Thriller · Similar reads

Books like The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest

The best books like The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest are The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The Girl Who Played with Fire, and The Spy and the Traitor: The Greatest Espionage Story of the Cold War. The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest by Stieg Larsson is about state accountability, trial as reckoning, journalism as defense. If that's what drew you in, here are 12 books that share its DNA — each summarized on Superbook, and ready to chat with in the app.

  1. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
    The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

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    The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

    Stieg Larsson · Thriller

    Mikael Blomkvist is a financial journalist in Stockholm who has just lost a libel case brought by a billionaire industrialist.

    A kindred thriller read.

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  2. The Girl Who Played with Fire
    The Girl Who Played with Fire

    02

    The Girl Who Played with Fire

    Stieg Larsson · Thriller

    Lisbeth Salander returns to Stockholm after more than a year abroad and is almost immediately the prime suspect in three murders, including two investigators who were about to publish an exposé on the Swedish sex trade.

    A kindred thriller read.

    Read the summary →
  3. The Spy and the Traitor: The Greatest Espionage Story of the Cold War
    The Spy and the Traitor: The Greatest Espionage Story of the Cold War

    03

    The Spy and the Traitor: The Greatest Espionage Story of the Cold War

    Ben Macintyre · History

    Ben Macintyre tells the story of Oleg Gordievsky, a KGB officer who became the most important British spy of the Cold War.

    A kindred thriller read.

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  4. Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland
    Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland

    04

    Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland

    Patrick Radden Keefe · History

    Say Nothing opens with a scene that sets its register precisely: Jean McConville, a widowed mother of ten, is dragged from her Belfast flat by a gang of masked strangers in December 1972 and never seen alive again.

    A kindred thriller read.

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  5. The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11
    The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11

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    The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11

    Lawrence Wright · History

    Lawrence Wright's The Looming Tower is the most comprehensive account of how al-Qaeda came to attack the United States on September 11, 2001.

    A kindred thriller read.

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  6. A Time to Kill
    A Time to Kill

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    A Time to Kill

    John Grisham · Thriller

    In Clanton, Mississippi, two white men rape and nearly kill ten-year-old Tonya Hailey.

    A kindred thriller read.

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  7. Along Came a Spider
    Along Came a Spider

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    Along Came a Spider

    James Patterson · Thriller

    Along Came a Spider introduces Alex Cross, a Black homicide detective and forensic psychologist working in Washington D.C., in the case that made James Patterson a bestseller.

    A kindred thriller read.

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  8. Angels & Demons
    Angels & Demons

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    Angels & Demons

    Dan Brown · Thriller

    Physicist Leonardo Vetra is found dead at CERN with a symbol burned into his chest: the Illuminati ambigram.

    A kindred thriller read.

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  9. Big Little Lies
    Big Little Lies

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    Big Little Lies

    Liane Moriarty · Thriller

    Big Little Lies begins with a death at a school trivia night and then spends its entire length working backward to explain how it happened.

    A kindred thriller read.

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  10. Blacklands
    Blacklands

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    Blacklands

    Belinda Bauer · Thriller

    Twelve-year-old Steven Lamb lives in the shadow of an unresolved disappearance.

    A kindred thriller read.

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  11. Blindsighted
    Blindsighted

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    Blindsighted

    Karin Slaughter · Thriller

    Blindsighted is Karin Slaughter's debut novel, published in 2001, and the first book in the Grant County series set in fictional Heartsdale, Georgia.

    A kindred thriller read.

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  12. Dark Places
    Dark Places

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    Dark Places

    Gillian Flynn · Thriller

    Libby Day survived the Kansas farmhouse massacre that killed her mother and two sisters when she was seven.

    A kindred thriller read.

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Books like The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest: quick answers

What are the best books like The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest?

The best books like The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest by Stieg Larsson are The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson, The Girl Who Played with Fire by Stieg Larsson, The Spy and the Traitor: The Greatest Espionage Story of the Cold War by Ben Macintyre, Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland by Patrick Radden Keefe, The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11 by Lawrence Wright, plus 7 more below. Each was chosen for themes it shares with The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest, such as state accountability, trial as reckoning, journalism as defense.

What should I read after The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest?

A natural next read after The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest is The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson. A kindred thriller read. Other strong choices are The Girl Who Played with Fire by Stieg Larsson, The Spy and the Traitor: The Greatest Espionage Story of the Cold War by Ben Macintyre, Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland by Patrick Radden Keefe.

What books are similar to The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest by Stieg Larsson?

The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest centers on state accountability, trial as reckoning, journalism as defense. Books with a similar feel include The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson, The Girl Who Played with Fire by Stieg Larsson, The Spy and the Traitor: The Greatest Espionage Story of the Cold War by Ben Macintyre, Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland by Patrick Radden Keefe, The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11 by Lawrence Wright, A Time to Kill by John Grisham — all free to read and chat with on Superbook.

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