Karin Smirnoff Books In Order

Publication Order of Jana Kippo Books

Publication Order of Millennium Books

with David Lagercrantz, Stieg Larsson

Karin Smirnoff
Karin Smirnoff was born in Umea, Sweden on September 24, 1964. she split her childhood between Stockholm and the north.

She worked as a journalist for a number of publications in Stockholm and as a foreign correspondent. But then she quit her job to buy a wood factory. She knew there was something that she had to do if she didn’t want to work with wood for the rest of her life, and she didn’t. Once her kids were grown she decided to pursue creative writing.

Karin applied to Lund University’s Writer’s School with what would become her debut as an author. The novel received some triumphant reviews and was nominated for the esteemed August Prize in 2018.

This creative writing course came along at a perfect time for her. She was thinking more about what she wanted to write, not about being a writer. When she got her first press card back in her early twenties, it was huge for her, however it became her full identity since she didn’t even know herself. Today, she doesn’t care about being known as an author, she just wants to do the work.

Karin was always intrigued by the books because of Lisbeth Salander, and she read all six of the novels as a result. It was why she automatically said yes to writing the next novel in the series.

She accepted the offer to write three “Millennium” novels without any hesitation, despite knowing that it would postpone her own ideas for original novels, and said that the Lisbeth Salander novels are classics in their genre. It is where the combination of unforgettable characters and the strong societal and political engagement still fascinates readers. She plans to continue building Steig’s core themes, like abuse of power, violence, and contemporary political currents.

Larsson’s family read the synopsis for the first book she wrote and were pleased. They liked that she was a woman, and being from the same area as they are.

Karin got to thinking about what would Steig have written about if he was still alive today? And landed on climate change being something for him.

One thing she decided to do was to make Lisbeth grow up, since she’s essentially a teen in the first 6 books. Then she also introduced a 13 year old niece that is a code cracker. She had previously toyed with giving Lisbeth either a child or a dog at first before introducing Svala.

She also wanted to strip away more of her near superhuman qualities. Lisbeth, in Steig’s original vision, didn’t conform to the superficial Hollywood mould of kickass characters. She is thin, short, covered in piercings, and socially awkward. Karin wanted to bring this version of the character back, essentially humanizing her while advancing her character. She still boxes, rides a motorcycle, and knows how to wield a taser. Karin’s goal was to have her be just as courageous, yet be more of an anti-heroine, without any of her superpowers.

She also feels her take is about as violent as the other books, possibly more so because she uses violence in a different way. She has the female eye of it. And writing is a bit of a revenge for her, to dig into what happens to people that are exposed to violence. She is angry when it comes to men’s violence against women, and she believes you have to be a woman to truly comprehend the depth of this anger.

“My Brother” is the first novel in the “Jana Kippo” series and was released in 2018. This is a Swedish publishing phenomenon: a literary noir of extraordinary power that follows the discovery of this young woman’s corpse in the tall grass behind the sawmill.

Which part of this story is not for telling? Jana Kippo has just returned back to Smalanger to see Bror, her twin brother, is still living in the tiny family farmhouse in the remote north of Sweden.

Within the isolated community, lies and secrets have been growing silently, undisturbed for years now.

After the discovery of this young woman’s body in the tall grass behind the sawmill, these siblings, hooked by this childhood steeped in darkness, have to break free.

However the truth can’t be found in the stories of other people. The question remains: can it be found anywhere?

“The Girl in the Eagle’s Talons” is the seventh novel in the “Millenium” series and was released in 2023. Change is coming to the far north of Sweden. Its untapped natural resources are sparking this gold rush, with the criminal underworld leading this charge. However it is not the prospect of riches which brings Lisbeth Salander to the tiny of Gasskas. She’s just been named the guardian to Svala (her niece) whose mom has just vanished. Two things quickly become clear: Svala is being watched and is a remarkably gifted teenage girl.

Mikael Blomkvist is heading north as well. And he’s seen better days. Millennium magazine is in its last print issue, and relations with his daughter are strained. Even worse, there are some troubling rumors about the man that she is going to marry. When the truth behind the whispers explodes into violence, Lisbeth emerges as Blomkvist’s final hope.

Salander and Blomkvist navigate this world of betrayal and conspiracy, new friends and old enemies, ice-bound wilderness and the global corporations which threaten to tear it all apart.

This is one of the best books of the series. It is a crime trope free and brilliant story with some boundary pushing prose that is always compulsively page turning. There are some genuine shock reveals and arguably some of the most horrific and nuanced villains in the entire series. It is also the funniest, including some winking asides, like when Svala asks Lisbeth if anybody has ever told her she looks like the lead in the Swedish Millennium movies, Noomi Rapace.

Lisbeth has returned. Possibly better than ever. Karin’s take on the series is both ready for the future and respectful of the past. It is altogether a remarkable novel.