Hard Time

Rating:
Summary: She's still fighting crime in heels!
Review: Vic is back with her snappy comments and never-say-die style. There simply are not enough strong women in the PI field and so this is a welcome return. The book is fast-paced although the villian turns out to practice all evils save satan worship (unless I missed it). The moralizing is a little heavy-handed and swings to the left, but that's where we'll find most writers anyway. Welcome back, and we're already waiting for the next installment. Please don't have another extended hiatus. And, please don't make another movie with Kathleen Turner.

Rating:
Summary: It's good to have Vic back
Review: Five years haven't softened Vic. She's still feisty, smart and strong. I admire the way she speaks her mind -- whether it's about class distinctions, race or even midlife career crises -- and I enjoyed spending time with a character who has that level of depth. I just felt the end came too soon, and that the love relationship was introduced too quickly to be convincing. Still, it was a very good read.

Rating:
Summary: As Expected
Review: After a five-year hiatus the latest V.I. (Vic)Warshawski opus gives us what we've come to expect from Sara Paretsky. The author does her usual good job of interweaving a mixed cast of characters into a plausable mystery of plots and subplots. However, the ending is a bit disappointing in that a lot of heinous activity is committed to cover up what turns out to be a fairly minor scam. Unfortunately for readers, two other Paretsky traits are present: one-dimensional characters and tiresome social commentary. All characters fall rigidly into the good/bad guy category, diminishing any empathy we might have for them. The principal villain is not only a crook and a murderer, but cheats on his wife, spouts racial epithets and is a child abuser to boot. The only flaw "Vic" appears to have is that she's a less than perfect housekeeper. On the political correctness front, practically every page has a line or two about the corruption of Republican officeholders or simplistic class warfare platitudes about the perfidy of the wealthy or the nobility of the poor. Paretsky should stick to what she does best and try to give the reader some more believable characters.

Rating:
Summary: This one won't keep you up at night
Review: V.I. is hard to like. A bitter abrasive character whose only kind words are to a child. A silly plot and hurried ending make this a big disapointment. I haven't read a less satisfying book for a long while.

Rating:
Summary: Taut Suspense Throughout
Review: V.I. is not a detective out of the English drawing room style. She is an original, and as such will be appreciated or rejected by the degree that you look for originality in your mysteries. The plot is deliciously complicated, hard to anticipate, and moves along nicely. Although some will quibble that the whole thing is improbable, it could be made very probable with one small change in the motives of the killers. As such, I'd have to say this is by far the most sophisticated and exciting of the books in the series. V.I. is a lot like Robert Parker's Spenser: Principle is the thing. In an age when many unthinkingly take the easy way out, it is valuable to explore what a modern Dona Quixote would do. V.I. fills the bill perfectly in this fine novel which rises above the detective genre into regular fiction. Keep up the good work!

Rating:
Summary: Bummer
Review: Have waited for another of Paretsky's page turners, still waiting after this one. Had to wake myself up to turn the page, what could have been an excellent plot became very convaluted, too many twists, turns & people going nowhere. We all know she can and will do better next time.

Rating:
Summary: After waiting 5 years, I was disappointed.
Review: Sara Paretsky's book "Windy City Blues" was the first female detective story I had read since Nancy Drew and I loved it. Unfortunately, as I read through her entire series, her books got darker and more bitter. "Hard Time" is no exception. The plot gets buried in bitterness, against so many people, associations, and even class systems. Because of this, the book was a disappointment.

Rating:
Summary: Glad to Have Vic Back!
Review: I was so glad to hear that Sarah Paretsky had finally written another V.I. Warshawski book. I've really missed her. Ms. Paretsky's books are so well written and so intelligent that they are a delight to read. I found parts of this book a bit implausible, even for V.I. However, I was so glad to read about her again that it didn't matter. Keep them coming!

Rating:
Summary: Sara and VI do it again!!
Review: I have anxiously awaited a new book by Sara Paretsky, about VI Warshawki. And I wasn't disappointed. Welcome Back, VI! and Welcome Back, Sara Paretsky! I tried to read this book slow, so it wouldn't end, but stayed up half the night to see how VI gets outta this one! Can't wait for her next exploits.

Rating:
Summary: HOGWASH! Unbelievable story-line!!
Review: Is any reader with any sense of credibility expected to believe that this "tough talking, justice seeking" P.I. has allowed herself to be so compromised by just about everyone whose path she crosses? Anyone who is supposedly as strong willed and righteous would never have allowed herself to be so abused to accomplish the same end she could have in so many other ways armed with the data she had available to her. This is my first V.I. and, unless anyone can tell me that this was the worst of the lot and that previous efforts by Ms. Paretsky were more worthy, I will never purchase another.