"Once our minds are "tattooed" with negative thinking, our chances for long-term successes diminish." John Maxwell

In one of the most highly decorated novels of recent times, "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo" gives the reader one of the most enjoyable experiences that could be desired.

Mikael Blomkvist has lost a liable suit against Hans-Eric Wennerstrom and is facing prison.

Before beginning his prison term, Mikael is offered a job and a promise to be able to clear his name and get evidence that will convict Wennerstrom of Mikael's claims that he was a dishonest manipulator and misappropriated funds meant to help less fortunate people. To do this, Mikael must spend a year writing the family history of the Vangers and to research the disappearance of Harriet Vanger.

Harriet is the granddaughter of Henrik Vanger's brother and disappeared over forty years ago.

Part of the mystery is that Harriet disappeared from Hedeby Island. At the time there were only about sixty people on the Island. One of the men on the Island is Harriet's brother, Martin, who is now the CEO of Vanger corporation.

Mikael stays at a guest cottage on the Island and later contacts Lisbeth Salander, the girl with the dragon tattoo. Lisbeth is a twenty-four-year old hacker and a person with amazing common sense, perception and possessing a photographic memory. She is anti-social and has been classified as mentally incompetent. As the story begins, she is under legal protection of an attorney who attempts to control her by forcing her to gratify his sexual desires.

What Mikael and Lisbeth unearth is a multi-generational pattern of serial rape and murder.

Salander is one of the most memorable characters I have ever had the pleasure of reading about. She is slim, almost anorexic, she seems like a teen rebel with her piercings and tattoos but is as smart and relentless as anyone I've encountered in literature.

The author, Stieg Larsson, was the editor in chief of the magazine, Expo. He died in 2004 of a heart attack, not long after delivering the manuscript to the editors.

The novel has won or been nominated for:

Strand Critics Award nominee - Best First Novel

Macavity Award 2009 - Best First Novel

ITV Crime Thriller Award 2008 for International Author of the Year for "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo."

Barry - Best British Crime Novel

Anthony Award nominee = Best Novel '09 and Winner: Best First Novel.