The Girl Who Played With Fire ~ Stig Larssen

# 2 in the Millennium series
Maybe ... just maybe ... not quite as good as #1

I think the reason it wasn't as enjoyable as #1 was because I liked the characters so much that I didn't want anything bad to happen to them!

This was more focused on Lizbeth. Larssen is an all-out crusader for women's causes.

This book has Russians and the sex-trade as the underlying theme.

In The Woods ~ Tana French

Winner of the 2007 Edgar Award for Best First Novel
Set in Ireland

Detective mystery set outside Dublin. Main male character was woosy and irksome but there was a strong female lead.

The background plot involving the male detective is nicely woven into the main plot. While it is not resolved, it accounts for his personality and actions (friends disappeared when he was young ... did he do it? did he see something?)

Main plot has a few clunky moments : "Where's the trowel?" says a character ... and guess what?? It is the murder weapon!!! Less than subtle!

But even with character and plot shortcomings it was a worthwhile read.

Nocturnes ~ Ishiguro Kuzuo

Short stories
Nothing special from a fav author

A collection of vaguely interlinked stories ... tied together by a theme of "musicians". Within the compliation of short stories two were two part-ers.

Fair to middling writing but nothing that left me wishing it was a full blown novel and nothing that was more meaningful or vivid because of its brevity.

Vernon God Little ~ DBC Pierre

**** RECOMMEND ****

Winner : Booker Prize 2003

The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time ~ Mark Haddon

***** FAVOURITE *****

Winner : Whitbred Book of the Year

Longlisted : Booker Prize 2003