THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO by Stieg Larsson

 Finished Th 2/19/26

This was a paperback that I noticed on the living room shelf. I own the first and second novel in the series. I remember that I liked to movie. I know that I saw the Noomi Rapace version where she played Lizbeth Salander and I wasn't even aware of the Daniel Craig film. I was shocked to learn that neither film was listed at Reelgood. I was able to stream the Daniel Craig Film on Tubi and I learned this from IMDB. 

A disgraced Swedish publisher is asked by a wealthy industrialist to find out the mystery of his missing niece (Harriet, his brother's daughter). In the summer of 1966 she disappeared at a street festival and was never seen again. Decades later it's revealed that she escaped the island in the trunk of a car. In the movie she relocated to Australia to establish a 'station' (what Australians call a 'ranch').

Reveal: Harriet was being sexually abused by her father and her brother. She also learns that her brother and father were a couple of serial killers of women and had been operating for many, many years. Lizbeth Salander is the tattooed hacker that is able to uncover any secret on the Internet. 

A great read and I'm looking forward to the second book. It's too bad that the original movie from Sweden is no longer available and I was really surprised that the Daniel Craig version was not more popular. 

I finished the book on Thursday and watched the film version on Friday morning. I love living in the modern world! 

NOT BY THE SWORD by Kathryn Watterson

 Finished Su 2/9/26

This is an ancient hardback that I had never read. It seems like something that I wouldn't read, but it actually was quite interesting. A completely different take on the 'I was lost, and then I was found' point of view. 

"How the Love of a Cantor and His Family Transformed a Klansman"

Larry Trapp was a young man deeply involved in anti-government activities. A Jewish couple decide to 'save' him, however they aren't trying to get him to accept 'their god', but they actually help the guy in his daily life. Instead of pulling up to his house with an armload of 'good news  for modern man' information, they help with his shopping, cleaning, and personal hygiene. 

Larry Trapp was a 'Type 1' Diabetes which means that his pancreas didn't work and he had to have daily injections. However, Trapp did nothing about his diet and he soon lost both legs and he was almost completely blind.

From Kirkus:

"A moving, though overlong, account of the triumph of patience and tolerance over bigotry. Based on a remarkable series of events that transpired in Lincoln, Neb., in the early 1990s, this book by journalist Watterson chronicles the transformation of Larry Trapp, Grand Dragon of the Ku Klux Klan of Nebraska. Trapp, the product of a terribly abusive childhood and a number of years in institutions, assumed a leadership role in reviving Klan activities in Nebraska. Handicapped and confined to a wheelchair, he spent his considerable energies on disseminating hate literature, leaving obscene messages on the phone machines of civil rights activists, and planning attacks on members of minorities who moved into Lincoln. When Cantor Michael Weisser and his wife, Julie, decided to respond to Trapp's harassment by offering him help of the most basic kind— help with shopping and getting around—he was initially spiteful and wary. But he was also touched by the offer. Though well narrated, the story of how this developing and uneasy friendship led Trapp to renounce his ties to the Klan and eventually convert to Judaism is muddled by a plethora of uplifting quotes from inspirational literature, giving the account a New Age flavor. Towards the end of the book we learn that the cantor and his wife have also undergone remarkable personal recoveries from abuse and emotional deprivation, which clarifies their ability to bring about a transformation in Trapp. His conversion to Judaism is not easily accepted by some members of the Weissers' congregation (``forgiving your enemy is one thing, but letting him become a member of your family is another,'' says one temple member). Trapp dies soon after his conversion ceremony, and his very moving funeral—attended by many of the individuals whom he attacked—is the book's closing scene. This story received considerable media attention in 1992; for those who missed it, Watterson tells it in historical and social context—a bit too much so." ken

 

MAKING A KILLING by Warren Dunford

 Finished Sa 1/31/26

This is one of my ancient trade paperbacks that I had never read. The novel is written with a kind of a gay Agatha Christie plotline. The setup is that a young man is thrown out of a third story window and is impaled on a fence. His father was stabbed to death and left in the room where the boy had fallen. It was believed that the son killed his dad and then jumped out of the window. This is not what happened. 

The novel is set in the Bloor Street area of Toronto, Canada. This is a 'hip' area of the city with trendy shopping and old money homes.

This was a light read and somewhat enjoyable, but I still do not like the Agatha Christie setup. The author introduces many possible suspects and the reader is supposed to guess the killer. 

From Publishers Weekly:

"Dunford's immensely satisfying sequel to last year's Soon to Be a Major Motion Picture picks up several years later with the same appealing characters. Soon found fledgling Toronto screenwriter Mitchell Draper and his friends Ingrid and Ramir in a sendup of crime dramas and Mafia Princess potboilers. This latest venture is a smart and self-aware parody of gothic murder mysteries, complete with a bevy of suspects, hidden staircases in a spooky mansion ("the kind of house that had inspired the game of Clue"), ancient secrets and even a giant party at the end that brings all the suspects back to the scene of the crime. Alert readers will catch references to Rosemary's Baby, The Haunting of Hill House and Scooby Doo. The biggest surprise is the book's gradual slide from hilarious homage to an honest-to-goodness locked-door mystery. Few will guess the outcome of the clever twists that tantalize until the final pages. Mitchell's idea that a 20-year-old father-son murder-suicide would make a blockbuster movie script finds him investigating the long-closed case and discovering new facts that may endanger him and his cohorts. Meanwhile, Ingrid is attempting reconciliation with her ex-husband, and Ramir has joined a charismatic cult whose leader was intimately involved in the tragedy. New characters are especially well drawn, notably dying designer Cortland McPhee, aging sexpot Gabriella Hartman ("one of Entertainment Weekly's 101 Stars Who Just Won't Give Up") and her Thelma Ritter–like psychic adviser Jane Choy. While some readers will be eager to see what genre Dunford turns his comedic talents to next, others will hope he settles into mystery for good."