The long-awaited next chapter in the Lisbeth Salander saga is finally here. The Stieg Larsson Millennium series, which were all published posthumously, continues with The Girl In The Spider’s Web. There is a new author (David Lagercrantz), a fresh story but is still centered on the same genius level violent offender, Lisbeth Salander.

World famous journalist Mikael Blomkvist is in a bit of a rut. His passion for the mundane everyday of the magazine business has hit a wall. Coupled with a corporate takeover by an old rival, Blomkvist longs for the old days of suspense and intrigue with his favorite super-hacker. Enter Frans Balder, a renowned computer scientist, who is on the verge of creating sustainable Artificial Intelligence. His research has been compromised at his Silicon Valley labs so he has returned to his home country of Sweden to not only contain his research but to connect with his autistic son, August. Balder reaches out to Blomkvist to start an expose on the corporate espionage that surrounds his discoveries but before he can go on record he is gunned down in his own home but what can only be a professional assassin with the only witness being August who has a savant talent for art but has yet to utter his first word at the age of 8. Enlisting the aide of Salander, Mikael finds himself caught up in a global conspiracy that includes the highest level of government and a spy ring involving some very old enemies. Can the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and the famous journalist unravel the mystery or will they find themselves caught in the Spider’s web?

The Millennium series was a smash hit trilogy which has spawned reprints, motion pictures and even its own graphic novel series. While I thought the Swedish films starring Noomi Rapace were brilliant, I found it more difficult to be engaged by the novels. That can not be said with The Girl In The Spider’s Web. Lagercrantz takes the reader on an absolute thrill ride that harkens to the Robert Ludlum’s Bourne series of novels while still capturing the essence of the characters of Salander and Blomkvist. The Girl In The Spider’s Web is the perfect late summer read to enjoy over the long Labor Day weekend but if you are like this reviewer, it won’t take you a full weekend to enjoy this well crafted novel.

5 Tattoos out of 5