Blood Shot

Rating:
Summary: A provocative and compelling mystery
Review: Published in Australia under the title, Toxic Shock, this novel shows that Sara Paretsky is getting better every time she puts pen to paper.V. I. is forced to confront the past she thought she'd escaped when a cry for help from an old friend takes her back to Chicago's South Side. In an industrial wasteland of chemical plants and toxic swamps, she must unravel a mystery more than 30 years old, defeat a financial giant and take revenge for an outrageous crime against the people she grew up with, while reliving her memories of childhood.The truth is hard to find, and harder to believe, but with the unwitting aid of friends, old and new, she does deliver - as does Paretsky, whose writing is crisp and powerful, with multi-dimensional characters and a rivetting, unpredictable plot. A provocative and compelling mystery from the First Lady of Crime Fiction.

Rating:
Summary: Blood Shot is another example of Paretsky's honesty
Review: Sara Paretsky's writing has its faults and its biases, but I enjoy her Warshawski novels for their honesty, the uniqueness of her detective, and the warmth of some of her characters, like the older neighbor Sal Contreras. I don't think V.I. is in the least like Kinsey Milhone, in fact, she is more like Sam Spade, and I appreciate her for it. The Warshawski novels get progressively better, with Killing Orders as the worst, for its hints of bigotry, and Guardian Angel as the best, for its humanity. Deadlock is another favorite of mine, for the characters and the tremendous writing of the shipping business and the shipping catastrophe. V.I. is unique, and I cannot get enough of her.

Rating:
Summary: Something Missing
Review: This is a South Chicago story and probably has more impact if you've lived there. Her business as a private eye helped V. I. Warshawski to escape from the `hood, but she feels ensnared again when a childhood friend's appeal for help draws her obsessively back to investigate her friend's unknown paternity. The quest for the friend's father, the murder of a high school friend, and other threads put her on the trail of powerful and ruthless men, who make her their next target. This story borders on being very good. The detective work and suspense are good but not particularly memorable. I have the feeling that V. I. is intended to be a character of some depth, but something was missing in the recorded book version, read by Donada Peters. V. I. seemed reckless, rather than tough. Maybe I expected Kathleen Turner.

Rating:
Summary: Something Missing
Review: This is a South Chicago story and probably has more impact if you've lived there. Her business as a private eye helped V. I. Warshawski to escape from the 'hood, but she feels ensnared again when a childhood friend's appeal for help draws her obsessively back to investigate her friend's unknown paternity. The quest for the friend's father, the murder of a high school friend, and other threads put her on the trail of powerful and ruthless men, who make her their next target. This story borders on being very good. The detective work and suspense are good but not particularly memorable. I have the feeling that V. I. is intended to be a character of some depth, but something was missing in the recorded book version, read by Donada Peters. V. I. seemed reckless, rather than tough. Maybe I expected Kathleen Turner.

Rating:
Summary: Basic cliche ridden detective novel
Review: This is your basic private detective story. All the cliches are here. Getting involved with the old neighborhood, the old aquaintance being murdered, the rich guy that tries to buy off the PI, the PI is always broke, organized crime and crooked politicians, the PI getting beat up, the gun battle in the end and a few threads left hanging. Alot of the "mysteries" are fairly obvious and you know who will be killed but there are some twists in the end.

The story does move along and rarely drags. But it is never exciting enough where you can't put the book down. And it never pulls you into the PI's world. The writing style is a poor imitation of other detective novels.

The novelty of the book is that the PI is a woman. But the way the book is written, it doesn't really add anything to the story. The PI could have been anyone. I didn't hate the book but I would never buy another by the author.

Rating:
Summary: An exciting intro to VI
Review: This was the first VI Warshawski book I ever read, and it did an excellent job of whetting my appetite for more. I think Paretsky did an excellent job of drawing me into VI's world, which is rich with unique characters. VI comes across as individualistic and principled, and I like how Paretsky resisted cliché temptation on several counts: the complex issue of chemical responsibility is not wrapped up in a tidy bundle by the end of the book, and there is no "obligatory sex scene." Not that sex scenes don't have their places, but I just hate it when I'm reading along and I can almost hear the agent say, "Okay, author, you need to steam this up a bit right here if you want to sell this book." In this story, VI is all business, which is a delightful change of pace.

Rating:
Summary: I love VI!!!
Review: Vic is one of my favorite literary characters of all time. I adore her no nonsense toughness. She has been much criticized for her lack of humor, lack of friends, and her approach to life, which to me make her a unique character in the world of the fuzzy warm soft hearted female PIs. Vic takes nothing off of anybody, and I love her for it! Carry on Sara Paretsky...I hope Vic gets tougher and tougher and time goes by.