Girl in the Spider's Web (Lagercrantz)

The Girl in the Spider's Web  (Millennium Series 4)
David Lagercrantz, 2015
Knopf Doubleday
416 pp.
ISBN-13: 9780385354288


Summary
Lisbeth Salander and Mikael Blomkvist return.
 
She is the girl with the dragon tattoo—a genius hacker and uncompromising misfit. He is a crusading journalist whose championing of the truth often brings him to the brink of prosecution.

Late one night, Blomkvist receives a phone call from a source claiming to have information vital to the United States. The source has been in contact with a young female superhacker—a hacker resembling someone Blomkvist knows all too well.

The implications are staggering. Blomkvist, in desperate need of a scoop for Millennium, turns to Salander for help. She, as usual, has her own agenda. The secret they are both chasing is at the center of a tangled web of spies, cybercriminals, and governments around the world, and someone is prepared to kill to protect it . . .

The duo who captivated millions of readers in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The Girl Who Played with Fire, and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest join forces again in this adrenaline-charged, uniquely of-the-moment thriller. (From the publisher.)

Author Bio
• Birth—September 4, 1962
• Rasied—near Stockholm, Sweden
• Education—University of Gothenburg
• Currently—lives in Sodermalm, Stockholm, Sweden


David Lagercrantz is a Swedish journalist and best-selling author, well known in his own country as the ghostwriter for I am Zlatan Ibrahimovic, autobiography of the renowned Swedish footballer (soccer player). With the continuation of Stieg Larsson's Millennium Series (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, et al.), Lagercrantz has gained an international reputation.

Personal
Lagercrantz grew up in Sweden's foremost journalistic and intellectual circles. He is son of Swedish publisher and literary scholar Olof Lagercrantz; his mother is Martina Ruin, daughter of philosopher Hans Ruin. Lagercrantz was raised in Solna and Drottningholm near Stockholm, Sweden, together with his brothers and sisters, among them actress and diplomat Marika Lagercrantz.

The family is descended from a junior line of the untitled Swedish noble family Lagercrantz and, as such, is a member of the Swedish House of Nobility. He is also a descendant through his paternal grandmother of the 19th century historian and poet Erik Gustaf Geijer.

Even though he himself holds leftist political views (and is first cousin to Left Party politician and economist Johan Lonnroth), Lagercrantz has described his upper-class background as a cause of antagonism in a journalistic environment dominated by radical left writers. As a consequence, Lagercrantz has largely withdrawn from the intellectual debate and "culture pages sphere" during his journalist career.

Lagercrantz is married to the journalist and Dagens Eko radio news manager Anne Lagercrantz. They have three children.

Journalist
Lagercrantz studied philosophy and religion at university and subsequently graduated from the Gothenburg journalism school. His first journalist job was at the in-house magazine of carmaker Volvo.

He later moved to the daily tabloid newspaper Expressen where he worked as a crime reporter until 1993. He covered some of the major criminal cases of the late 80s and early 90s in Sweden, notably the Amsele murders.

Early books
His first book, released in 1997, was a biography of the Swedish adventurer and mountaineer Goran Kropp (1966 - 2002).

In 2000 he published a biography on the inventor Hakan Lans, Ett svenskt geni. His breakthrough as a novelist was Syndafall i Wilmslow, a fictionalised novel about the British mathematician Alan Turing.

I am Zlatan Ibrahimovic
In 2011 the best-selling sports biography I am Zlatan Ibrahimovic was published, with Lagercrantz as ghostwriter. According to Lagercrantz, the book is largely based on approximately 100 hours of interviews conducted with Ibrahimovic in Milan.

Lagercrantz chose to approach the project as a novel rather than a conventional ghostwritten autobiography. Although Ibrahimovic was at first was sceptical, the Swedish language edition sold over 500,000 copies before Christmas 2011, which according to his literary agency Bonnier Group Agency is the fastest selling book of all time in Sweden. The rights have been sold to more than 30 countries.

Simon Kuper of the Financial Times compared the biography to Philip Roth's Portnoy's Complaint and drew parallels between the main character's experience as a minority and outsider struggling for recognition and acceptance in mainstream society. Kupner named the book "the best footballer’s autobiography of recent years."

The Girl in the Spider's Web
In 2013 it was announced that Lagercrantz had been contracted to write the fourth novel in the Millennium series of crime novels, originally by Stieg Larsson (1954–2004). The novel was published at midnight August 26-27, 2015, around the ten-year anniversary of the first Millennium novel.

According to the publisher, the book is a stand-alone sequel based on Larsson's characters, but has not made use of the incomplete book manuscripts and notes he left behind. Lagercrantz, however, stated in an interview with Aftonbladet that he had picked up some of the unfinished plot threads from the published novels.

The book's Swedish title is Det som inte dödar oss, literally translated "That Which Does Not Kill Us"; the English title is The Girl in the Spider's Web. (Adapted from Wikipedia. Retrieved 9/23/2014.)

