A jolly good read

If you have n´t heard there´s a new kid on the block..Stieg Larsson and his Millennium Trilogy. Trouble is he went and died unexpectedly just after handing in the manuscripts for 3 crime novels, with ideas and notes for up to 7 more.
In death as well as life he has caused quite a stir. Steig Larsson was a political activist and lived under the constant threat of death from right wing extremists. He was a life long anti fascist campaigner and one of the founders and editor in chief, until his death, of Expo Foundation in Sweden. Expo was set up to counteract the growth of extreme right wing politics among the young people of Sweden.
The first book in the trilogy is called The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and introduces us to the hero and heroin of the books. Namely Lisbeth Salander a feisty, slightly dysfunctional young women who has a photographic memory and a talent for computer hacking and Mikael Blomkist a campaigning journalist with a lively sexual appetite.
I´m not going to say anything about the plot as its a crime detection novel and to say too much would spoil the fun of reading it. I will say its a tightly written novel with some harrowing passages reminiscent in parts of a horror movie. Its also a great piece of writing for placing a young women at the forefront of the action and excitement. Steig Larsson allows us to see his characters reading other famous detectives such as Sara Paretsky who also had a female character to be reckoned with.
It is as I say a jolly good read and I´m now going to start The Girl who Played with Fire, book 2 in the trilogy.