*Have You Heard? * Audiobooks For Your Listening Pleasure* The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest by Stieg Larsson

The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet's Nest (Millennium, #3) by Stieg Larsson
Also by this author: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (Millennium, #1)
Published by Random House Audio, Random House on February 21st 2012
Genres: Literary Fiction
Pages: 655
Format: Audiobook
ISBN: 0307454568
Goodreads

The Girl in the Spider’s Web, the new book in the Millennium Series, is available now!
In the third volume of the Millennium series, Lisbeth Salander lies in critical condition in a Swedish hospital, a bullet in her head.
But she's fighting for her life in more ways than one: if and when she recovers, she'll stand trial for three murders. With the help of Mikael Blomkvist, she'll need to identify those in authority who have allowed the vulnerable, like herself, to suffer abuse and violence. And, on her own, she'll seek revenge--against the man who tried to killer her and against the corrupt government institutions that nearly destroyed her life.

#StiegLarsson #MilleniumSeries #LisbethAndMikael @SimVan @BOTLibrary @StiegLarssonRIP

I’m taking a slight departure from my usual format for today’s review. Today, rather than beginning with my thoughts about the book, I’m going to start with the amazing narrator Simon Vance. These books are long and the plot is detailed, yet Mr. Vance is unwavering in his performance of the author’s work. He is Lisbeth Salander and he is Mikael Blomqvist and he is all the supporting characters in this complex drama.  I have a theory about narrators: they can give a performance that makes a good book into a great book….they can give an average performance which neither hurts nor helps a book…or they can couple a good book with a bad or mediocre performance and the author’s story suffers. Bravo, Mr. Vance for bringing these books to life for me!

I don’t know what more I can say about the Millenium Trilogy beyond what I’ve already said. I’ve chosen to combine my reviews of The Girl Who Played with Fire and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest because the story line between them is seamless. I’m so thankful I had all three downloaded because I started the third book immediately after finishing the second. I’ve rarely read a single book or series where the characters were so well-developed. I found Mikael Blomqvist very likable despite his being a manwhore. I loved the courage of Lisbeth’s original guardian, Lawyer Holger Palmgren. I loved Lisbeth’s faithful hacker friends Plague and Trinity. I loved Jeremy MacMillan, Lisbeth’s improbable choice to manage her wealth. I loved Mikael’s sister Annika Giannini who summoned the courage to defend Lisbeth even though it was outside the scope of practice with which she was comfortable. And her defense was brilliant! Above all, I love Lisbeth Salander. My life would be so simple if I possessed her spunk and could just refuse to talk to people who don’t really hear what I say. She is no doubt the weirdest character I will ever love.

Please go buy these books and read them. Or better still, download them and listen to Simon Vance read to you. You will be captivated and entertained and then you will mourn with me for the late Stieg Larsson. I’m going to take a break from Lisbeth and Mikael for awhile before I read The Girl in the Spider’s Web by David Lagercrantz, the author who was chosen by the Larsson family to continue the series.  I’ve read mixed reviews about this newest book but since Simon Vance will also be narrating, I’m anxious to see how what I know will be a great performance will affect the book.