The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest by Stieg Larson

The final segment in Larsson's trilogy recounting the saga of Lisbeth Salander, the anti-heroine of the series. This story begins with Lisbeth's recovery in a hospital from the bullet wounds she suffered at the end of the previous volume. She has been arrested for crimes detailed in the 2nd volume, but which she did not commit. Larsson switches back and forth between Lisbeth's recovery and her own work to discredit the prosecution's case against her, and that of her friend, a magazine editor, who is also conducting his own investigation. There's less action in this story, and more focus on tracking down the secret government agency which caused much of Lisbeth's persecution in order to protect her father, a Russian spy who defected. All the loose ends are tied up in the end. Lisbeth remains a troubled loner, with her own sense of right and wrong that doesn't mesh well with conventional society. She's intriguing but not a character that engenders much sympathy. A satisfying conclusion to the series. This is translated from the Swedish, and I'm amazed at the fluidity of the language, in dialogue and description. 563 p