Stieg Larsson (1954-2004) was a Swedish writer and journalist.
Prior to his sudden death of a heart attack in November 2004 he finished three detective novels in his trilogy "The Millenium-series" which were published posthumously; "The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo", "The Girl Who Played With Fire" and "The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets' Nest". Altogether, his trilogy has sold more than 20 million copies in 41 countries (spring of 2010), and he was the second bestselling author in the world 2008.

STIEG LARSSON, 1954-2004
Before his career as a writer, Stieg Larsson was mostly known for his struggle against racism and right-wing extremism. Starting in the late 1970's, he combined his work as a graphic designer with holding lectures on right-wing extremism for the Scotland Yard. During the following years he became an expert on the subject and has held many lectures as well as written many novels on the subject. In 1995, when 8 persons were killed by neo-Nazis I Sweden, he was the main force behind the founding of the Expo-foundation, a group intended on exposing neo-Nazi activity in Sweden. From 1999 and on, he was appointed chief editor of the magazine Expo.
During the last 15 years of his life, he and his life companion Eva Gabrielsson lived under constant threat from right-wing violence.
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Larson is a captivating story-teller, no doubt. However, the construction of the plot is not fulfilling the standard of a first-rate detective novel, which, ideally should provide with the necessary clues intelligently hidden within the plot itself. The mystery unfolds based on those clues which are told already, but have been either missed or misinterpreted by the readers. The psychological analyses are good and I liked the multiple sexual angles dealt expertly without being vulgur or obscene at all. Altogether, it is a good read, but nothing more.
- Dr. Kausik Chatterjee, 4 November 2010