I just finished two more books from the Vantage “Black Lizard” imprint.

“The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo,” by Stieg Larsson, ranks among the very best Black Lizard mysteries I’ve read (I’ve read 84 to date). Henning Mankell’s “The White Lioness” is the best, and then you’d have to throw in a Raymond Chandler book and Jim Thompson’s “The Killer Inside Me.” But this one’s right up there.

Sweden, for some reason, is blessed with a lot of good mystery writers (including Mankell). This book is 600 pages (the longest Black Lizard book I’ve read), without a lot of action. But Larsson establishes strong characters and an intriguing mystery to solve, and I never lost interest.

Plus, there’s the title character, Lisbeth Salander, who is one of the most fascinating characters I’ve ever come across. The book alternates between her and the mainest character, Mikael Blomkvist (who is quite interesting in his own right), and the two storylines inevitably converge. But it’s always more interesting when dealing with Lisbeth.

Basically, a billionaire hires Blomkvist to discover what happened to a niece, who disappeared 40 years before. Lots of other stuff surrounds that basic task. And even when THAT mystery is solved, the book isn’t over.

In short: I highly recommend this book. I noticed in B&N that Larsson has another book out, and it also stars Lisbeth Salander. Can’t wait.

“The Death and Life of Bobby Z,” by Don Winslow, involves a felon who is released from prison so he can impersonate a drug dealer, Bobby Z, and infiltrate a drug gang. The book moves fast, with a fairly high body count and lots of bad guys converging from different directions. It’s not a great book, but it was a fun read while it lasted, which is 260 pages. I did not mourn when I came to page 260.

UPDATE: Brent Birdsall just sent this a link to an article about the “Dragon Tattoo” book, which is being made into a movie.