Chicago’s V. I. Warshawski confronts crooked politicians and buried family secrets in this gritty mystery from New York Times bestselling author Sara Paretsky. No one would accuse V. I. Warshawski of backing down from a fight, but she’d happily avoid tangling with Chicago political bosses. Yet that’s what she ends up doing when she responds to a plea for help from an old high school flame, Frank … for help from an old high school flame, Frank Guzzo.
Frank’s mother Stella was convicted of killing his kid sister, but now that she’s out of prison, she’s looking for exoneration. Even though the Warshawskis and Stella never got along, V. I. agrees to make a few inquiries after she sees how hard life has been on Frank and her other childhood friends.
Only, that small favor leads her straight into the vipers’ nest of Illinois politics—and soon her main question isn’t about Stella’s case but whether or not she’ll make it out of this investigation alive…
A Washington Post Best Mystery of 2015
more
Brush Back is the 17th book in the VI Warshawski series written by Sara Paretsky. The book was published in 2015 and focuses on a Chicago-based female private-eye in the 90s. The series began in the 80s (if I remember properly) and covers all the cases VI handles. In most of them, she’s beaten to a bloody pulp and almost dies. As individual books, they’re fantastic. As a series, given all the times she’s physically hurt, the woman must be bionic by now — and this is not a science-fiction series. That said, I do adore them, and will keep reading the series. I have two more to catch up on before the next one releases in 2020. Onward we go…
Politics. Old Cases. Family Matters. Protecting those you love. VI’s high school boyfriend comes out of the woodwork, appealing for her support now that his mother has been paroled from prison after 25 years. She killed her own daughter but claims she didn’t. Who framed her years ago? As VI combs through all the old police files and court records, she learns many new facts. The woman’s lawyer didn’t do a very good job. Her daughter was hiding something that no one knew about. The major political players in Illinois were somehow involved. The Chicago Cubs were also inctricately woven into the story. Which one of these characters truly killed the poor girl? VI must find out, but this time, she’s personally involved. The woman released from jail claims VI’s cousin, Boom Boom, who died years ago, was the true guilty party.
This was one of my favorites. It had everything you want in a thriller, including a 60-page chase scene where you can’t imagine how VI gets herself into Wrigley Field and almost dies. I was certain this was the last book with her, and that some other lead would emerge. She has more lives than a cat and its herd of unruly kittens. There were definitely a few niggles (to use a fave word of a good friend), but overall, if you look past those, this story unfolded with a huge volume of complex layers to keep you constantly guessing. I admit to being disappointed in the ending, hence why I give it 4.5 stars. I’ll round up on this one because I’ve rounded down on the last few Paretsky novels. Ultimately, we see vengeance against some of the bad guys, but there were a few other scenes I really wanted to see in the end.
Stella, the woman who was put in prison for a crime she swore she didn’t commit, never had a final confrontation with VI. I didn’t need an apology (Stella treated VI like crap even tho she wanted her help) but some sort of finality. Someone flirting with VI (who I initially liked) never came full circle. And that priest!!! He was an arrogant man, and he needed a comeuppance. I’m almost talking myself into a 4 star rating here… but I’ll let it go. I felt lots of angst and thrills, so I stand by the higher rating. It’s just not quite perfect. A great read, yet not one to read first in the series. It’s 500 pages of utter confusion (in a good way) and might be too much for someone new to the series. But once you get to know VI, you’ll love her.
Love all her books. This one will not disappoint
good read
Could not put this book down!
Excellent as always.
The protagonist is a bad ass with a soft heart.
VI Warshawski, Sara ParetskI’s fearless PI, is back in great form after a few not-so-great adventures in the underworld of Chicago. The usual cast of characters shows up plus a few new ones adding to the intrigue of this whirlwind and complex who-dun-it. The thriller is full of twists and turns , enough to confuse you to the very end , at which point you’ll be exhausted but begging for more.
I like nothing about this book. I now understand why I stopped reading this series years ago. All of the characters are stupid and make such stupid mistakes it is totally unbelievable. Even at “free” I wouldn’t waste my time reading this series.
I love anything Sara Paretsky writes.
I enjoy this series and this one was no exception.
Good plot but I didn’t attach to the main character.
Give me a strong female detective in a mystery and I am hooked. I always love reading Paretsky’s books.
I love Sara’s books.
I have read many of Sarah Paretsky’s books. This is not one of the better ones.
The only reason I did not give it 5 stars was because I thought it got a little long and there were times I lost interest.
I’m a long-time fan of Sara Paretsky’s VI Warshawski detective series. It has been a few years since I read the last one, and recently I discovered that there are a few newer ones that I had not yet read. The first of these is Brush Back, where the author brings back all the familiar characters from VI’s world as she spins out a very complex yarn about Chicago politics, neighborhood relationships, corrupt politicians and those who prop them up, the Uzbeki mob, and the power of family. In some ways this story seems a little too familiar, and some of the plot twists are a little too convenient, but in the end we don’t care because we love these characters and we love reading about them, again. It’s like TV series that you have been watching and once a year there’s a new “special” where all the old characters come back and you don’t really care whether the plot was tight or the jokes were funny — you watch because you feel like you “know” them and you want to know the next chapter in their story. That’s how I felt about this one. I rushed to finish it, and it was as entertaining as most of its siblings. It’s not the best book Paretsky has ever written, but it’s fun and I love these people.
This is the first book I have read by Sara Paretsky. This will not be the last. It is part mystery, part private investigator and part humorous quirkiness. Enjoyable and easy to read.