I read the entire series after the first movie was released, I found that having read the second book before watching the second movie was instrumental to understanding what is going on, why it's so important for Lisbeth to deal with her long lost father (and half brother) while trying to clear her name- which opens the whole story up as to who her father is and why the Swedish government are protecting him. All comes clear in the third installment, when Steig Larson tells the entire story of who Lisbeth Salander is, why she was put into an insane asylum and why she was treated as a danger to herself and others...all to protect her father, and his relationship with the Swedish government.
Review of The Girl Who Played with Fire
