Hard Time

Rating:
Summary: Welcome Back V.I.!
Review: 5 years was way too long to wait for another V.I. Warshawski mystery. I'd almost forgotten how good Sara Paretsky is. She has the tough, hard-bitten female P.I. thing down to a science and has set a benchmark for any others that write in this genre. This is probably her best book in this series and I heartily recommend it to anyone. V.I. is a little older than when we last saw her, but not any more afraid to take on the world. Ms. Paretsky is not afraid to take on race, gender and con discriminations and she makes it fun to read at the same time.

Rating:
Summary: Paretsky doesn't slip...
Review: A sweeping mystery that shows off the true power of Chicago money, power, and politics. From V.I.'s apartment to a modernized prison to the fashionable upscale neighborhoods, each new location is brought to vivid detail. In this book, you really wonder who the true victim is? Nicole Aguilando? Robbie? V.I.? All of the above?

It starts off simple enough. V.I. is invited to a party featuring the latest action film queen. At the party, she is approached by a childhood friend of the superstar who has more than a few questions on his mind. It sounds simple to start off....right? But, when Victoria Iphigenia Warshawski heads home, she finds Nicole Aguilando lying in the street, badly beaten and clinging to life, her entire world is turned upside down. To top it off, she is wearing a shirt with the action queen's image on the front. Nicole was in prison for stealing a valuable necklace from her employer. Who was her employer? W.I.'s direct competition -- the president of Carnifice Security. Nicole succumbs to her injuries but that doesn't answer how she got out of prison in the first place. Enter a slimy Chicago cop who wants nothing more than to pin something (ANYTHING) on V.I. to put her away.

With more twists and turns than you can imagine, V.I. befriends the son of her opponent and even goes to jail for protecting him. It's there she learns about the new jail system and what power and money (and a little political greasing) can accomplish.

A highly recommendable action packed read.

Rating:
Summary: It s good to have VI back
Review: After celebrating her friend landing a prestigious television job, V.I. Warshawski heads home. However, her drive proves very eventful as V.I. runs into a fireplug to avoid hitting a battered female lying prone in the street. The medics take Nicola Aguinaldo to a nearby hospital, but she dies anyway. The police initially behave nastily towards V.I. for no apparent reason.

By the next day, the Chicago police try to tie the dead person to V.I. Apparently, Nicola escaped from a prison where she was held for stealing jewelry from the spouse of security mogul B.B. Baladine. V.I. is soon arrested and placed in jail. Still, not even a stay in prison keeps V.I. from investigating why Nicola was beaten to death and why she herself has been locked away on bogus charges.

After being away for several years, the return of V.I. Warshawski is a thing for fans of female private investigators to celebrate. The story line matches the elation as the tale is filled with emotion, angst, and tattered friendships. The support cast is wonderful and V.I. is at the top of her top form. This may be the best tale in Sara Paretsky's long running series.

Harriet Klausner

Rating:
Summary: She's at it again.
Review: Finding a near dead woman in the street sets our altruistic, idealistic detective off on a trail which sees her left for dead in the same way. Why does she do it?? Because she's V I Warshawski and she cannot give up. I have to agree with some reviewers that the ultimate cause of her troubles was flagged fairly early in the novel but it didn't detract from it for me, as the value was in the unfolding of the plot twists and the characterisation of Vic and her cohort. Like Vic herself, once embroiled, I had to keep going. It was a nice touch to make a few literary nods, to Dante for example. This and the various touches of political commentary are what take Paretsky's novels out of the realm of the ordinary hard-boiled detective story - in fact, she has Vic wryly comment on how she's not exactly an action hero from that genre.

The author she most brings to mind for me is Carl Hiaasen.

I do wonder at some things. Too many of her characters seem to be all good - Morrell, Contreras, Father Lou - or all bad - Baladine and Lemour. Occasionally the writing got a little pedestrian, as if Paretsky had to take a breather after an extended action piece and the several recaps of where Vic had got to were not needed at all.

