NOT BE PRETTY ***

*** ALSO, IT IS NOT MY INTENTION TO CRITICIZE AUTHORS FOR THEIR WORKS OR PUBLISHERS AND MATERIAL RIGHTS OWNERS FOR THEIR FINANCIAL DECISIONS – BUT IT WILL BE AWFULL HARD NOT TO WITH THIS ONE ***

Much like its predecessor, “The Girl in the Eagle’s Talons”, Karen Smirnoff’s second book in her Millenium continuation trilogy – “The Girl with Ice in Her Veins” is an absolutely painful and troubling read. Even worse than the first one was. I apologize again because my comments are going to come across harsher than intended, but I don’t want to sugarcoat it either. The truth is there are so many problems with this book.

First, translation and style. I am not sure if it’s the author’s writing style or translation into English, but the style is stilted and confusing, and the flow is so awkward, especially during the first half of the book while Smirnoff is setting up her plotlines and new characters. As a reader, you are trying to get a feel for a new writer who has an extremely different style from the previous two authors. What comes across is a very disjointed, schizophrenic, and jumpy style that disrupts the rhythm throughout, diminishing characters, and the reader trying to make sure they are making the connections they are supposed to.

The prose also causes severe challenges. Smirnoff’s prose is so jilted and stilted, specially transitioning from one scene to another and back again. Many writers currently use flashbacks to tell their story- one chapter in the current world, followed by a chapter in the past, and then each chapter flips back and forth between the two time periods. Well, Smirnoff moves back and forth in time with her characters from one paragraph to another and then back again. It is choppy and uneven, leaving you in confusion, and having to stop and reread sections to make sure you really understand what is going on. In addition, she uses italic format to share what the character is thinking, so you are spending a lot of time trying to figure out along with the bouncing around in time without warning. It’s a very tough reading experience.

Smirnoff also introduces a large cast of characters, which adds additional challenges for the reading experience because there is very little shared about them and you almost need a score card to keep up with them. There is much time spent with them than with Blomkvist and Lisbeth. After appearing in the prologue, Lisbeth doesn’t even make an appearance until page 64 of this 365-page book while Blomkvist is basically delegated to a side role, used primarily to get some of the plotlines and conflict going, and lament over Lisbeth’s lack of attention.

Even more so than her first book, the second one continues to demonstrate how badly Smirnoff doesn’t know and truly understand the characters of Blomkvist and Lisbeth – how they act and behave, what internally drives them, and where their heat lies. During the entire book, Lisbeth is so out of character, saying and doing things that is just not her. She behaves in a hesitant, passive, and even jealous manner. She has no vision, no purpose, and even feels a bit domesticated. Lisbeth is no longer the rebel and self-driven character that Stieg Larsson created, and we’ve come to know and admire.

Let me share one (slight spoiler) simple example that proves this massive disconnect. What is Lisbeth most known for? Being abused and treated badly by men in power; so much so they she became a vigilante, seeking out ways to protect women from their abusers. However, when someone she knows (and loves) is raped - an underaged family member (niece) who is 13 years old by an adult man - and Lisbeth finds out about it, she kidnaps him, but lets him walk away without any punishment or torture… And no supporting explanation or motivation for doing so. That makes no sense at all. That kind of behavior is not in Lisbeth’s DNA. She would never let the guy go without some kind of penance being paid. I would hate to see how Stieg Larsson would feel about this slap in the face to how his character is now acting. What was Smirnoff thinking, as well as the publisher and the father/sons who own the Millenium rights? How did they lose sight of the very mission, values, and attributes that Stieg built her moral foundation on. It personally leaves me angry, frustrated, and even more so, just plain sad to see her fictional character dismantled and devalued in what appears to be an unnecessary attempt to make money rather than build on her literary legacy.

In addition, Blomkvist’s role is even more minimal than the first book, which wasn’t much screentime to begin with. When he is onscreen, he has been turned into an apathetic old man whose best days are behind him and his current focus is on medical issues. He’s lost his investigative spirit and been relegated to a babysitter role. I am puzzled as to how the editors and publisher didn’t recognize this and work to improve it before putting it out to the public. Again, it makes me worry this was more about making money rather than creating a worthwhile reading experience.

