Thank you to NetGalley for and advanced digital copy of this book.

Something is going on in the North country, usually scenes of Christmas cheer year-round. But now there are those who want to destroy the natural beauty and animal habitats for money. LOTS of money.

Lizbeth is brought to this snowy countryside when she is named guardian to a niece she never knew existed. The daughter of her now-dead brother, Svala has been left alone when her mother goes missing and her grandmother dies. Lizbeth, who doesn't even have a pet, is certain she is NOT the person to take charge of this 13-year old girl, but there is nowhere else for her to go.

Meanwhile, Michael Blomvkist is also headed to the same area for his daughter's wedding. And he longs to see his grandson, although he is not sure what he thinks of his future son-in-law. He seems to be involved in some shady dealings, but he is a hero in the town and seemingly can do no wrong.

But at the wedding, all their worlds collide when Michael's grandson is kidnapped. Everyone is using their particular skills in finding the child and Svala's mother, whose cases may be linked.

I have liked this series since I read the first one many years ago and the new authors seem to keep to the idea of the stories and carry on the series flawlessly.

I am appreciative of the review copy of this new Salander book. Unfortunately for me, my interest in this book waned as the writing/plot development didn't land for me as much as it has in earlier books. Some of this might be more an issue with knowing a character from earlier books and different writers, not as much about this author per se, and going in expecting one kind of book/voice and not getting it. I appreciate the chance to return to favorite characters and hope that the voice of Salander and Stieg Larsson can carry on but with a little more of the original style/grit and rawness of Salander and her backstory, and her amazingly fascinating approach to revenge and justice.

Sorry to say this wasn't it for me. It pales in comparison to the original author of this series, Stieg Larson's work. The writing was choppy and the villians cartoonish. It didn't have the same mood and atmosphere and brilliance of the originals, and maybe it was the translation but a lot of awkward phrasing and overall confusing and uninspired plot. Sorry to say this just missed the mark completely. Perhaps if my expectations werent so high from the original author's contributions I wouldnt be judging it so harshly but I'm honestly not sure about that.

LISBETH SALANDER IS BACK - SORT OF

When Steig Larsson, the brilliant author of the Lisbeth Salander series, died suddenly at fifty years old in 2004, a conflict, with accusations, arose between his partner of thirty years, Eva Gabrielsson, and the family of his late editor. Eva had possession of Larsson’s notes, but they apparently were never used. Instead, the vacancy of the Millennium series was filled by a David Lagercrantz. He wrote a total of three books before Polaris Publishing bought rights to the series from the estate and plans are to release three new books written by Karin Smirnoff. This is the first one.

The Girl in the Eagle’s Talon is now released. Lisbeth Salander has returned and she moves through this novel with brilliance, and she is fearless. But like many revivals, they are never as powerful as the first one. She has been named guardian of her niece, Svalla, whose mother seems to have disappeared. Mikael Blomkvist, despondent over the termination of his magazine, Millennium, enters the plot. Salander helps him deal with his daughter’s upcoming marriage.

Action explodes, some of it is shocking and other scenes fall flat. It does not have the finesse or perfect action scenes of Larsson, but no one could match his brilliance.

My gratitude to Net Galley and Knopf for this pre-published book. All opinions expressed are my own.

I was a big fan of the first 3 Lisbeth Salander books by the original author Stieg Larsson but haven’t read any of the series entries written after his death. I’m sure that’s why I felt lost throughout the early part of The Girl in the Eagle’s Talons by. Karin Smirnoff. I appreciated the list of characters at the beginning of the book to help me figure out who everyone was. It was pretty slow moving at the beginning but picked up to a decent pace. Still, this was not my cup of tea.
Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review.

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo is one of my all time favorite series, the original three books that is. Usually not a series reader, this is one of the few series that I had to have each book immediately after finishing the previous edition. When the fourth book was published with a new author, I was skeptical. But I missed Lizbeth and Mikael so had to read it. As the books continued, the edge and rawness of the characters diminished and was replaced with drab shapeless characters I no longer recognized. Their unapologetic manner was gone from the page and something else took its place. Again The Girl in the Eagle's Talons tempted me with its alure of a new author and hope of a return to the earlier glory of the series. Alas, that was not to be for this reader. Sadly, I did read the book, and was disappointed. Salander and Blomkvist are dead to me in any future attempts to revive the series. I will take solace that a reread of the series is still in my future somewhere. For now, thank for for you time on the page and may we meet again someday. My rating 2.5 stars.

