'Writing is sort of revenge for me'

‘When the first books came out, I loved them. They were so different and they had Lisbeth Salander - a character that I, and a lot of women, could really relate to. I said yes straight away (to the offer), no hesitation. I appreciate that so many people are involved across the world and want to sell a lot of books. But it's still just a book...

The first three books were fantastic but with the others you started having the same plots, the same boring Lisbeth Salander in a way. She comes in, solves everything. Where's the vulnerability? How do I humanise her but still keep her a hero?

My take is not less violent than the others - maybe it's even more violent, because I use violence differently. I have the female eye on it. And writing is sort of revenge for me, to dig into what happens to people who are exposed to violence. I'm angry when it comes to men's violence against women, and I think you have to be a woman to really understand the depth of that anger.'

Karin Smirnoff, who has picked up the reins from Lagercrantz for the next Scandi-noir instalment of the era-defining Millennium series, The Girl in the Eagle's Talons in the Bookseller.