Table of Contents
V. I. WARSHAWSKI IS AN IMMENSELY LIKABLE CHARACTER.
Newsday
PRAISE FOR THE NOVELS OF SARA PARETSKY
Body Work
A case that ranges from the edgy urban nightclub scene to the corporate interests making a fortune from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. And, as always, the city of Chicago, from its gentrified lofts to its working-class bars, is given a starring role. Another solid entry in a popular series.
Booklist
Warshawski presents an irresistible combinationa cranky, vulnerable woman with a messy life, but a superhuman willingness to put herself in harms way for the sake of justice. Shes like Spider-Man with a PI license.
Chicago Sun-Times
This strong outing shows why the tough, fiercely independent, dog-loving private detective continues to survive.
Publishers Weekly (starred review)
V. I. Warshawski is backintelligent, tough, sarcastic, and trouble-prone as ever.... Body Work isnt just a satisfying whodunit; its a rich, well-written why-dunit, striking some surprising chords that will resonate long after you finish the final page.
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
A compelling story.
Kirkus Reviews
[A] cleverly constructed plot... an excellent whodunit puzzle.
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Hardball
ANew York TimesNotable Crime Book of the Year One of NPRs Top Five Crime Novels of the Year
Extraordinary.
The Washington Post
A hard book to put down.
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Its a pleasure to relax for four-hundred-plus pages in the hands of a pro.
The Boston Globe
Fire SaleAChicago TribuneBest Book of the Year
V.I. remains a paragon among PIs... one of Paretskys best books yet.
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
A compelling case. Snappy and satisfying, as always.
People
While V. I. Warshawski may be older and even wiser, shes lost none of her trademark wit or moral indignation.
Chicago Tribune
First-class entertainment.
The Orlando Sentinel
Blacklist
A genuinely exciting and disturbing thriller, a raging vehicle that can carry a load of baggage from 1950s blacklisting to present-day terrorist hysteria without missing a beat.
Chicago Tribune
A thoughtful, high-tension mystery.
The Washington Post Book World
You are getting much more here than an ordinary detective novel.
The Buffalo News
Praise for Sara Paretsky
Paretsky still writes with the kind of dazzling, diamond-hard clarity that can break your heart on every other page.
Chicago Tribune
Paretskys plotting is always ingenious.
Los Angeles Times
Paretsky is still the best.... She doesnt pull punches.
The Washington Post Book World
One of the all-time greats of crusading detectives.
Chicago Sun-Times
Paretskys books are beautifully paced and plotted, and the dialogue is fresh and smart.... V. I. Warshawski is the most engaging woman in detective fiction.
Newsweek
No one, male or female, writes better PI books than Paretsky.
The Denver Post
Articulate and independent... Warshawski never wears thin.
San Francisco Chronicle
Warshawski is among the most intriguing of detective characters, and Paretsky among the smoothest of stylists.
Detroit Free Press
Paretskys V.I. is a rare literary entity, a woman quick to anger and action, yet sympathetic and credible.
Publishers Weekly
A character much loved in the crime-and-suspense genre.
The Kansas City Star
The great thing about Sara Paretskys novels is that they have meat on their bones, burrowing down to explore issues... without taking anything away from the thrills and suspense.
The Orlando Sentinel
Paretskys novels not only entertain us, keeping us suspended with her twists and turns, but they also make us think.
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
An old-school crime-writing pro.
The Boston Globe
ALSO BY SARA PARETSKY
Hardball
Bleeding Kansas
Fire Sale
Blacklist
Total Recall
Hard Time
Ghost Country
Windy City Blues
Tunnel Vision
Guardian Angel
Burn Marks
Blood Shot
Bitter Medicine
Killing Orders
Deadlock
Indemnity Only
For Jo Anne, Jolynn, and Kathryn
Thanks for helping keep the rickety C-Dog ship afloat all these years
THANKS
Thanks to Dr. Bill Ernoehazy for his advice on forensic evidence, and on preparing autopsy reports. For reasons of the story, I didnt follow his advice to the letter, so please dont be dismayed if you think Captain Edwards should have acted differently.
On a happier note, thanks to Edwina Wolstencroft and the Early Music Show for advice on Jake Thibauts song. Ms. Wolstencroft directed me to the trobairitz, whom Id never heard of before. The translation of Maria de Ventadorns poem is taken from Meg Bogin, The Women Troubadours.
Thanks to Sue Riter for much more than I can say here. You made this book possible; you made it work.
Professor Israel bar-Joseph, an expert on nanoparticles at the Weizmann Institute, was kind enough to speak to me about gallium arsenide, among other matters.
Jolynn Parker provided crucial assistance in critiquing the book in manuscript form. Kathryn Lyndess support was invaluable in helping with the final rewrites.
The title of Chapter 55 is an old Russian proverb: Up a hill you push a cart; down a hill it rolls. There is some justice in this world, just not enough.
Dead in the Alley
Nadia Guaman died in my arms. Seconds after I left Club Gouge, I heard gunshots, screams, squealing tires, from the alley behind the building. I ran across the parking lot, slipping on gravel and ruts, and found Nadia crumpled on the dirty ice. Blood was flowing from her chest in a thick tide.
I ripped off my scarf and opened her coat. The wound was high in her chesttoo high, I knew thatbut I still made a pad of my scarf and pressed it against her. Keeping pressure on the pad, I struggled out of my coat and placed it under her. Left hand on chest, right hand underneath, pushing my coat against the exit wound. Without looking up or stopping the pressure, I shouted at the people surging around us to call 911, now, at once.
Nadias eyes flickered open as I cradled her. The ghost of a smile quivered at the sides of her wide mouth. Alley. Alley.
Shhh, Nadia, save your strength.
I thought it was a good sign, a hopeful sign, that she spoke, and I kept pushing against her wound, singing snatches of a cradle song, trying to keep us both calm. When the paramedics arrived, and pried my hands free from her wounds, they shook their heads. Shed been dead for several minutes already.
