The Plot Thickens: “Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” Author Wrote a Fourth Book

Stieg Larsson's last work remains unpublished

Best-selling Swedish novelist Stieg Larsson seems to be as adept with mysteries in death as he was in life.

Ten days before he died in 2004, the writer of the blockbuster Millennium trilogy of books, which includes The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, apparently told his brother, Joakim, that the manuscript for the latest book in the series was nearly complete. But instead of it being the fourth book in the series, Larsson had written it to be the fifth book.

"He thought that was more fun to write, " Joakim Larsson told CBS yesterday.

Confused? It gets better.

Larsson died of a heart attack at the age of 50 -- before his books were published. While alive he had indicated that the series would run to 10 books. It's believed that his companion Eva Gabrielsson has the fourth book -- or fifth, depending on how you are counting -- on her computer but even Larsson's American publisher, Knopf, is not sure if there is an additional manuscript. (Gabrielsson did not comment for the new CBS report.)

Larsson's family, meanwhile, controls his estate, despite the fact that he had lived with Gabrielsson for 32 years. The fight over Larsson's legacy has been well documented and has led to an enduring frost between the author's relatives and Gabrielsson.

One thing that is certain in this story is that there is plenty at stake for all involved parties: Larsson's books have sold 46 million copies and have been translated into 44 languages.

Selected Reading: CBS News, The New York Times Magazine, The New York Observer.

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