Book #7 in the Lisbeth Salander series was published in English 2023.

The 3rd author will be Karin Smirnoff.

I do feel she’s better than either the original — Stieg Larsson — or books 4,5, and 6 David Lagercrantz … BUT this book suffers from many of the same flaws as the first six.

Firstly, not enough Salander. That’s why I’m here. WHY does she appear so late in this book?

Why does she not do more hacking?

David Denby of The New Yorker stated that the character of Lisbeth Salander clearly accounts for a large part of the novels’ success.^[17] 

Deirdre Donahue of USA Today referred to Salander as “one of the most startling, engaging and sometimes perplexing heroines in recent memory.”^[18]

The New York Times‘s David Kamp called her “one of the most original characters in a thriller to come along in a while.”^[19] 

Likewise, Muriel Dobbin from The Washington Times dubbed her one of the most fascinating characters to emerge in crime fiction in years; “Her remoteness and her capacity for anger and violence are in contrast with a desperate vulnerability that she reveals only to the most unlikely of people.”^[20]

By coincidence, both Salander and Mikael Blomkvist end up in Sweden’s far north.

Neither is doing well at the start of the book.

Blomkvist for his daughter’s wedding. Salander hiding her 13-year-old niece Svala, whose mother has disappeared. Incredibly, Lisbeth accepts the role of guardian.

One of the few upsides of this story is that Svala is something of a child genius. She could be the next Salander.

Blomkvist’s beloved magazine Millennium has had to go digital: podcast, vlog. Disgusted, he takes a break from the job.

“Greenwashing”, and the damage caused by ostensibly green companies, is a major theme.

I’ll keep reading. But Smirnoff could have done much better with this material.

I enjoyed the book.

“Set in 1922, Edgar finalist Massey’s second whodunit featuring Bombay attorney Perveen Mistry is even better than the series’ impressive debut… The winning, self-sufficient Perveen should be able to sustain a long series.”
—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“Massey does a superb job of combining a fascinating snapshot into 1920s British-ruled India with a top-notch mystery. She has created a strong, appealing heroine who is forging her own path in a rapidly changing world… Highly recommended for fans of other intrepid women sleuths such as Elizabeth Peters’s Amelia Peabody and Tasha Alexander’s Lady Emily.”
—Library Journal (starred review)

India, 1921. It’s rainy season in the lush, remote Sahyadri mountains, where the princely state of Satapur is tucked away. A curse of deaths has fallen on Satapur’s line of maharajas. The state is now ruled by an agent of the British raj on behalf of Satapur’s two maharanis. The royal ladies are disputing the education of the young prince, and a lawyer’s counsel is required. Enter Perveen Mistry. She is determined to bring peace to the place and make a sound recommendation for the young prince’s future. Yet when she arrives she finds the palace is full of cold-blooded power plays and ancient vendettas. Too late, she realizes she’s walked into a trap…

Collected Stories Volume 3 with 12 entries.

I’m not a big fan of short stories ➙ BUT this is Deaver, so well worth reading anyway.

“A Textbook Case,” a Lincoln Rhyme story:
When a young woman is found brutally murdered in a parking garage, with a veritable mountain of potential evidence to sift through, it may be the most challenging case former NYPD detective Lincoln Rhyme has ever taken on.

“Fast,” a Kathryn Dance story:
Kathryn Dance is in a race against the clock to track down the members of a domestic terrorist cell-and the lives of 200 people hang in the balance.

“Game”:
After Sarah Lieberman’s new tenants murder her in an attempt to steal her money, Sarah’s housekeeper Carmel is determined to find Sarah’s body so she can lay her soul to rest. But Carmel may discover that the truth is uncomfortably close to home …

“Paradice,” a John Pellam story:
When a brake failure leaves him temporarily stranded in a Colorado mountain town, John Pellam finds himself suddenly accused of murder.

jefferydeaver.com

A friend, Adam Gopnik, spent about a year interviewing Steve on multiple topics.

The result is this short book. BEST is to listen to the audio version as it’s Adam and Steve actually chatting.

Steve has been a comedian, actor, writer, musician, magician, art collector and more.

He’s written books. Written films. Written music.

This retrospective on philosophy, art, and Steve’s life works is very entertaining.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Suddenly flying to Reykjavík, Iceland for hiking — I bought the new book called Reykjavík.

Icelandic author Ragnar Jónasson is well known. But this book was co-written by the current Prime Minister of Iceland Katrín Jakobsdóttir. Katrín wrote her master’s thesis on the Icelandic crime novel so she’s not simply along for the ride.

Reviews have been good, but I found the book much weaker than Ragnar’s usual.

It’s a cold case set during the era of the Reagan and Gorbachev’s Reykjavík summit in 1986.

A 15-year-old girl had disappeared in 1956. And many wondered if she was still alive. Or had died somehow while leaving a remote island.

The premise is interesting. The story very slow paced.

And the summing -up less than exhilarating.

Give it a miss.

The most original Western book I’ve read since Trevanian’s Incident at Twenty-Mile.

And not a bad story.

It’s 1877.

Bridget Shaughnessy .. is 16, uneducated, and impoverished when her feckless father dies after a rattlesnake bite on the trail …

Relying on intuition and one remaining mule, Bridget crosses the plains alone and winds up in Dodge City, where her story parts ways with most cowboy novels of the past.

Bridget’s bright red hair attracts the attention of one of the proprietors of the Buffalo Queen Saloon, an establishment devoted to fulfilling the drinking, gambling, and carnal needs of cowboys and others living and passing through the frontier city.

As Bridget embarks on a career as a “sporting woman” in the rough and tumble male world of the emerging West, she receives a belated education not just in the nature of sex work, but also in her own sexuality. …

Kirkus