Rating:
Summary: First half-too long...2nd half - fantastic!
Review: Hmmm...Paretsky's been around for a while. I haven't picked up one of her books for probably two years. After a while, these prolific mystery authors who churn out a yearly contribution for wasting time on tend to repeat themselves. this time I did not find that was so. I really enjoyed the last half of the book, which exhibited all the good writer qualities that won Paretsky such a large audience in the first place.

The first half of the book was probably necessary to build the last half of the book. It just seemed it could have been done tighter; less words, more action, not as long. There were a few departures from the main plot as Paretsky went off on tangents, and got in a few lectures. Like many TV sitcoms which go on for too long (MASH for one)...Paretsky is falling into the usual "I need to make a difference" trap. This time the lecture was on women's prisons and political/financial shenanigans. This isn't to say the 'lecture' wasn't interesting, or didn't help with the plot. Just...you have to be careful. I know a lot of books, a lot of shows which have turned off their loyal audiences by overdoing the political/social good motivations of the authors or the writers of TV scripts.

This was an enjoyable book. The last half sped by quickly. Warshwski is getting older, like all of us. The body is failing to respond as she wants it, and her concerns about being alone and not having the wherewithal to support herself in old age is a fear that faces many throughout the U.S. It's nice to see an established author facing reality of aging on her protagonist, so the rest of us don't feel so lacking!

Karen Sadler,
University of Pittsburgh

Rating:
Summary: SLOW TO START, BUT ENDS WITH A BANG.
Review: I could put this book down, and did several times. In fact I read two other books while I was reading this one, so I can't say that it kept my interest from the beginning. I couldn't quite understand a P.I. taking this much time and effort to work on a case she wouldn't be paid for. I also didn't quite buy the risks she took to solve the case. I must say that her portrayal of prison life was unnervingly accurate and I wish that more writers would tackle the subject of incarceration and the inhuman treatment of prisoners right here in the good ol' USA. Georgia is a prime example of the "company store", except that prisoners in Georgia are not even paid for their work. The powers that be don't even try to pass it off as rehabilitation. After all, how much demand is there on the street for people who can make three tier bunkbeds out of scrap iron. The ending was worth wading through the first half of the book, and I would recommend this book to readers that like mystery and crime stories. All I can say is - stick with it. The ending is worth it. Perhaps if I had read this author before I would have understood some of the beginning characters more. Give it a try.

Rating:
Summary: Good writing, plot too obvious
Review: I enjoyed reading this book, except for the prison time sequence. That part seemed more like an expose of the prison system than a necessary part of the story line. I already knew the perpetrator of the crime and the motivation before VI ended up in prison.

Rating:
Summary: Dubious ideas
Review: I liked some things about this book, however I am astonished by liberal ideas that Paretsky tried to squeeze in. Why is being rich bad? Why should everyone help an illegal immigrant? Why should we support illegals? Half of prison contingent is illegal, so let them work, they came to this country, broke our laws, and why should they not be punished for it? How come good neighborhood and beautiful houses are shameful, but criminally entering this country and stealing from people are not shameful? I think that Paretsky has some perverted sense of justice. I did not like a lot in this book, and I think that maybe better editing was needed. This was not supposed to be a book with social doctrines and divide and split ideas. It was supposed to be easy mystery/detective story.

Rating:
Summary: Sara-Thanks for bring VI back!!
Review: I've been reading VI Warshawski stories for years, actually after I saw the movie. Though at first I thought her characters (in the early books) were two dimensional, I feel in love with the way the stories read.

With Hard Time, Sara brings us back to Chicago with VI having a new office, no man in her life, and not too far past when Burn Marks ended. She does a wonderful job in showing us two ends of life from the very rich to the very poor. I enjoyed the fact that Sara was able to make you smell and breathe the environment in which VI was living in prison, as well as the various establishments of the rich-of which VI didn't feel comfortable at and that came across well.

I absolutely loved the book and hope that there will be a new one coming out soon.

Rating:
Summary: Breaking rocks
Review: It has been a while since V. I. has been working the streets of Chicago. She hasn't gotten any smarter or mellowed in her time away. She got some money and actually has an office, but it is still V. I. This time round she needs some editing and a shrink's couch. Give it a rest, chill woman, it is time for some real change in your life and storylines.