I’ll admit I was late to the party, but I’ve really enjoyed reading Steig Larsson’s Millenium trilogy over the past few weeks.

I really struggle to find fiction that engages me these days. I’m partial to a good geopolitical spy or thriller, unfortunately they seem to be few and far between. Daniel Silva’s Gabriel Allon series of books have been long-time favourites – I have grown immune to the all-American, flawed-but-still-brilliant ex-military tough guy heroes that seem to be the publishing industry’s stock-in-trade for this genre. Like Silva, Larsson’s books are European in setting, characters, and believability. And having visited Stockholm occasionally on business, I found the settings if not familiar, then certainly reminiscent of places I’ve noted while there.

This weekend’s Sydney Morning Herald noted that the final installment in the trilogy – The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets’ Nest – is now Australia’s best-selling book, outpacing the Twilight series, so I’m clearly not alone in my appreciation of the Swedish author.

Sadly, Larsson passed away after delivering his novels to the publisher, so we are denied further adventures of his heroine Lisbeth Salander. And I’m back to the bookshop to try and discover another author I’ll enjoy. Any suggestions?