NAMED A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR BY THE WASHINGTON POST“A proper hero for these times . . . To us, V.I. is perfect.” — THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW “Sara Paretsky’s gloriously kick-ass private eye, V.I. “Vic” Warshawski, is back . . . in a political-rot thriller that’s the definition of perfection in the genre.” — THE WASHINGTON POSTChicago’s legendary detective, V.I. Warshawski, knows her city’s … of perfection in the genre.” — THE WASHINGTON POST
Chicago’s legendary detective, V.I. Warshawski, knows her city’s rotten underbelly better than most, but she’s unable to avoid it when her goddaughter drags her into a fight over lakefront land use, in this propulsive novel from New York Times bestseller Sara Paretsky.
Chicago may be the city of broad shoulders, but its political law is “Pay to Play.” Money changes hands in the middle of the night, and by morning, buildings and parks are replaced by billion-dollar projects.
Chicago PI V.I. Warshawski gets pulled into one of these clandestine deals through her impetuous goddaughter, Bernie Fouchard. Bernie tries to rescue Lydia Zamir, a famed singer-songwriter now living on the streets; Zamir’s life fell apart when her lover was murdered next to her in a mass shooting at an outdoor concert. Not only does Bernie plunge her and V.I. headlong into the path of some ruthless developers, they lead to the murder of the young man Bernie is dating. He’s a computer geek working for a community group called SLICK.
V.I. is desperate to find a mysterious man named Coop, who roams the lakefront in the middle of the night with his dog. She’s sure he holds the key to the mounting body count within SLICK. Coop may even know why an international law firm is representing the mass murderer responsible for Lydia’s lover’s death. Instead, the detective finds a terrifying conspiracy stretching from Chicago’s parks to a cover-up of the dark chapters in America’s meddling in South American politics. Before she finds answers, this electrifying novel pushes V.I. close to the breaking point: People who pay to play take no prisoners.
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It’s Sara Paretsky’s wonderful V. I. Warshawski, the prototype of the female investigator, of course, it’s worth the read.
Sometimes a predictable thrill ride with a take-no-prisoners heroine is just what one needs to escape from a pandemic!
Dead Land (V.I. Warshawski Novels)
Early in Sara Paretsky’s DEAD LAND, a bar patron complains about “political music” — spoilsport. That’s the best kind, IMHO, because addressing real issues makes music more meaningful, and that applies to books as well. This well-written book takes on wealth, corruption, homelessness, guns, damage to body and soul, and the painful work of trying to fix things. The trauma is balanced by healing and success, not total, but significant, and as in the parable of the starfish, “It makes a difference to that one.”
I admire V.I. and her friends and allies, including the ones who, initially wary, learn to appreciate Vic because of her values and actions. Vic is no appeaser of egos, but she stands up for right and earns loyalty by giving it . . . admirable. I enjoyed traveling with her, vicariously and without injuries to myself. I want to be more like V.I. Warshawski, except for the the damages. I’m never going to be quite that tough.
It will be difficult deciding what to read next. DEAD LAND will be a hard one to follow.