A lot has changed in this series: it's on its third author (Smirnoff), Lisbeth Salander has a full-time job with Milton Security, and Mikael Blomkist is trying to figure out what to do with himself now that Millennium magazine has ceased publication and become a podcast. The Girl in the Eagle's Talons relies on a lot of coincidence to set up the story: Blomkist and Salander both find themselves in the north, in the small town of Gasskas, Mikael for his daughter's wedding, while Salander has come to meet her 13 year old niece, Svala, who faces being put into the foster system if Salander won't take her in after her mother disappears. The Branco group, with connections to the Svavelsjö MC, wants to put a wind farm in the Gasskas area and will use any means necessary to get their way on the deal with the city, including threatening Mikael's daughter and grandson and Svala's mother. The book starts off slow, setting up all the threads that will interconnect in the story, and there are almost too many threads to keep track of, especially while also trying to remember who characters are from previous books. By the midpoint of the book the action starts to ramp up. Blomkist and Salander are essential to the story but there seems to be more focus on Svala, perhaps establishing her as Salander's heir-apparent. A solid thriller, but not on par with the original books in the series.

Mikael Blomkvist and Lisbeth Salander are two of my favorite characters in crime fiction. And Karin Smirnoff has written some pretty good books in the past, so I was really looking forward to this one. Sadly, it didn't quite hold my attention. Partly because Lisbeth and Blomkvist are somewhat pushed to the rear in this story. I'll likely give it another shot in the future and definitely haven't given up on the series.

This was such a treat to get to read this book. I love the Dragon Tattoo series. This one did not disappoint. Of course we have the bad guys that Lisbeth kicks butt.
Thanks to Knopf and NetGalley for the ARC.

In the tradition of Swedish mystery writing, this author is attempting to replicate the popularity of the previous Girl in.... books. (Dragon Tatoo?). She almost makes it, but not quite. Hope she keeps trying. It's a great premise.

I wish that the world would just let this series end. Karin Smirnoff is now the 3rd author to take up the mantle, and it shows. The characters just aren't the same, and we're getting away from the original power of the story.

If you could go into this book with fresh eyes as someone who had no experience with the rest of the series, I think you'd really enjoy it. However, the original trilogy is one of my favorites, so I didn't care for The Girl in the Eagle's Talons.

Lisbeth Salander's story continues with the third writer jumping into the mix - Karin Smirnoff. Smirnoff did an awesome job picking up this story and making it exciting and true to Stieg Larsson's original concept.

Description:
Change is coming to Sweden’s far north: its untapped natural resources are sparking a gold rush with the criminal underworld leading the charge. But it’s not the prospect of riches that brings Lisbeth Salander to the small town of Gasskas. She has been named guardian to her niece Svala, whose mother has disappeared. Two things soon become clear: Svala is a remarkably gifted teenager—and she’s being watched.

Mikael Blomkvist is also heading north. He has seen better days. Millennium magazine is in its final print issue, and relations with his daughter are strained. Worse still, there are troubling rumors surrounding the man she’s about to marry. When the truth behind the whispers explodes into violence, Salander emerges as Blomkvist’s last hope.

A pulse-pounding thriller, The Girl in the Eagle’s Talons sees Salander and Blomkvist navigating a world of conspiracy and betrayal, old enemies and new friends, ice-bound wilderness and the global corporations that threaten to tear it apart.

My thoughts:
Very well written and a great addition to The Millenium series. I liked this one much better than the previous book in the series. I've seen some bad reviews, but in my case I enjoyed the story. This time Lisbeth and Mikael Blomkvist go up against corporate criminals while both are, oddly enough, in the same town dealing with family situations. I found Lisbeth's niece interesting. The story was fast-paced and exciting, and kept my attention to the end - which is somewhat of a cliffhanger that seems to indicate a follow up to come. I sure hope so as I have followed this series from the beginning.

Thanks to Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor through Netgalley for an advance copy. This book will be published on August 29, 2023.

The Girl in the Eagle’s Talon by Karin Smirnoff is a good read, but it lacks the feel of the original series. Lisbeth is not as edgy. Is it her age? The villain is excellent as is some of the kinky sex, although not a graphic as in the past. The story is multi-pronged, essentially about a man who thinks he can take over the world, no matter what the cost in human lives. The overall setting is the forest in Sweden where there are plans to build a wind farm. Needless to say, not every one is onboard with the project, especially some of the property holders. Branco (the villain)and his followers have a strict policy of ridding the earth of anyone who gets in the way. He has tools: the deliverer, the cleaner, who mostly do his dirty work. He is malformed based on the fact his mother ingested thalidomide while pregnant. It hasn’t affected his brain, or maybe it has. The major tool is Henry Salo who is the town executive. He has done his job acceptably but recently has required some encouragement, hence the kidnapping of his stepson, Mikael Blomqvist’s grandson. Lisbeth is here because of her niece, the daughter of her late brother, Svala, whose mother is missing.

