The Girl With the Dragon Tatoo

I feel like I might be a little behind everyone else on this, but if you are like me and haven't gotten around to reading "The Girl With the Dragon Tatoo" by Steig Larsson, don't put it off any longer.  I finished it last night and ran out today to buy the next one.  It was a fantastic read and one that you will not be able to put down.  It is perfect for the airplane.  You will be so engrossed you will most likely forget you are even flying.  The characters are fabulous, the story is totally engrossing and I became obsessed with reading for 4 days.  Literally.

The story focuses on a financial journalist, Mikael Blomkvist, who likes to report on the corruption in the financial world.  This last investigation put him on the wrong end of a libel case.  It does however lead him to get hired by Henrik Vanger to discover who murdered his niece some 40 years ago.  He is introduced to the heroin, Lisbeth Salander and together they uncover much more than they could ever have imagined.  The tale is riveting and disturbing and will leave you hungry for more.  Good thing there are two more books for you to sink your teeth into.  It will not disappoint.  It actually surpassed all my expectations.  I highly recommend you put this next on your reading list.

Cleopatra, Stacy Schiff

Stacy Schiff’s biography of Cleopatra deserves all the hype it is getting.  Extremely well written, especially given the lack of information we have about various parts of her life and unbelievably engaging.  If you like history, you will like this book.  

I realized after reading it, that I really didn’t know very much about her life.  She was a fascinating woman.  She was incredibly smart, resourceful and ran her country better than most before her.  It is not a quick, blow through this on the beach read.  However, if you are taking a vacation and just like to read a little every night before you go to bed, take this book.  If you are going to either Egypt or Rome, read this before you go.  It just makes walking through the Forum a little more interesting.

When I went to Rome I saw 12 of the 15 Obelisks that there are in the world.  After reading Cleopatra it is more clear to me when they came to Rome and why.  I am sure that the next time I go back to Rome I will see a little more of the Egyptian influence. Shiff has written a  fantastic book that will make you see Cleopatra in a whole different light than we normally see her in from any of the films or plays that have been written about her.    

I have one warning:  this book may cause a serious desire to travel to Egypt.  I have always wanted to visit and see the pyramids, now I want to go to Alexandria and see some of the rest.  Although most of Cleopatra’s Alexandria is no longer there, it still would be amazing to travel and see where all this took place.   I will definitely wait until things settle down there, but I think Egypt is now in my top 10. 

"The Last Talk With Lola Faye"

Thomas Cook’s latest novel “The Last Talk with Lola Faye” is a fantastic mystery novel, but not necessarily in the traditional sense.  

It is the story of Luke, a not so successful writer, who finds himself face to face with Lola Faye, the woman he believes responsible for the murder of his father.  He agrees to have a drink with her in order to find out why she has come to see him, but the evening doesn’t turn out the way he expected.   As the truth comes out you will discover things are not always what they seem.  Mr. Cook does a wonderful job of leading you down one path and then leaving you off somewhere completely unexpected.  I loved every minute of this book.  An absolute page turner.  If you want a great book to take with you on vacation, this one should be on the top of your list.

Great vacation books

Maisie Dobbs (Book 1) by Jacqueline Winspear.  This is the first in this great series of mystery novels that take place in time before and after WWI, leading into WWII.   If you like historical fiction, you will love Maisie Dobbs.   You will fall in love with the characters who are fantastically alive and wonderfully rendered.   There are now 7 in total in the series.  The next installment is due out next spring.

Maisie, the daughter of a struggling greengrocer, was 13 when she was sent to work for a wealthy London Aristocrat.  Little does she know this is an event that will change her life forever.  After working her way through Cambridge she goes and serves as a nurse on the front during the Great War.  Now 10 years later, she opens her own detective agency.   Her first case will take her on a trip back in time, back to the war and ghosts she had left behind.