The plot is compelling if gruesome and disturbing at several points
How is the plot going?
The type of mystery I'm used to starts off with a bang and takes you on a wild ride. This wasn't that. I found the first chapter kind of boring and the first third plodding. Then I hit page 219. This book's pace feels a little like the first hill of a roller coaster ride. It chugs up the hill and you wonder what all the hype is about, then at p. 219 it starts a free fall down the hill gaining momentum until the end. I read the first 219 pages in a week and the last 370 pages in two days.Plot summary:Reporter Blomkvist is hired by rich patriarch Vanger to examine the cold case of how his niece Harriet disappeared 40 years ago. In their research Blomkvist and his unorthodox assistant Salander uncover gruesome family secrets.My opinion:Holy cow is this good. The story is complex, rich, and in-depth. Most of the details you think are just color are actually significant so pay attention. Larsson may have written one of the most fascinating characters in fiction in Lisbeth Salander the goth, brainiac hacker. Blomkvist is an odd hero; he's ethical as a journalist though morally suspect in a Bohemian kind of way that is a lot more forgiving in a 25 year-old than in a 45 year-old. The characters may not be likeable to some, but they are complete, well-rounded, fascinating and complex. The plot is compelling if gruesome and disturbing at several points. Be warned.There were some writing style things that bugged me personally: A lot of the scenes start in one POV and end in someone else's POV (the pivotal office scene on p. 220 is an example). The names can get very confusing. Where most authors try to avoid even using the same letter in naming their characters, Larsson uses names like Henrik, Harriett, and Harold living on Hedeby Island off Hedestad. He'll refer to a character by three names such as: Berger, Erika and Ricky, but despite some of these minor annoyances, the story and characters are excellent.This book is compelling, fascinating, unique, unpredictable and not to be missed. It's complex and adult -- and definitely not for the under 21s in my opinion. 