These are good characters, both, but not used to their full potential in this story. True, Blomqvist is getting older but his mind is sharper than ever. The Millennium has published its last edition. It is now a podcast and website. Blomqvist can’t quite adjust. There are so many ins and outs to this story I can’t begin to describe them. It was a good story, about power gone mad. The villain, Branco, was well-written, but most of his handymen were not. The cleaner, also turned out to be a more well-developed character that he was at first glance, with a unique way of disposing of his victims. All-in-all, it was an enjoyable read, just not the girl with the dragon tattoo.

I was invited to read a free e-ARC of The Girl in the Eagle’s Talon by Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage and Anchor. All thoughts and opinions are mine. #Netgalley #Knopf #Pantheon #VintageAndAnchor #KarinSmirnoff #TheGirlInTheEaglesTalon

I had high hopes that Salandar and Blomkvist would regain their previous connection, but it didn't seem to happen. Instead they both seemed marooned in the ice and snow of the impenetrable North, forced to navigate between new relatives (son in law and niece) without really uniting. Larrson set a high bar and I wish Smirnoff hadn't felt she had to veer away from their relationship without a successful end.

Many thanks to the Netgalley for the early copy of The Girl in the Eagle’s Talons by Karin Smirnoff. I have always really enjoyed the Lisbeth Saunders collection, but this book just didn’t flow into the series like I wanted. Lisbeth seems like a side character & maybe the point is to move the series into the direction of another character, but I wasn’t a huge fan. 2.5 stars

A new trilogy in the Millennium series has begun--this time written by a female author, Karin Smirnoff. I read the original three books in this series but skipped the next three, unsure they would be as good. I decided to take a chance on this latest book and was pleasantly surprised. It was enjoyable to catch up with Lisbeth Salander and Mikael Blomkvist as they go up against another extremely evil man and his minions. Some new characters are introduced and there's several neat twists to the plot. I've seen some quite bad reviews, but I'm happy to swim against the stream and say I found this an absorbing, entertaining thriller and look forward to more from Karin Smirnoff.

I received an arc from the author and publisher via NetGalley. My review is voluntary and the opinions expressed are my own.

{3.5 stars}

“‘Fear does things to people. Makes them take irrational decisions just to survive.’

‘Even if their children are the ones who suffer?’”

—————————-

Lisbeth Salander is back! In this latest installment, she and Blomkvist cross paths again as they are both dealing with change in their personal lives. Lisbeth has had a niece surface as her mother has gone missing. Mikael's daughter is getting married to a suspicious character putting his grandson at risk. These two circumstances slowly wind themselves towards one another as the story progresses.

Full disclosure, I did not read the Lagercrantz volumes of this story. I'm not sure you need to though. I enjoyed the story but it's not the jaw dropping, pulse pounding that the original three were. The writing was a bit hard to follow at times for me, the POVs change a lot and sometimes we are observing and other times we get thoughts. It was just a bit all over the place for me. Was nice to be back with familiar characters and setting. Also loved the appearance of the Sami people and their part in the plot.

Thanks to Knopf for the gifted copy. All opinions above are my own.

Thanks #NetGalley and #KnopfPantheonVintageAndAnchor for the Arc of #TheGirlInTheEaglesTalons by #KarinSmirnoff. I have always enjoyed the Lisbeth and Mikael saga and this book is no different. Although the books are continued under a new author, I liked it just as well.

The Girl in the Eagle’s Talons is the seventh book the Millennium series starring Lisbeth Salander, this one written by, new author to the series, Karin Smirnoff. In Lisbeth Salander’s return, she finds herself in the small town of Gasskas where she has been named the guardian of her niece, Svala, whose mother has disappeared. Mikael Blomkvist also finds himself in Gasskas for his daughters wedding. When kidnappings start and a mystery emerges, Lisbeth and Mikael team up to get to the bottom of it and find justice the only way they know how.

I am a big fan of the original books in this series, but this is the first book by a different author that I had read. This book has all of the normal Lisbeth Salander elements and it should have made for a great book, but I just couldn’t find myself getting into it that much. Maybe it was because it’s been so long since I’ve read the first books in this series so I found myself getting more of a nostalgic feeling for Lisbeth and Mikael instead of being invested in their current story. I don’t know what it was for sure, but I didn’t connect with this book like I did the originals. I did enjoy revisiting these two characters that I love and am glad I read this book, but it just didn’t live up to my expectations. If you are a fan of this series, this is worth giving a try. You may be able to connect with this in a way that I couldn’t.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book!

As a fan of the entire series, the much anticipated book in the series did not disappoint. its a fast read with lots of twists and turns along the way. I really hope the series continues into the future.