Wow, she is one mean woman when riled. Nikita comes to mind, the feral and beautiful victim-cum-ruthless killer of the French 1990 movie. Except Lisbeth is not beautiful. Nor is she an assassin, at least not by trade. She is a hacker who gets to deliver her own form of justice.

Salander is a key character in Steig Larsson’s Millennium trilogy. The original series was published in Swedish where it has proven to be very popular. The first two books are now available in English, and the third will be released early 2010, no doubt to the delight of the queue that is steadily building. “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” – first in the series – is a top-seller in the UK and was recently awarded the British Books Thriller of the Year award. “The Girl who Played with Fire” is now selling fast.

Dragon Tattoo is typical of an Agatha Christie story: a girl goes missing 40 years ago in an isolated place with a small number of suspects, most of who are related. The police have come up empty-handed. The rich patriarch hires an investigative reporter, Mikael Blomkist, to solve the riddle, who in turn employs the services of Salander for research duties. Salander reveals extraordinary skills suited to the task and very little skills suited to socialising. Obviously I cannot tell whodunnit except to say it wasn’t the butler.

Played with Fire follows on with the Blomkist/Salander team unwillingly thrown together to solve another crime – this time a crime linked to Salander. Again the answer lies in the past; in particular to the event Salander experienced at 12 and now describes as All The Evil. Some events might be unsettling to the reader but the writing is not of a gory nature, although the scene that had “fingers emerged like something dead beneath the earth” did take on a Stephen King feel.

Both books have a similar style. Characters are developed. A crime is committed which unravels a series of crimes. The truth is revealed in a frenzied spate of action towards the end. The plot is gripping. The characters provide an amazing depth to the tale. Strength, intelligence and tenacity are common traits but there are also flaws ranging from simple stubbornness to sexual perversion to pyschopathy.

Salander is one character you will remember.

You will probably enjoy this book if you liked: Smilla’s Sense of Snow by Peter Hoeg.

Dead People’s Music moves back and forth mainly between New York and Wellington, both cities where the author has lived. The novel successfully takes us in and out of decades and between characters.

Rebecca’s story mirrors the story of Klara, her grandmother, a Jewish evacuee from pre-war Germany. Orphaned Klara and her sister Esther are raised in New York by their Tante Dagmar. Both sisters learn the cello however Klara is the more accomplished of the two. Klara’s faith in her musical ability takes a dive however after she is declined a place in the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Much to the disapproval of her Aunt and Heir Weiss [her Aunt’s cello maker friend], Klara immigrates to New Zealand in the 1950’s after accepting an offer of marriage from Owen, a kiwi guy she meets at a concert in Central Park. She leaves New York and arrives in Wellington in the 1950’s, and they have a son named Frankie.

The book begins at the moment that Frankie’s daughter, Rebecca arrives in New York in 2003 with her boyfriend Toby seeking her fame and fortune with the cello. While Klara on one hand is a classical performer and hoping to add depth to the cultural wasteland of New Zealand, her grand-daughter Rebecca wins a scholarship to play the cello in London which she then sabotages. Although still keen to play the cello like her grandmother, Rebecca ends up in New York hoping to break into the music scene in a contemporary musical environment and to investigate her Jewish-refugee heritage by making contact with the now deceased Klara’s sister, Esther.

This novel takes big subjects and renders them with ease. The musical aspects describing Klara as a young child in New York and her relationship with Heir Weiss drew me into the historical part of the story, as did her life in New Zealand and her attempts at forging a musical career whilst balancing that with the expectations of being a wife and mother. I loved the descriptions of Klara losing herself in music.

Rebecca’s story on the other hand contends with diabetes, sex, love, lust, and issues which Laing handles cleverly. The contemporary New York scenes and the mental pictures of the neurotic junk-scavenging flatmate Wendy, with her Californian King bed that she was happy to sub-let, are wonderful. Finally her coming home relationship with Aunt Esther brings a feel good factor to the book.

I highly recommend this novel. It is witty and insightful and the perfect Mother’s Day read.

After reading, you might consider … other Sarah Laing books

Alan Bennett would cheekily take this to mean that Her Majesty is reading a book – ‘one is busy’. That is the gist of his popular 2006 book The Uncommon Reader. Picture the Queen in her car waving to the crowds with one hand while holding an Evelyn Waugh book with the other. The book is an easy and delightful read. I sniggered while others claim to laugh out quite loud; either way it is enjoyable and a wonderful advocate for reading.

After reading, you might consider … other Alan Bennett books

The trilogy is considered suitable for 14 year olds and older. It is an excellent story for teenagers, including those even a little younger who have a voracity for books. The language is simple. Some scenes are explicit – the bear’s “lower teeth hooked under his chin and her left canine plunged into his eye socket” – but Ford draws out an uplifting rather than harrowing emotion, no doubt due to the spirituality that runs through the story, and the love shared between brother and sister.