It's pretty obvious how extremely disappointed I was with this novel. It is one of the worst books that I have ever read, and it left me with a very tarnished image of what has become of my favorite fictional Scandinavian mystery duo – Mikael Blomkvist and Lisbeth Salander. There’s no need to add any more criticism and just let it go at this point.

However, there’s still a third and final book due from Smirnoff in two or three years, but as you would guess, I am not sure that I have the patience and fortitude to read another. Maybe I am just better off wishing Smirnoff the best in her next outing, and I really mean that. It’s time for me to leave this once legacy series and let it rest in the peace it deserves. The peace that Stieg Larsson deserves and never got.

I give this a very overly lenient half-a-star rating (Goodreads rounds up unfortunately), which is the worst rating I have ever given. I hope to never have to do it again…

[Devoradora De Libros · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cada vez tengo más claro que esta saga sin Stieg Larsson no es, ni será, nunca la misma.

¿Y entonces por qué sigo leyéndola?... puues porque el personaje de Lisbeth Salander me encanta y quiero saber todo lo que le ocurre.

Al igual que en el anterior libro, El nido del águila, la manera de contar la historia sigue siendo aburrida. Lo cual es un sinsentido porque hablamos de Lisbeth Salander!!!!!
La autora no está sabiendo plasmar esa personalidad oscura que tiene y los hechos se narran de manera vaga, utilizando constantemente el presente pareciendo que leyéramos un guión. Han quedado partes totalmente inconclusas, metiendo a personajes sin más que luego no se sabe que pintan en la trama, sólo el hecho de que salgan y ya.

De los predecesores de Larsson sin duda, esta autora es la que menos me gusta.

¿Qué nos encontramos en este libro? Nos vamos a ver la cara con la corrupción y algunos hilos se atarán con respecto al libro anterior. La sobrina de Lisbeth se une a un grupo activista y aunque actúan de manera pacífica una muerte aparece para silenciarlos.
Hará también su aparición Mikael Blomkvist, que con el nuevo reportaje entre manos y junto a Svala hará estremcer a las altas esferas sacando a la luz muchos trapos sucios. Y dentro de todo este caos Lisbeth se verá envuelta solucionando las cosas a su manera.

Una historia que bien contada nos haría volver a recordar a esa pequeña rebelde tatuada amante de los ordenadores, la cocacola y la pizza que tanto nos enamoró en sus inicios.

[Germán Moya · Rating 2 out of 5]

Uf. Entre mediocre y lamentable. La novela de la seie que me va a hacer abandonar por fin. Lo pensé tras la muerte de Sitges Larsson pero me sostenía la idea de mantener vivos a los personajes que me hicieron que me aficionara al género del thriller policiaco. Hubo alguna después que, bueno, no era lo mismo pero entretenía.
No es el caso de esta octava entrega. Mal escrita y/o traducida, con frases incompletas y casi incoherentes. Con coletillas tel tipo “en plan” puestas en la voz del narrador. Y de fondo poco más que un panfleto anticapitalista por el que pasan unos desdibujados personajes que fueron brillantes y enormes en otro tiempo.
La incursión de la sobrina de Lisbeth en la entrega anterior daba esperanzas, pero no sé i es que estos suecos están modelando a la actividsta Greta Thunberg o qué les pasa. Nada, se me ha acabado Milenium. Cuando tenga un rato, releeré las de Larsson.

[Christian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Es war wieder mal eine gute Geschichte mit Lisbeth und Slava, aber ich bin mir noch nicht sicher ob ich nicht die letzten Teile besser fand. Vielleicht weil eine neue Geschichte entsteht mit Lisbeth und Hauptperson war diesmal wohl Slava.. Aber den nächsten Teil würde ich auf jeden Fall lesen.😉🙂

[Brad McIntosh · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very hard to follow.

[Georgie Laws · Rating 2 out of 5]

Flop book.

