The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson

This book started out very slow to me- but I couldn't put it down once I got into it. The story begins when Henrik Vanger receives the mysterious birthday present, a pressed flower, that he gets every year. He thinks someone is messing with him from years ago. His grand niece Harriet started this tradition on his birthday one year when she was a young girl. The mystery of the sender has him as puzzled as the mystery of Harriets' disappearance years ago.
Then the book moves to the trial of journalist Mikael Blomkvist. He is accused of libel. He is found guilty and sentenced to jail time and a huge fee. After the trial, he is contacted by Henrik Vanger to write his autobiography, but more importantly, to investigate Harriets' disappearance that happened over 40 years ago.
Another story that is going on is about Lisbeth Salander, a tattooed up, anorexic looking girl who works for Dragan Armansky doing background checks on people. They work for Milton Securities- Salander is a computer hacker and a little bit of a freakshow. ;)
Once Blomkvist starts working for Vanger, you find out how Salander fits in. This is a great story with a lot of intriguing characters. I liked it- and I would recommend it. I can't wait to read the other two books in the trilogy.
4 out of 5 stars...