Well, you could argue that in the first instance, Blomkvist believes he is not dealing with a “hot” topic, but just looking into an old story — so the risks are minimal from his point of view. He comes to a difficult awakening a bit latter, of course.

In the second issue, it is admittedly a bit less credible. But you may want to note that there are several copies in existence of the report, including a “backup” one that is not stolen, so he got his back covered.

Yes, I agree with your comments. On thinking again about Hornets’ Nest, it’s possible – though not mentioned specifically – that Mikael deliberately leaves the Report in plain view in order to divert suspicion away from the fact that a ‘backup’ copy exists.

Posted by Marshall in Ballarat ,

I agree for two such smart people they do a lot of dumb things. I also question whether these family Nazis would be able to flaunt their beliefs so flagrantly or is it different in Sweden.

Posted by Michele in santa Cruz ,

I think for such a cold blooded murderer, the killer would have done away with this threat much earlier.

Posted by Micke in Salinas ,

Marshall, If the copy of the report was left in plain view to divert suspicion, I would think that he would leave a doctored version. One would leave in the essentials of the case that are known while adding plausible erroneous information for the rest. Anything short of that is just plain naive.

Posted by Nancy in Lakewood, Oh, USA ,

Hi Nancy – if I remember correctly, (the last 2 books have blurred together in my mind!), the Section (or whatever it’s called) is aware of the contents of the Report & is merely trying to recover it to reduce Mikael’s ability to assist Lisbeth, so there’s nothing to be gained by Mikael doctoring the Report. I don’t agree with the reply of 6 October concerning the stolen documents in Dragon Tattoo, however, I think Mikael would have kept the documents secured whenever he left the cottage!

Posted by Marshall in Ballarat ,

There can always be plenty of inconsistent things found in works of fiction of this type. The books are a great read but there are of course the exaggerations Larsson made in order to serve his agenda. I don’t mean that in the negative sense, either. There are several improbable things in the books but I still enjoyed them.

Posted by lord koos in Seattle ,

Same here lord koos, I found the books hard to put down once I started reading. Clearly, you have to be prepared to suspend some critical faculties for most forms of entertainment these days

Posted by Marshall in Ballarat ,

1) In Dragon Tattoo, Mikael had very few reasons to believe that Killer was still active. As suggested in the first response, it was definitely an old trail and he wasn’t expecting to watch his back.

2) In Hornet’s Nest part, while Mikael did know that someone in the establishment was against the truth coming out about LS and Zalachenko, no one just how badly section was committed to keep everything secret. At the stage in novel when this happens, Mikael still was not aware of much about Section.

3) Micke in Sanilas – On this front, Martin never thought he was in any danger till very late. Killing Blomkvist any earlier would have just proved older Vanger’s suspicions and brought detectives home. He started attempts on MB and LS only when he realized how close they were on the trail.

While fictional works do contain inconsistencies every now and then, a good thriller would not be expected to have any major plot holes.

Posted by Bihag in Gurgaon India ,

I believe that in both books these thefts were what made them realize what they were up against and how bacdly people wanted them shut up.

In Dragon Tatoo I found that Blomkvist never investigated the dried flower pictures that arrived every year for the grandfather’s birthday. Even if it led to a dead end it would have been a heck of a lot more recent and easily researched that a couple who took a photograph 20 years ago.

Posted by scarlet27 in Orlando ,