The Girl in the Spider’s Web is a 2015 crime mystery thriller written by David Lagercrantz, published by Norstedts Forlag,and narrated by Simon Vance. Serving as the fourth entry in the Millennium series, the story follows Lisbeth tackles some extremely dangerous family secrets while also investigating a case involving Russian organized crime and government cyberspying alongside her accomplice, journalist Mikael Blomkvist. 

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Story

Lagercrantz takes the reins of the Millennium series and for his first book, the story is actually good. The main story follows Lisbeth who comes into guardianship of a young boy named August after his father is killed by a secret organization known as the Spiders, who excel in cyberterrorism. On the flip side, Mikael Blomkvist investigates August father’s murder while Millennium is in danger of losing creative control. The plot itself is deep and engaging, and very complicated. One of the subplots being Salander’s association with the group of hackers who target corrupt corporations and government agencies. There’s also an emotionally charged aspect to the story that revolves around the relationships of the characters.

The story does dive more into Lisbeth’s past introducing a new character, Camilla, Lisbeth’s twin sister. The villains are a group known as the “Spiders”, who are led by Camilla, who adds another level of personal interest for our heroine. At first, I thought this the author’s attempt to stretch an already resolved story, i.e. expanding on Lisbeth’s family much like the second book did for her father and brother. But the more I read I started liking the direction that it took.

In terms of characters, I liked seeing Lagercrantz take the reins and he does a good job. Lisbeth and Blomkvist are good, and you can see development from their previous experiences. I do have an issue with Blomkvist and some of his past flings. There was real potential for him and several women in the previous books and it’s never really said what happened to those relationships. Even with my favorite character, Erika Berger, their relationship doesn’t feel right. In fact, she barely has any “screen time”. There are a lot of good side characters, some new, some returning. There are more that I like than I don’t. Still, the story is entertaining, and the characters are good. (4 out of 5)

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Audio

And I have to give it to Simon Vance, he completely killed the narration. He’s quickly becoming one of my favorite narrators. His pacing is good, pronunciation clear, and consistency is strong throughout his performance. He does a great job of making the characters lively, more specifically Lisbeth, Mikael, and Erika. I will admit that with any large cast, some of the characters tend to sound like other characters, and this is many the supporting characters. The production value is good and makes the narration entertaining. (5 out of 5)

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Writing

Although not the original author, Stieg Larsson, the writing still manages to tell an engaging story filled interesting twists, deep characters, and thoughtful themes. Langercrantz does have his style of writing and yes, it’s noticeable but not distracting. He has an interesting approach to the characters that pays homage to Larsson’s interpretation while providing progression of character. Lisbeth and Mikael are true to themselves despite the “change of hand”, and the unique situations the two find themselves in. Some of the best moments are focused on Lisbeth and August’s interactions. And on the flip side, Mikael’s investigation is interesting, a great way to introduce plot twists.

Langercrantz might lack the journalistic experience of his predecessor, but his writing is still descriptive with a certain level of nuance. It was thorough, the presentation was done well and the informative. I liked the consistency in the writing and the tone, the narrative worked for me in terms of pacing and suspense. I like the change from corrupt government officials to industrial espionage and cybercriminals which makes the point of the Lisbeth and Mikael’s battle with foes of the past to those more modern. Despite the differences between the two authors, I think Langercrantz does a good job with the writing and direction. (4 out of 5)

The Verdict: In the end, The Girl in the Spider’s Web is not only a good book but a worthy sequel in the Millennium series. There are a lot of things that I liked about this book; I thought the characters were good, the story interesting, narration phenomenal, and the writing spot on. Despite some issues I had with direction overall, I thought this was a great read. The Girl in the Spider’s Web gets 4 out of 5.