My impression is her father didn’t consider Lisbeth a threat. She hadn’t come across his radar until the lawyer Bjurman, contacted him – hence, Zala was irritated by the lawyer for the contact, and, then, becomes intent on taking out Lisbeth at the same time he takes care of the nuisance lawyer.

Posted by sandy in dc ,

I wonder if Zalachenko had forgotten he had a daughter. He clearly hated women and seemed to think them unworthy of any serious attention. He obviously had no idea that his wife was dead and what about Lizbeth’s sister Camilla? He was clearly an alexithymic sociopath.

Posted by Astrol in Dover UK ,

We also found out in the 2nd book that Zala had a few kids which he didn’t care about unless they were useful to him (the blonde giant) or until they posed a threat (Salander).

Posted by Jennifer in Burlington, Canada ,

Zala was a psycopath who viewed the world in terms of himself. Lizbeth only mattered when she became part of his orbit; ie, when she petrol-bombed him. She was as relevant to him as his other other children.

Posted by thumbs70 ,

I tend to agree with Sandy, DC.

Posted by Suzee in Melbourne Australia ,

He certainly hadn’t forgotten about her! I agree with the post that said that he just didn’t consider her to be a threat anymore. And since she didn’t pose a threat or opportunity for profit or gain, she ceased to be important in any way.

Posted by James in Austin, TX ,

I have heard that there were two more books planned before Larsson died suddenly. I believe that the story of Camilla was going to be resolved somewhere along the line. At the end of the third book, the story is clearly unfinished. Supposedly there are notes for the final two books. Perhaps they can be written up and we can tie it all up!

Posted by Carolyn in San Francisco, CA ,

Inthe second book twice mentioned was a mysterious night animal the fox heard it peed and ran off any thoughts on this.

Posted by a c in limerick ,

AC in Limerick – I was wondering the same thing about that creepy creature that was lurking in the woods. I figured that since there had been more than one reference to it, that it wasn’t insignificant.

Finished ‘Fire’ late last night and am waiting for Amazon UK to ship me the paperback version of ‘Hornet’s Nest’ so I can continue the story line. But at the same time, I won’t want it to end, knowing that this will be the last official installment. : /

Posted by Mari in Atlanta, GA ,

Zala did not forget that he had a daughter, in the novel I read (published by Penguin Canada)on page 689 Zalachenko says “I’ve thought about you over the years. In fact almost every time I look in the mirror.” This proves that he did not forget about his daughter at all. He was constantly reminded of her each time he looked at himself in the mirror.

Posted by taramanda in Canada ,

I totally agree with taramanda, she had scared him for life.

I don’t think though he even thought of killing her until she reappeared back into his live, after the fire bomb (when she was a child) she was put away and kept silent by Peter Teleborian so he properly didn’t see her as a threat anymore.

Posted by AD in Wellington, NZ ,

It is another incomplete storyline in my opinion. Larsson has a brilliant mind, but something is missing in the first two books and i don’t know if it is the translation, poor editing or an inexperienced writer…

Posted by Kat in Decatur AL ,

Sapo cleaned up after Zala’s many binges. This included Lisbeth. So, as long as she was tucked away, he couldn’t really get to her, and didn’t need to. It is a valid question as to why Zala didn’t go after her when she was released as a result of Palmgren’s legal pressure. He probably wasn’t informed that she had been released. It’s not as if Sapo reported to him. Indeed, they were pretty much fed up with his exploits by that time and he was no longer a valuable source of information, just a pain in the neck. They put up with him because he could expose them. Anyway, it wasn’t until Bjurman seeks Zala’s help in killing her, that he saw his opportunity. At least that’s the way I read it.

Posted by Brian in Kobe, Japan ,

He didn’t consider her a threat – because of his (Zala’s) whole attitude towards women in general – he believes women are nothing – “whores” – not capable of strength, intelligence or indeed, important at all. His arrogance and belief he was above everything, “untouchable”, and protected. Because of this, and like most, he underestimated her.

Posted by Lis in Darwin, Australia ,