However the primary rush is adrenalin. The story is a quest for survival, a coming of age, and a search for one’s destiny. It starts in Scorched Bone. Trie and Souk are twin. Trie is about to be initiated as a man, Souk as a Shaman (the tribal link to the world of spirits and healing). Both witness their family and friends dying of starvation, the result of drought and the primitive hunting methods of the tribe. Trie and Souk sense that their destiny lies to the north. They run off in a common direction but with different purposes: Trie the driven male to find the technology to save his people, Souk the intuitive female to follow a spiritual call. Along the way they encounter lands and cultures different to their own. But first they must learn to fend for themselves.

Set in Stone describes what happens when they reach ‘north’. The world of the Manhunters is where the twins complete their life schooling, in ways that they could never have imagined back in the canyons.

The journey home is the theme of Tribal Ash, the recently released third of the trilogy. Each twin has their own journey, requiring different skills; each journey is perilous, and equally entertaining. The tension runs right to the last.

While set in an unfamiliar place and time, Chronicles of Stone is not so much a fantasy but rather a tale of two youths’ adventures in a believable world; a tale that was a pleasure for this adult – and no doubt others – to read.

Set in Stone is one of 20 finalists in the New Zealand Post Books Awards for Children & Young Adults 2009.

After reading, you might consider … other Vincent Ford books

Life is so unfair. Ozzie Kingsford is always getting the blame for things he didn’t do. Normally the problem is caused by his dog or little sister (who is the BRAT).

Fact: Ozzie and the rest of the Kingsford family are having their un-delicious tea when the phone rings. It’s Uncle Rusty and he says he is coming to town!

The Whole Household is thrown into a state of disorderly disorder. All the relatives are invited for lunch and dinner on Saturday, as well as Fletch (he’s not really a relative, he’s Ozzie’s best friend and is considered part of the family, and he turned out to be quite handy as the Chief Dish Washer).

Unfortunately very bad things start happening – bad for the family but funny for us.

With more than forest sprites and his little sister to cope with, will Ozzie be able to control himself or, being declared a menace to society, will Ozzie and his dog, Snoops, be banished to the bedroom for the rest of their natural lives? You too can find out by reading the book.

Five (and a bit) Days in the Life of Ozzie Kingsford is one of 20 finalists in the New Zealand Post Books Awards for Children & Young Adults 2009.

After reading, you might consider … other Ozzie Kingsford stories

You probably think the sun rises each morning. But you are wrong, according to Semolina, Josh’s pet chicken who talks. It is Tarkah the chicken god laying an egg of fire each morning that provides us with light each day. Animals see things differently than us Biggies, including just who is the pet and who is the owner!

The book has many other lessons as well: take DNA tests before having a funeral.

The story is about Josh’s parents – Tucker and Elizabeth – having a baby. There was one problem. Well actually, the baby had the problem so Josh’s Mum had to stay in hospital until the baby was born. Grandma came to stay. HOWEVER Grandma did not like Semolina so from that day on Mr Foxie had a waiting dinner …

The fox wants some eggs to eat, and FAST, otherwise he will switch to chickens and first on his menu will be Semolina.

Will MR FOXIE GET SEMOLINA? Well there’s only way to find out.

Chicken Feathers is one of 20 finalists in the New Zealand Post Books Awards for Children & Young Adults 2009.

After reading, you might consider … other Joy Cowley books

The book is described as witty and humorous. It is that. But it also grates, which probably captures just what being stuck in a van with an 11 year old and a 15 year old for hours on end is really like.

The central character is Min, the children’s crazed mum and the driver’s suicidal sister. Min is in a psychiatric ward for a few days. The sister, Hattie, figures it’s time to reintroduce Logan and Thebes to their father so off they set on their 2000-plus kilometre quest. Along the way the story of Min is revealed, and of Min’s impact on others. Along the way things go wrong. The travelers might not cope well but they do survive. They do arrive. They do find Dad, and more. Things do end happily; there is no driving off the Grand Canyon.

Miriam Toews – as rhymes with ‘raves’ – has written a book of a dysfunctional family and their search for some missing piece or person to help and support them. The book is about the many imperfections of life, about having to simply let some events glide by, and ultimately about the strength that comes from committing to the ones we love.

Thebes was adorable, if someone who has purple hair, who doesn’t wash and talks incessantly can be described as such; Logan is the morose – but loving – brother with a condom in his shoe. Hattie never manages to achieve telepathy with the lover she had left in Paris. The characters are the strength of the book. They are alive: willful, lost, angry, caring, clumsy, intelligent, trusting, insecure, extroverted. They are frustrating at times but they do delight.

The ending was important to me. It wasn’t the hilarious high of Miss Sunshine but it did have the same redemptive qualities. The finish brought order, turning what was a quirky journey into a trip of healing and discovery. For others this may have been unnecessary; for them, simply tripping through the tales was entertaining enough.

Check out another reviewer’s thoughts on Radio NZ