[Jola (czytanienaplatanie) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Czy byłam pewna, że Karin Smirnoff godnie przejmie pałeczkę po Stiegu Larssonie i Davidzie Lagercrantzu, kontynuując kultowy cykl „Millennium”? Po przeczytaniu „Sagi rodziny Kippów” nie miałam żadnych wątpliwości. Już pierwszy tom w jej wykonaniu „Krzyk orła” pokazał, że autorka czuje mrok i bezwzględność świata Millennium, ale potrafi też wykorzystać element zimnej, surowej scenerii, w której przemoc, korupcja i międzynarodowe interesy rozgrywają się na tle natury równie groźnej, co ludzie. Drugi tom jej autorstwa (czyli ósma część cyklu),„Rysie pazury”, tylko mnie w tym przekonaniu utwierdził.

I zaznaczę od razu, że warto znać choćby „Krzyk orła”, by odnaleźć się w realiach Gasskas i wśród bohaterów „Rysich pazurów”, a najlepiej całość, by poczuć znaczenie kultowych bohaterów cyklu czyli Lisbeth Salander i Mikaela Blomkvista.

A ci z wiekiem się zmieniają. Mikael zmagający się z problemami zdrowotnymi, zepchnięty na boczny tor jest cieniem siebie sprzed lat. Lisbeth też dużo brakuje do tej nieugiętej wojowniczki, jaką pamiętamy. Odkrywa w sobie cechy, których nigdy wcześniej nie dopuszczała do głosu. Lecz choć oboje przyjeżdżają do Gasskas z przyczyn osobistych, to nie potrafią stać z boku i ignorować niesprawiedliwości.

Moi ulubieńcy, choć istotni dla fabuły, nie dominują jej jednak przekazując pole nastoletniej, odważnej i zaangażowanej Svali i demonicznemu Marcusowi Branco.

A w niewielkim Gasskas ścierają się ogromne pieniądze, wpływy, eksploatacja środowiska z tradycją i dobrem całej wspólnoty. Niektórzy dla zysku nie cofną się przed niczym, a w grze władzy i manipulacji narzędziem przemocy staje się nawet dziecko.

Podobało mi się, że Autorka nie idzie utartym schematem. Połączenie wątków kryminalnych z ekologicznymi i społecznymi oraz wprowadzenie nowych bohaterów daje poczucie świeżości i nową perspektywę.

Wkład Karin Smirnoff pokazuje, że cykl „Millennium” może się rozwijać nie tylko w tradycyjnym kryminale, ale w literaturze, która zadaje pytania o człowieka, wspólnotę i naturę. Dla osób, które lubią historie z dużą dawką napięcia, skandynawską atmosferą i moralnymi dylematami, to lektura niemal obowiązkowa.

Mimo że od premiery pierwszej części cyklu minęło już dwadzieścia lat, ta historia nadal zachwyca, a emocje przy czytaniu ósmego tomu mogą być niemal tak świeże, jak przy pierwszym. Ja spędziłam fascynujący czas z Lisbeth i Mikaelem i już nie mogę się doczekać kolejnej części.

[Sonja · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have been with the Millennium series since the beginning, with The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. Still enjoying it, however it is feeling quite watered down by this point. Karin Smirnoff is holding her own with #8 and I figure I will be there until the 10th and final book(if it happens). Although I'm loving Svala and the Cleaner, I would love to see much more of Mikael Blomkvist and Lisbeth Salander, at least to help wrap up the entire series.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this novel.

[Diana · Rating 2 out of 5]

2-2'5

Parlaré amb més profunditat del llibre i el perquè del meu rating de dues estrelles a https://youtu.be/3OEMV2pNdxM el 28 de Maig del 2025

