V. I. Warshawski is in Kansas, taking a much needed break from her stressful career. She has come to watch her protégée Angela play some college basketball. Only she finds herself again pressed into service when one of Angela’s roommates goes missing. This mystery is long and complex. It touches on several social issues, both present and past. With multiple characters and a multi-layered plot, the story seems to lack a clear and direct focus. Eventually, things become clearer, but it is a convoluted path to the conclusion. This is the first book I have read in the series, and perhaps that is why I couldn’t connect with the main protagonist. It seemed like she was always being threatened, attacked, beaten unconscious, and then somehow escapes. Readers who follow the series liked this installment too, but I found it a bit of a slog to get through. (read less)

V. I. Warshawski is in Kansas, taking a much needed break from her stressful career. She has come to watch her protégée Angela play some college basketball. Only she finds herself again pressed into service when one of Angela’s roommates goes missing. This mystery is long and complex. It touches on several social issues, both present and past. With multiple characters and a multi-layered (read more)

This is a wonderful addition to the long-running and most-beloved V.I. Warshawski series. This is book 22, and it is as action packed as all the other books in the series. At the beginning we see a very different V.I. She is recovering from an horrific event of the previous fall, and she is unsure of herself, depressed, and not eating and sleeping well. She is in Kansas where she has gone to see a friend of her niece, Bernie, who is playing in an important game and about to break a record in college sports. One of Bernie's friends disappears while they are there, and Bernie asks V.I. to find her. With much reluctance V.I. agrees. She finds the girl unconscious and in a drug house. She manages to get her to safety, but she also discovers the body of an unknown woman in that same house. V.I. tries to find out what happened to the woman, and by doing so she unleashes a rat's nest of corruption and murder in small-town Kansas. Lots is covered in this book--political and corporate corruption, long-held community secrets, and a history of racial prejudice. V.I., at much risk to her health, just has to find out what is behind all this crime, and while doing so, she turns the small town onto its head and digs up some very old secrets that founding families do not want uncovered. It is always an event for me when a new V.I. book comes out and as soon as I hear of one, I place a hold on it so that I can read it right away. I was glad to read that Ms. Paretsky is not done with V.I. yet, and that another book will come out some time in the future. I will be sure to read that immediately as well. (read less)

This is a wonderful addition to the long-running and most-beloved V.I. Warshawski series. This is book 22, and it is as action packed as all the other books in the series. At the beginning we see a very different V.I. She is recovering from an horrific event of the previous fall, and she is unsure of herself, depressed, and not eating and sleeping well. She is in Kansas where she has gone (read more)