You do NOT want to get on Lisbeth Salander's bad side... 
 The anti-social genius computer hacker is back in this terrific thriller that improves on The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. 
 Following the events of the first book, Lisbeth has left Sweden and been traveling abroad for over a year. She's angry with Mikeal Blomkvist and has broken off all contact with him, but he has no idea why since Salander is far too socially awkward to ever explain herself or try to mend a damaged relationship. Blomkvist is busy himself since recent events have made him an extremely famous journalist and the magazine he co-owns, Millennium, is still riding high based on his work. 
 As Salander returns to Sweden, she's unaware that an old enemy is plotting against her. Meanwhile, Blomkvist and the Millennium staff are preparing to publish a special edition and book based on the work of a free-lance journalist who has collected a damning amount of material on the Swedish sex-slave trade and the government officials and customers who have allowed it to flourish. When Salander gets word of this, she takes a personal interest, but in typical Salander fashion, she does it on her own terms and still won't contact Blomkvist. This time, her independent ways backfire and she ends up framed for murder. 
 Misperceptions of her background soon make her tabloid fodder as she's on the run and the most wanted person in Sweden. A handful of friends, including Blomkvist, are convinced she's innocent and try to help, but Salander is far more concerned with getting revenge than clearing her name. 
 As with The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, the main appeal of this book is Salander. Lisbeth would be a huge pain in the ass to know in real life, but she makes for fascinating reading. Her continued refusal to engage an authority figure for any reason, and her pursuit of complete revenge against those she perceives as enemies make Lisbeth a wildly original character. She only has three ways to deal with other people. Mild acceptance of those she tolerates, completely ignoring the vast majority, or the scorched earth policy she uses against her enemies. There's no compromise or quitting for Lisbeth, and with personal grudges to settle in this one, she's pulling out all the stops. 
 Reading the first two books by Larsson is a kind of enjoyable torture since we know that he only wrote one more before his death in 2004. I sincerely wish he'd have been able to write a dozen books with Salander and Blomkvist because I already know I'm going to miss them after the third one is released here in the U.S. 
 Like the first book, this one also has a strong theme of exploring the misogyny and exploitation of women in Swedish government and culture, and that leads to some frank, but not graphic, scenes of rape and abuse. And to anyone interested in these books, I'd definitely recommend reading The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo first because reading this one completely reveals the entire plot of that one.