[Carole Tyrrell · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Girl With Ice in her Veins
Svala or ‘swallow’ in Swedish is 14 and living with her uncles. They are all Samis, the indigenous race, trying to live their lives peacefully with their reindeer. The shocking events of the previous autumn are behind them. Svala’s is highly intelligent and interning at the local Gasskas paper when Lisbeth Salander, her aunt, sends her a Christmas present of a drone. She and a young journalist, Ester, put it to good use when they go snooping around the nearby abandoned sanitorium. It was sold in 2021 to a mining company and appears to be quiet and deserted. But they know that something is going on when they see figures inside…
A homeless man, Levi Vikstrom, lives in his car at a decommissioned tip and is disturbed by voices the next night. He makes himself scarce and the next day Ester’s body is found at the bottom of a pit onsite. Svala joins a group of environmental activities and is taken with the dashing Simon…
Lisbeth is suffering a bad bout of ‘flu but has accepted that policewoman Jessica is not interested in her. She tries to contact her only real friend, the hacker Plague, but to no avail. She is worried about him. Meanwhile, Mikael Blomkvist has become a journalist again after taking a job at the local newspaper. He senses that there is something murky going on in the town after a bridge is blown up and is determined to investigate further.
When Lisbeth receives two bloody packages she knows what has happened and realises that both she and Svala are still being hunted by Marcus Branco and his villains. He wants to access a Bitcoin fortune from a hard drive and is convinced that Svala has the key. Lisbeth will stop at nothing to protect her.
And The Cleaner has only one more job to do and then he’s finally free…..
This is the 8th book in the series and is really action packed and cracks along at a fast pace. However, it is not a stand alone and it would really help if the reader had read the previous book, ‘The Girl in The Eagle’s Claws’ to get up to speed first although there is a cast of characters included at the beginning of this book. The narrative does rely heavily on backstory and it was difficult, at times, to keep track of all the characters and how they related to each other. The body count is high as the reader might expect and they are very violent deaths.
As with the previous book, my biggest concern was the lack of Lisbeth Salander. She has taken a back seat in this one as in the previous one and I miss her. Mikael doesn’t have much to do either and I sensed that perhaps The Girl with…..mantle may pass to Svala who is bright and resourceful. She has her own moral code and does not hesitate to mete out justice to those who she considers deserve it. She could certainly take more of the centre stage but I do miss Lisbeth. This was always something enigmatic about her and Stieg Larsson wrote so well about her. She is one of the most memorable female characters in fiction.
It will be interesting to see how Svala grows up. The stage is set for the next instalment!

[Maria · Rating 3 out of 5]

mult mai buna decât volumul anterior

[Željko Erceg · Rating 3 out of 5]

2 1/2

Kao ljubitelju cijelog Millenium serijala, jer me Larsson u mojoj 50-oj godini života vratio čitanju, vjera u Lisbeth Salander mi brani dati ovom nastavku dvojku.

Nisam vjerovao da ću viknuti "vratite nam Lagercrantza" ali čak je i to bolje od ovoga.

Smirnoff je uvjerena da svi moramo upamtiti baš sve što je bilo u prethodnoj knjizi i zato je nastavila kao da je ranije napisala oba dijela a samo odgodila izdavanje ove. Zato, ukoliko vam memorija nije nekoliko gigabajta, ili doista u međuvremenu niste čitali niti jednu (kamoli stotinjak drugih) obavezno se prvo vratite Djevojci u orlovom gnijezdu ... A čak i s tim predznanjem čekat će vas mnoga preskakanja radnje, kao da sami morate dopisati scene, minimum Salandericine uloge u korist nove junakinje, Laste, još manje Blomkvista ... poluekološka priča s povremenim spominjanjem globalnih problema ...

Mah. Bilo bi puno bolje da je Smirnoff napisala potpuno odvojene romane od serijala, pa tko uzme uzme. Ali tada ne bi dobila ni ove tri zvjezdice.

[Matilda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Karon Smirnoff faller inte alla i smaken, men hon är definitivt en av mina favoriter. Hennes språkbruk är lik en väv som knotar fram en deckare med råa kanter och ger liv åt vad som annars kunde vara en dussinthriller. Jag uppskattar också hennes glesbygdsperspektiv och samhällskritiska blick. I Millennium-serien har hon ett folkkärt arv att förvalta och hon gör så med respekt och lyckas samtidigt utöka karaktärsgalleriet med egensinniga och minnesvärda gestaltningar. Insatserna är tillräckligt höga för att orsaka konkret och realistisk fara och förlust.

Jag vaknade med flera timmar till väckning och istället för att försöka somna om läste jag hellre ut denna i en tvådagarsspurt.

