Books

'The Girl In The Spider's Web' Sequel Will Satisfy Your Cravings For More Lisbeth Salander Stories

by Sadie Trombetta
Sony Pictures

If you like crime thrillers with seriously kickass heroines, then you've probably heard about Claire Foy's new movie, The Girl in the Spider's Web. A soft reboot of David Fincher's 2011 The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, it's just the latest in a growing collection of film adaptations of the internationally bestselling Millennium series. So, where does this installment fall in the series, and more importantly, is there a The Girl in the Spider's Web book sequel? Fans of the franchise will be happy to learn that yes, there is another Lisbeth Salander story out there.

Created by Swedish author Stieg Larsson, Millennium is a series of thrillers about an unlikely crime fighting pair: Mikael Blomkvist, a seasoned investigative journalist who isn't afraid to get his hands dirty in order to uncover the real story, and Lisbeth Salander, a genius hacker with a body covered in tattoos and a past full of dark secrets. Together, they have investigated everything from mysterious disappearances and suspicious murders to online sex trafficking and government corruption. When they aren't busy fighting for justice for everyone, they're busy trying uncover the truth about Lisbeth's past, which gets more twisted and more dangerous each installment.

As far as publishing histories goes, the Millennium series actually has a pretty fascinating one. Larsson originally planned for his Lisbeth Salander stories to stretch out over 10 installments, but when he died in 2004, only three novels were completed. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo was posthumously published in Sweden in 2005, followed by The Girl Who Played with Fire in 2006 and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets' Nest in 2007. It wasn't until 2008 that the Millennium series made its was to English readers. Since then, it has gone on to be translated into many languages in over 50 countries around the world.

In 2013, Larsson's original publisher Norstedts förlag decided to continue the Millennium series without its creator. They commissioned Swedish journalist and bestselling crime author David Lagercrantz, best known for I am Zlatan Ibrahimović, to continue Larsson's legacy — despite the objections of Larsson's longtime partner, Eva Gabrielsson. Lagercrantz's first installment (and the series' fourth), The Girl In the Spider's Web, was released and became an instant bestseller in 2015, and this year, was adapted for the big screen.

But The Girl in the Spider's Web isn't the only Millennium novel Lagercrantz has written. In 2017, the series continued under his authorship with The Girl Who Takes an Eye for an Eye. Another instant bestseller, it continues the story of super hacker Lisbeth Salander and the continued search for the truth about her past. Of course, she comes up against plenty of obstacles, the least of which is her sentence in Flodberga Prison. There is a group of Islamists out for revenge after Lisbeth rescues a young woman from them; a prison gang leader who wants her dead; her distant and deadly twin sister, Camilla. There is also a whole host of people who will do anything to stop Lisbeth from learning more about a disturbing pseudoscientific experiment known only as The Registry. But with the help of journalist Mikael Blomkvist, Lisbeth attempts, yet again, to take down some of the world's most dangerous criminals.

The Girl Who Takes an Eye for an Eye is the fifth installment of the Millennium series, and according to Lagercrantz, it will be his last. "When I’m 70, maybe I’ll miss it," he told EW. "But for me, it’s so important to move on, because I develop myself when I write something new. I respect writers who can write the same book all over again, but I couldn’t."

So is The Girl Who Takes an Eye for an Eye the last readers will see of Lisbeth Salander? With this series and its many adaptations, never say never.