This is the second book in the Millennium series created by Stieg Larsson. The plot revolves around the human and sex trafficking industry in Sweden and the murder of three individuals with connections to the Lisbeth Salander character.

I found this to be a pleasing (yet inferior) sequel to "Dragon". While one does not need to read Dragon, I would recommend it. For my money it (Dragon) is the superior read.

The Lisbeth Salander character is a very interesting protagonist. When Lisbeth is being written about in The Girl Who Played with Fire, the story seems to move - when she is not, the story drags.

The Mikael Blomqvist, Erica Berger etc. characters and how Steig Larsson created and developed the characters seemed deeper, fresher and have more substance in the first novel. I thought the first book had a better focus, pace, fewer hanging threads, was more intricately plotted and had a better overall story.

With that said, the sequel is a good, not exceptional, read. My recommendation is to read The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo first, then this novel to fully appreciate the world that Steig Larsson created.