[lasnovelasdenaiara · Rating 3 out of 5]

En esta novela, Lisbeth queda relegada a un segundo plano ante su precoz sobrina, Svala, quien a sus 13 años ya es una talentosa escritora y una activista ambiental consolidada.
.
Svala se ha unido a un grupo de activistas que protestan contra la construcción de nuevas minas en Gasskas. Además, Plague, el amigo y mejor hacker de Lisbeth, ha sido secuestrado y llevado al norte. Por pura casualidad, Mikael Blomkvist consigue un nuevo trabajo renovando un periódico local en Gasskas, así que los tres están allí juntos cuando todo se desmorona.
.
Al principio, la trama fue muy lenta y no fue hasta la última parte del libro que la acción se aceleró. No se presta mucha atención a Lisbeth ni a sus habilidades únicas, sino a Svala como una especie de niña prodigio. Muchas muertes, como siempre, y mucha gente desagradable. A veces, la escritura es tan ambigua que el lector no sabe qué está pasando, por lo que a veces me sentí confusa.
.
Aunque hay una lista de personajes al principio, es difícil entender las relaciones entre algunos, así que te aconsejo tenerla a mano. Además, este no es un libro al que puedas acceder de inmediato si no has leído los demás libros de la serie. Te sugiero que empieces desde el principio. Hay demasiada historia de fondo.
.
En definitiva, una novela que no me ha terminado de convencer, aunque Lisbeth Salander siempre será especial .

[Ana Abreu · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐️ um livro com tanto potencial, mas tão, tão confuso. As personagens estão lá, o enredo também, no entanto é um bastante difícil apanhar o fio à meada para quem já leu o ultimo livro há bastante tempo (quase 2 anos desde "A Rapariga nas Garras da Águia"), é difinitivamente um livro que não daria para ler "sem querer" como um "stand alone", e francamente, a escrita parece estar a piorar, de tão, mas tão confusa. A parte final do livro é bastante boa, mas de novo trapalhona e cheia de atropelamentos, é um livro que não dá tempo ao leitor para "saborear" ilações que vão aparecendo, e desaparecendo de tão rapidamente que são atropeladas. Estes livros fazem cada vez menos juz à série original de Larsson 🥺💔

[LerThriller.Andreia · Rating 3 out of 5]

✨ Livro 8 da saga Millennium. Continuo a adorar a Lisbeth, e uma personagem única!
✨Como todos os anteriores, achei o livro até cerca de metade com um enredo um pouco confuso, aparentemente sem um fio condutor, e onde a ação não desenrolou Mas a partir daí ficou tudo mais interessante, ação a decorrer a um ritmo alucinante.
✨ O fim ficou como sempre em aberto para as personagens fixas.

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved this series in the beginning and it got me started reading Scandinavian authors like Jo Nesbo and Jussi Adler-Olsen, so I want to say good things about this series. But it has never been the same without Stieg Larsson. That said, this book was a definite improvement over The Girl in the Eagle’s Talons. The writing still feels kinda disjointed to me and as I read it I’m wondering about the timeline and who is this character again?
This book held my interest better than the last in the series, but I’m not sure if I will read the next one. I actually hope they end the series with the next book and don’t t leave a cliffhanger like they did with this one. It would be nice to wrap it up and move on.

[Amanda · Rating 2 out of 5]

Why is it that every time I listen to one of these books I feel like I miss something? Huge plot holes never filled. astory lines not wrapped up. Time jumps without details in between. characters that suddenly die with zero attention to their death other than off handed remarks. I'm not sure if it's the translation or poor writing, but I continue to buy book after book. it's pretty much become a toxic relationship at this point.

in this book Lizbeth Salander's niece is wrapped up in something. An internship? Something about a mine? 75% of the book sets up the last 25% with side stories and basically unrelated plot lines. Mikel's grandson has a attempted kidnapping while his mother is away for the weekend. Something happens to her and she ends up in someone's house but we never hear anything about Lucas until the very end. Mikel is missing for the entire half of the book. Oh and there is another book where we hear about the hard drive and the crypto Bitcoin that no one can get to. It has about 400,000 US dollars on it. Which seems to be such small potatoes for most of these people.

This book does such a disservice to the original books in the storyline. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and the beginning of the series written by the original author were so much bette,r it's such a shame. Will I stop reading potential future books? Pribably not since I've gotten this far. Hopefully they get better from here

[LaurenHartwellWhite · Rating 3 out of 5]

I lost interest in this book fast. They tried to continue the series with a different author but it fell short. It was confusing writing and characters were lacking.

