Two books completed:
"Forerunner Foray", by Andre Norton. This is the final third of the "Warlock" omnibus, which I bought from Baen in 2002. Baen description: "Ziantho's mental powers had made her a valuable asset to the interstellar criminals she worked for. Then she encountered a gem of ancient power, an artifact made by the vanished prehistoric race known as the Forerunners, and stole it. Pursued both by the stone's owners and the agents of the Patrol, she fled across the galaxy and encountered Ris Lantee, a man from the planet Warlock, who alone could solve the powerful gem's mystery .... "
The above synopsis is, however, inaccurate. The main theme of the book is actually about Ziantho being taken back (mentally, rather than physically) to occupy the bodies of previous owners of the gem, and Ris Lantee makes only the most fleeting appearance in the final few pages of the book, and does not solve any mysteries at all
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I did not enjoy this book, and struggled to get through it. I didn't find the story to be at all engaging, and I can't recommend it.
"The Girl Who Played with Fire" by Stieg Larsson, the second book in the Millennium Trilogy. Excellent, as was the first. In this book we learn a lot more about the background of the enigmatic Lisbeth Salander. Really looking forward to reading the final book.