Title: The Millenium Trilogy
Author: Larsson, Stieg
Published by: MacLehose Press (Quercus)
Year: 2010
First published: Norstedts Agency, 2005, 2006, & 2007
Date reviewed: 8.10
ISBN: 978 1 84916 274 6

Originally written in Swedish and set in Sweden, these three books deserve their reputation as ranking among the best modern crime fiction. They are dark and at times disturbing to read, dealing with violence, sexual abuse, trafficking of women for prostitution, and other topics a world away from Miss Marple. Mixed up in the unpleasantness and trying to alleviate it are the good guys: a few idealistic and committed people, most notably the eponymous heroine. Herself a product and victim of some of the nastier aspects of modern society, she has her own views of right and wrong. Her methods may sometimes be outside the law but are always on the side of natural justice.

I won’t repeat here the tragic story around the journalist Larsson’s attacks on the extreme political right, the publication of this trilogy and his untimely death – anyone interested can find plenty about it on the web (start with Wikipedia). But although the trilogy comes to a final conclusion and doesn’t need a follow-up, I can’t help regretting he didn’t live to write the rest of the ten novels he said he had planned.

The plaudits and awards are fully deserved. The inevitable film (of the first book) is in production with release scheduled for the 2011 Christmas market. I’m not sure if I want to see it: it won’t (can’t) be as good as the books. My advice is to set aside a day or two for reading each, but although they are firmly in the “can’t put down” category you may find as I did that each book is too much to take without some time out to return to normality. Larsson uses a large list of characters and manages the many strands of his plot masterfully to keep each thread alive in a way that brings to mind the complex designs of interweaving serpents we find in Nordic and Anglo-Saxon art.

So no plot spoilers here, just a wholehearted recommendation that if you enjoy the best of crime fiction, read the books – in order, of course.