The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo

Like women sleuths? This book introduces a fascinating character, Lisbeth Salander, a Swedish computer geek or as she would rather put it, "researcher", with a crazy 20-something life. She's teamed with a financial journalist, Mikael Blomkvist who is hired to dig into the mixed-up family of Henrik Vanger, a captain of Swedish industry. If it weren't for the raunchy crimes involved in both Lisbeth's current life and the disappearance of Henrik's niece, Harriet, this would be a super cliff-hanger with an unlikely pair of mystery-solvers. I loved the characters. Hated the raunchiness. If that doesn't bother you, go for it. I won't be reading the two sequels to this book, unfortunately. I'll miss following more adventures of Lisbeth, but I won't miss the graphic scenes describing unspeakable crimes against women.

The Paris Wife

Hadley Richardson, 28, has all but given up on love until she meets the fascinating Ernest Hemingway at an Oak Park party. What follows is a whirlwind courtship and marriage, and shortly after, a move to 1920s Paris to follow the writers' scene. This fictional look at Hemingway's early years is a tangled story of the chaos that comes with genius. Hadley fits in quickly to the Paris vibe, parties, cafes, more parties, odd writer friends, parties. Hem's career begins in fits and starts, as his memories of World War I haunt his dreams. Trips to Spain to view the running of the bulls and bullfighting play a key role in his later endeavors. But Hadley's dreams and Hem's do not mesh, and as many couples find, their relationship drifts away slowly. This portrayal of the early years of one of the 20th century's greatest American writers is fresh, but there is something very attainable and familiar about it. It could as well be the story of your neighbors down the block. I recommend it!