English autumn and Swedish crime

At Gatwick before the trip to Ireland I couldn’t find a single book I wanted to read in WH Smiths so reluctantly I plumped for The Girl Who Played with Fire by Stieg Larsson. If I was going to read this author, I knew I should have started with his first, but it was not to be found.

Anyway, dear reader, though I don’t usually go for crime thrillers, I was soon hooked by TGWPWF – the writing is not unusually exciting but the plot and characters most definitely are. I tried to resist buying The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo when I returned but soon succumbed to temptation. I think one should begin at the beginning and read this first, though it isn’t as gripping as Played with Fire. You have to concentrate quite hard as several of the numerous main characters have a surname beginning with B, OK if you are Swedish, I dare say, but confusing for the rest of us. There’s lots of detail about hacking, lots of detail in general, rather like Frederick Forsyth or a more serious and upmarket Dan Brown. Sadly, left-wing campaigning journalist Stieg Larsson died of an early heart-attack just after he delivered the trilogy to his publisher.

Question is, how long will I resist before I buy the Girl who Kicked the Hornets' Nest?

Above, taken from the bedroom this morning. Have recently walked around Selbourne Hanger - wonderful views of autumn but perhaps too much soft mellow fruitfulness here in Hampshire to come out well in a photo. Stark dramatic outlines are easier to capture, as in Ireland.