Chicago’s V. I. Warshawski “is at her stubborn, reckless, compassionate best in this complicated page-turner about selfish secrets passed down through generations” (Booklist).In 1939, Dr. Lotty Herschel, V. I. Warshawki’s closest friend in Chicago, escaped the Holocaust in Vienna with her childhood playmate, Kitty Saginor Binder. Though the two drifted and animosities grew between them over the … grew between them over the years, when Kitty’s daughter finds her life in danger, she turns to Lotty for help. In turn, Lotty summons V. I. to take the case.
The threats on the daughter’s life at first seem a simple case of bad drug dealings, but V. I. soon discovers that they are just the tip of an iceberg of lies secrets and silence whose origins trace back to the deadly race among America, Germany, Japan, and England to develop the atomic bomb. And while the secrets may be old, the people who continue to guard them will do anything to make sure they stay buried…
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Critical Mass is the 16th book in the V.I. Warshawski mystery / thriller / suspense series written by Sara Paretsky and published in 2013. I’m trying to catch up on this series so that I’m ready for the new release in a few months. I’m 4 books behind, possibly 5… for some reason, Goodreads shows the next as #21 but everywhere else, it’s #20. Oh well… I’ll figure it out. Let’s chat about Critical Mass…
VI Warshawski is a private detective in Chicago. The books originated in the 80s and have somehow gotten us into the new millennium. To be honest, I’ve kinda forgotten whether they just ignored time / age or are trying to be accurate. That said, she’s supposed to be ~50. VI stops at nothing to solve her case. She’s crude when necessary, loving when required, but most of the time, somewhere in the middle. I think we’d be friends, but I’d probably have to tell her off a few times. She’s pushy, and not always in a good way. Often, she gets herself into a jam, usually cut or shot, but she always survives… thanks to elderly neighbor Mr. Contreras and mother-figure Lotty.
This time, Lotty’s asked for VI’s help to track down the daughter of an old friend from Austria. Both women had suffered through the German invasion / torture, and this story tells us what happened after the war. It covers 5 different generations, 4 key families, and so many relationships, I lost track midway through the book. I’m usually good at keeping it all together, but this time, something was slightly off. That said, it was still a strong plot with interesting characters. I did find myself thinking “X and Y had some sort of relationship but who cares what it was, just mark ’em as friends and keep reading.” Perhaps I’ve been reading so many light mysteries that ~500 pages was a lot to keep track of.
Paretsky is brilliant. I cannot lie. Her tales are complex, engrossing, and ripe with emotion. I get angry every time, and I wish for VI to win every time. Characters are intense and feel incredibly tangible… even if they are sometimes over-the-top. Are there really people like this? I found the nuclear reactor and Homeland Security story lines fascinating. I wish we learned more about what happened to the rogue agents who might or might not have committed a crime. Perhaps that’ll come out in the next book. If you like deeply intricate tales, this one is for you. Not my fave in the bunch, but compelling nonetheless. I’ve already ordered the 17th one to start this weekend.
This one’s been around for a while (released 2014), but I turned it up in a used bookstore before they all closed for Covid-19. Sara Paretsky is still at it, as is her lead character V.I. Warshawski. In this book, the past is intimately connected to the crimes of the present, and both periods offer us an insight into how people cope with the hard times life can throw at us. And, of course, V.I. saves the day. A well-done escape.
I really enjoy her books.
Sara Paretsky’s latest V.I. Warshawski’s mystery, Critical Mass, is a compelling mix of modern day mystery-suspense combined with lessons both from the European Holocaust and of the development of nuclear weapons after World War II. The complicated plot occurs mostly in the present with occasional returns to Europe before, during and after World World II. Private investigator V.I. (Vic) is asked by her dear friend, elderly doctor Lotty Herschel, herself a Jewish refugee from Austria, to look into the disappearance of the daughter and grandson of a fellow refugee, Käthe Kitty Binder. Vic untangles the threads to learn that the daughter is a drug addict in trouble, and that the gifted grandson appears to conducting an investigation of his own. Vic also learns that there’s a fair amount of modern-day corruption to add to the historical wrongs she uncovers.
The book opens with Vic stumbling upon a murder at an abandoned drug house that eventually leads to the fictional character Martina Saginor, a brilliant physicist who was also Kitty’s mother. Because of Paretsky’s dedication to social justice and feminist themes in her books, we quickly learn of the ill treatment and misuse of Saginor by fellow well-appointed physicists during and after the war due to the fact that Saginor was both female and Jewish. Saginor was inspired by a real-life physicist of equal brilliance, Marietta Blau, who is now largely forgotten.
Paretsky’s story is complicated and long (464 pages) with a host of characters and several plot turns. This book is not for a reader accustomed to simple stories that unfold quickly. If, on the other hand, the reader is willing to learn some history and science along with reading a compelling story about people involved in some of the most important events of the 20th century, then this book is definitely worth a read.
Vic is her usual self – smart, stubborn, gutsy and compassionate. After all, Vic was the only one who would rescue an injured and terrified dog at the scene of the murder, and see that the dog got medical treatment and a new home. That tells you a lot about V.I. Warshawski.
A usualgoodoffering from Paretsky. Interesting juxtaposition between time lines.
Powerful novel
Love Sara paretsky and vi warshawski. Read them all!
This was, in my opinion, one of Sara Paretsky’s more complicated novels. Although interesting, it was a bit more difficult to read than most of her others.
What can I say? Another of Paretsky’s fabulous books in this female PI series!
Good read…page turner.
I like Sara Paretsky. She writes well. Her characters are believable. Her plots are well executed. I like her.
An action packed read and an opportunity to learn quite a bit of American physics history.
One of Paretsky’s most ambitious VI Warshovsky mysteries, exploring the psychological reverberations of historical injustices, the Holocaust and the diminution of women’s contributions in the sciences.
Another good V.I. Warshawski mystery.
Good writing, good characters, good series. I also find it more interesting to read stories set in Chicago where I lived and worked for 50+ years. I can picture the buildings, neighborhoods, roads, etc. Makes things a little more interesting and enjoyable.
V.I. wins again! Confounded by Chicago Police, Homeland Security and Cyber security V.I. finds the real story behind the nuclear program during WWII.
Not her best, but still a good read. It took a little longer than usual to get the characters straight.
What could be better than another V.I. Warshawski book? Not much.
The book harkens back to WWII, something that our nation doesn’t remember as often as we should. The fight for survival in Europe, the creation of the atomic bomb, the horrific psychological damage of these events, shape our world today.
The story, fast paced, ringing true, is also a great story of our time, and the loss of the truth in the self-created myth. It’s a long book, but when I finished, I felt it was not long enough. V.I, and Lotte may be getting older, but the just keep getting better. That’s an inspiration to us all.
Sara Paretsky never disppoints
I have, over the years, read every Sara Paretsky book published and looked forward to the next . Each time I’ve come away marveling how Chicago PI VI could be so engaging and yet figure everything out . But not this time. Somehow, I felt there was just TMI; I felt an urgency just to get on with the story. So many generations of both bad guys and good guys felt overwhelming rather than deliciously misleading. Her narrow escapes were a bit of a stretch, with secret rooms in basements and being trapped in one with a long-ago buried body. I still look forward to another Paretsky, though. Only this time, cut to the chase more, please.