‘The Girl Who Played With Fire’ (Books)

Swedish crime writer Stieg Larsson’s “The Girl Who Played With Fire” marks the return of Lisbeth Salander, a young woman who could be the female Jason Bourne. She’s a mysterious, emotionally detached computer hacker who coolly observes the world around her as a puzzle she needs to master to feel secure.

She was a main character in Larsson’s “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo,” where she helped rogue Swedish journalist Mikael Blomkvist solve a murder. In that book, Salander and Blomkvist forged an unlikely alliance, and their relationship became sexual.

“The Girl Who Played With Fire” is easier to follow than “Dragon Tattoo” — and more interesting. It’s an intelligent, fascinating story that draws readers in and keeps them turning the page.

While Larsson’s first book had a subplot about business, this one calls attention to Sweden’s sex trade. Young women are kidnapped and forced into prostitution.

The author died of a heart attack in 2004 at age 50. He left behind the manuscripts of three books. The first, “Dragon Tattoo,” became an international success. The third installment, “The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest,” will be released in the U.S next year.

‘Dollhouse: Season One’ (DVD)

The advantage of watching a new television show on DVD? You don’t have to wait six weeks to wait and see if it’s ever going to find its groove.

“Dollhouse” initially coasts by on its concept: The Dollhouse is a top-secret service in which the rich and connected can employ a “doll” (Eliza Dushku) whose memory has been artificially rebuilt to give him or her whatever personality or expertise he or she needs to complete the assignment. But outside of a slightly intriguing story arc about an FBI agent (Tahmoh Penikett) obsessed with outing the whole thing, the show seems content with a procedural format that finds the dolls inhabiting some well-written but disappointingly ordinary scenarios.

But then the sixth episode happens, a barrage of awesome twists rather dramatically changes the landscape, and for whatever reason, “Dollhouse” takes a sharp turn into serial territory. The one-shot stories are still there, but they feel more distinctive to the show’s established characters and norms, and they share equal time with overriding story arcs that benefit significantly from those twists in episode six. One helps the other, and from there out, it’s like watching a different (and significantly better) show.

Contents: 13 episodes, plus commentary, the unaired pilot, deleted scenes and five behind-the-scenes features.

‘Life on Mars: Series 1’ (DVD)

Suddenly finding yourself stripped of 33 years’ worth of human ingenuity is a jarring prospect for anyone, and that’s particularly true for detective Sam Tyler (John Simm), who wakes up as a cop in 1973 after a car barrels into him in 2006.

It’s silly, but it works, because “Life on Mars” uses the concept to cash in on two levels. The cases within individual episodes achieve their own unique flavor not only due to how wildly different Sam’s ideas are from his comparatively technologically primitive colleagues (and, as it happens, bosses), but due also to how hardheaded both parties are in their strained attempts to work together. “Mars,” to its endless credit, eschews snappy dialogue and detached characters in favor of a cast of detectives (Sam included) who are jagged around the edges but awfully good at what they perceive the job to be. At the same time, the mystery of Sam’s bizarre reawakening looms. Is he nuts? Dreaming? Or is it all real? “Mars,” with its clever illustrations of Sam’s condition — or clever teases toward that end — makes it fun to find out. John Simm, Philip Glenister, Liz White, Dean Andrews, Marshall Lancaster, Noreen Kershaw and Tony Marshall also star.

Contents: Eight episodes (commentary on every episode), plus an hourlong behind-the-scenes documentary, interviews and outtakes.