[Hamid · Rating 1 out of 5]

Don't even know where to begin with this one. Fan of the series and I'm generally open to reading trash as well so you'd expect something like this to get two or three stars but... no. It was really beyond terrible. Plots more tangled than intricate. Confusion of characters. Blomkvist old, pathetic, washed up. Which might be interesting if he wasn't pushed to the far side of the field. Salander written as a pastiche of her previous self making out-of-character plays and decisions.

Despite what's going on, there's a real lack of drama. It feels like Smirnoff makes up for this by stuffing as much plot in as possible. Some generic environmental probes (mining and reindeer hunting). A little dip into ethnic territory (Sami subplots). Small Swedish town with a funny-sounding-name-in-English. Assassins. The death of local news. Obese incel torture. Will-they-won't-they Blomkvist-Salander. Cancer. Abductions. CSA. Serial rape and murder. Housefires. Rich Chinese businessmen.

But none of it is written in a particularly interesting way. The narrative leaps around all over the place but with no heart or weight.

If this is the trajectory of the series, better that it's put in the ground and forgotten than face another addition like this.

[Lee Holland · Rating 1 out of 5]

I tried so hard to get in to this book. I only managed page 92. Karin Smirnoff’s previous offering at the helm of the Millennium series was not the best addition to the series.
I had hoped that perhaps this book would make amends for it, but i was wrong.

The original trilogy of books by Stieg Larsson are some of my favorite books, and David Lagercrantz follow ups were worthy (but still not on par with Larsson).

It is my personal opinion that the Millennium should be left well alone now. The 92 pages that i have managed - and believe me it was a slog - are not at all enticing the reader to find out what happens.

I got to page 50+ the first time I contemplated giving up, so i read the synopsis again to give me a clue where this was heading, i even read reviews that are praising this book. Maybe it is me; perhaps i am too loyal to Larsson’s work, but these recent additions by Karin Smirnoff are less than desirable.

Check it out. Maybe you’ll enjoy them?

[Lisa Jaeger Claesson · Rating 2 out of 5]

Maken till rörig historia har jag knappast varit med om . Smirnoff har slängt in så många karaktärer att det blir omöjligt att hänga med och förstå allas innebörd. Att dessutom ha som syfte att alla dessa skall hänga samman på ett eller annat vis skapar mer oreda än reda. Hundra olika trådar, händelser, personer som skall flätas samman men där resultatet blir en enda trasslig röra. I denna storyn blir både Salander och Blomqvist bifigurer och känns om om de gjort sitt.

[Mikaela Estreus · Rating 2 out of 5]

Kom till sidan 183 sen orkade jag inte mer. Håller med andra recensioner- rörig och inte särskilt spännande. Saknar även Smirnoff-språket som det brukar vara så valde att sluta läsa efter hälften då det inte gav mig något.

[Martina · Rating 3 out of 5]

2,5⭐️!

[Wim]

Not my book. Difficult to catch the story line.

[Pat Murphy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love the characters and the stories concerning Lisbeth Salander and the usual crowd. If Lagercrantz and Smirnoff write more "Girl with the etc. etc. " books I will buy them and read them. Just for the characters and the story. I only gave this one 2 stars because I had a hard time with the writing. It seemed awkward and klunky. I had a hard time following everything. A scene would come up and I would be looking up names in the preface that describes the important characters. She could have put a few more in there. Also the scenes would be vague about who was included in a scene. I suspect that it is a form of the art that Smirnoff is using but I found it a rocky road to try to travel.

[Alan · Rating 3 out of 5]

While Smirnoff's previous entry in the series was OK but sorely lacked main characters Lisbeth Salander and Mikael Blomqvist, both have much more of a presence here. But they're not THE main characters, as Salander's niece Svala, introduced last novel, is the one the majority of the plot revolves around, and seems to be the Girl from the title. There are some interesting enough elements to keep it reasonably entertaining, but there are just too many characters, too many instances of the plot becoming confusing because of how it jumps around and doesn't always adequately explain how a scene ends, and really should have been a good 100 pages or more shorter with a tighter story like the David Lagerkrantz trilogy.