Book Reviews
Fans of Stieg Larsson's captivating odd couple of modern detective fiction…will not be disappointed by the latest installment of their adventures…Salander and Blomkvist have survived the authorship transition intact and are just as compelling as ever…Mr. Lagercrantz demonstrates an instinctive feel for the world Larsson created and for his two unconventional gumshoes…Mr. Lagercrantz captures the weariness, even vulnerability, that lurks beneath these two characters' toughness, and he understands that each is motivated by a craving for justice…Mr. Lagercrantz seems to have set about—quite nimbly, for the most part—channeling Larsson's narrative style, mixing genre clichés with fresh, reportorial details, and plot twists reminiscent of sequences from Larsson's novels with energetically researched descriptions of the wild, wild West that is the dark side of the Internet.
Michiko Kakutani - New York Times


What of Lisbeth Salander? Given that Lagercrantz knows she’s what readers want, her long and suspenseful introduction is masterful.
Lee Child - New York Times Book Review


Lagercrantz has more than met the challenge. Larsson’s brainchildren are in good hands and may have even come up a bit in the world.
Wall Street Journal


Lagercrantz’s real achievement here is the subtle development of Lisbeth’s character; he allows us access to her complex, alienated world but is careful not to remove her mystery and unknowability. Lisbeth Salander remains, in Lagercrantz’s hands, the most enigmatic and fascinating anti-heroine in fiction.
Financial Times


Lagercrantz deftly blends the spirit of Larsson’s work and characters with his own literary skills and bright imagination. Spider’s Web is an intelligent novel that has Salander entangled in one of the most contentious issues of our times.... Riveting....  Pyrotechnic.
Chicago Tribune


[A] smart, action-packed thriller that is true to the spirit of the characters Larsson created while adding interesting new ones and updating the political backdrop that made the Millennium series so compelling.
Buffalo News


Rest easy, Lisbeth Salander fans—our punk hacker heroine is in good hands.... A twisty, bloody thrill ride...seamlessly woven together by Lagercrantz—in fact, if you hadn’t seen his name on the book jacket, you’d likely assume it was Larsson’s own handiwork.... An instant page-turner.
USA Today


Without ever becoming pastiche, the book is a respectful and affectionate homage to the originals.... Lagercrantz’s continuation, while never formulaic, is a cleaner and tighter read than the originals.
Guardian (UK)


Lagercrantz pulls it off.... One devours Larsson’s books for the plots, the action, the anger, and most of all for Lisbeth Salander, a character who resembles Sherlock Holmes or James Bond . . . Lagercrantz has caught her superbly.
Daily Telegraph (UK)


David Lagercrantz was set an almost impossible task by Stieg Larsson’s estate when they asked him to write a ‘continuation’ novel featuring Lisbeth Salander. He has carried it out with intelligence and vigour. The Girl in the Spider’s Web conveys the essence and atmosphere of Larsson’s Millennium novels. He has captured the spirit of their characters and devised inventive plots.
London Times (UK)


Fans of the original trilogy need not fear.... The novel is well-researched and more intelligent than the average thriller.
Independent (UK)
 

Lagercrantz makes sensible decisions in this fourth volume.... Blomkvist is given a cleverly and very contemporary storyline.... A worthwhile read for anyone who’s zipped through the trilogy and finished wanting more.
Daily Express (UK)


Lagercrantz does an excellent job.... Anyone craving more Salander bad-assery should get their hands on a copy of Spider’s Web faster than Lisbeth can hack into the NSA.
People


Fans of the original trilogy will be pleased with Lagercrantz’s new installment. The novel is a smart, propulsive thriller and espionage tale with a timely digital age plot (think Snowden and Wikileaks).
Hollywood Reporter


Action-packed and thoroughly enjoyable.... [A] finely-wrought thriller.... I will eagerly devour the next adventure for Salander and Blomkvist, especially now that we know their fate lies in the hands of a writer worthy of their story.
Daily Beast


Lagercrantz stays true to Larsson’s vision.... No doubt about it, Lagercrantz has done a skillful job.
Sydney Morning Herald
 
 
(Starred review.) [W]orthy, crowd-pleasing fourth installment in the late Stieg Larsson's Millennium saga.... Lagercrantz, his prose more assured than Larsson's, keeps Salander's fiery rage at the white-hot level her fans will want.
Publishers Weekly


Swedish journalist and best-selling author Lagercrantz hit the jackpot when Stieg Larsson's estate asked him to write this stand-alone sequel to the famed "Millennium" trilogy.
Library Journal


Lisbeth is perhaps getting a little long in the tooth to be called a girl, but no matter: she still has a young person's aching desire to right the wrongs of the world.... Fast-moving, credible, and intelligently told.
Kirkus Reviews

Discussion Questions
Use our LitLovers Book Club Resources; they can help with discussions for any book:

• How to Discuss a Book (helpful discussion tips)
• Generic Discussion Questions—Fiction and Nonfiction
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((We'll add specific questions if and when they're made available by the publisher. In the meantime, use our generic mystery questions.)

GENERIC DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
Mystery / Crime / Suspense Thrillers

1. Talk about the characters, both good and bad. Describe their personalities and motivations. Are they fully developed and emotionally complex? Or are they more one-dimensional heroes and villains?

2. What do you know...and when do you know it? At what point in the book do you, the reader, begin to piece together what happened?

3. Good crime writers are skillful at hiding clues in plain sight. How well does the author hide the clues in this work?

4. Does the author use red-herrings—false clues—to purposely lead readers astray?

5. Talk about plot's twists & turns—those surprising developments that throw everything you think you've figured out into disarray. Do they enhance the story, add complexity, and build suspense? Are they  plausible? Or do the twists & turns feel forced and preposterous—inserted only to extend the story.

6. Does the author ratchet up the story's suspense? Did you find yourself anxious—quickly turning pages to learn what happened? How does the author build suspense?

7. What about the ending—is it satisfying? Is it probable or believable? Does it grow out of clues previously laid out by the author (see Question 2). Or does the ending come out of the blue? Does it feel forced...tacked-on...or a cop-out? Or perhaps it's too predictable. Can you envision a better, or different, ending?

8. Are there certain passages in the book—ideas, descriptions, or dialogue—that you found interesting or revealing...or that somehow struck you? What lines, if any, made you stop and think?

9. Overall, does the book satisfy? Does it live up to the standards of a good crime story or suspense thriller? Why or why not?

(Generic Mystery Questions by LitLovers. Please feel free to use them, online or off, with attribution. Thanks.)

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