Some of what struck me as eccentricities in the first book emerged as more mature features of an extended plotline in this second book. Some readers may be uncomfortable with the ambiguous portrayal of sexual relationships in this book, but I can see now a bit more of how this fits into the chracters that Larsson is weaving in the series. Lisbeth is certainly a creative heroine, and the critical undercurrent in the series against some of the profound blind spots in our supposedly Enlightened (in this case Continental) provides good food for thought. At the most basic level, this was a very engaging read and I'm looking forward to the third novel in this series.