[Pablo · Rating 2 out of 5]

Un libro decepcionante, la verdad. La trama es confusa, tanto en tiempo como en espacio. Los personajes están desdibujados, no son coherentes con lo que sabemos de ellos de otras entregas (de esto ya adolecía la séptima parte). Los sucesos van ocurriendo sin sentido ninguno y hace que no sientas empatía por los personajes. De hecho hay demasiados personajes. Mikael y Lisbeth, que deberían ser los principales, aparecen por allí de vez en cuando, a verlas venir. Hay alianzas inesperadas, giros de guion que no funcionan... en fin.
El 95% de los personajes masculinos son horribles y crueles.
El 95% de los personajes femeninos, víctimas o seres de luz. Qué pereza.
Aunque por lo menos la autora ya no escribe con frases cortas.
Eso sí, la edición tiene por lo menos treinta erratas. Y no es una saga ni mucho menos desconocida

A ver, el libro tiene muchas muertes, muchas, MUCHAS. Lo que pasa es que si no se toman ni un momento para mostrar las consecuencias que tienen en los personajes, pues como que te la pelan un poco, la verdad. Y eso que algunas son de personajes importantes, que llevan ahí desde el principio.

[Rory · Rating 2 out of 5]

Talk about killing a franchise. A boring story, disjointed, and characters that you neither loathe nor like. Maybe the translation doesn't help but this wasn't the case with the others in the series. I really should have DNFed it to give it a proper burial.

[Melania Con un libro y un café · Rating 5 out of 5]

¡Hola, lectores!

Hoy vengo con una nueva entrega de la saga Millennium que, sinceramente, me ha dejado bastante buen sabor de boca. Con "Los colmillos del lince", Karin Smirnoff firma su segunda novela al frente de esta serie tan emblemática y, en mi opinión, da un paso más firme que en su debut. La historia es oscura, actual y muy bien conectada con el espíritu original, aunque ya se nota claramente su sello personal.

Esta vez, la acción nos lleva a Gasskas, un pueblo remoto del norte sueco marcado por una vieja mina, tensiones sociales, activismo medioambiental y una gran empresa que, como suele pasar, no duda en pasarse los límites por donde le conviene. La novela arranca fuerte, con un atentado, y a partir de ahí se van entrelazando varias tramas: desapariciones, secretos del pasado, juegos de poder y dilemas morales muy presentes.

Lisbeth Salander está aquí más vulnerable físicamente, enferma y al límite, pero sigue siendo ese personaje magnético, impredecible y muy fiel a su esencia. Aparece menos que en otras entregas, sí, pero su presencia sigue siendo potente. A su lado destaca un nuevo personaje que me ha encantado: Svala, una adolescente brillante y marcada por la pérdida. Por momentos recuerda a la joven Lisbeth, aunque con una historia totalmente suya. Para mí, uno de los grandes aciertos del libro.

También vuelve Blomkvist, más envejecido y en un segundo plano, pero con un papel relevante, sobre todo por todo lo que pasa con su nieto. Y además, seguimos de cerca a dos policías, Birna y Jessica, que aportan mucha humanidad y tensión a la parte más policial. Me ha gustado mucho cómo están construidas y cómo se complementan.

La ambientación es brutal. Ese paisaje helado y hostil, el sanatorio abandonado, los caminos entre bosques… todo transmite una sensación constante de amenaza. Y los temas que atraviesan la historia como el ecologismo, el poder de las grandes corporaciones, la manipulación ideológica o la violencia de género están muy bien integrados en la trama, sin forzar nada.

¿Lo que menos me ha convencido? Algunos fragmentos se diluyen un poco y el personaje que representa la gran amenaza, Simon, me ha parecido menos inquietante de lo que esperaba. Aun así, el ritmo aguanta bien y hay capítulos realmente intensos que te enganchan sin remedio.

En resumen, "Los colmillos del lince" es una novela potente, bien escrita y con una gran carga social que mantiene viva la esencia de Millennium sin caer en la copia. No es perfecta, pero sí una lectura muy satisfactoria para quienes llevamos años siguiendo a Lisbeth. Y yo, desde luego, me he quedado con ganas de saber qué vendrá después.