Status
Available
Call number
Series
Genres
Collection
Publication
München : Piper, 1992. Neuausgabe, Taschenbuch,
351 S.
Description
Fiction. Mystery. Thriller. HTML:�No one, male or female, writes better P.I. books than Paretsky.��The Denver Post V. I. Warshawski isn�t crazy about going back to her old south Chicago neighborhood, but a promise is something she always keeps. Caroline, a childhood friend, has a dying mother and a problem�after twenty-five years she wants V.I. to find the father she never knew. But when V.I. starts probing into the past, she stumbles onto some long-buried secrets�and a very new corpse. Now she�s stirring up a deadly mix of big business and chemical corruption that may become a toxic shock to a snooper who knows too much. �[Paretsky�s] work does more than turn the genre upside down: her books are beautifully paced and plotted, and the dialogue is fresh and smart.��Newsweek �Her best and boldest work to date . . . a criminal investigation that is a genuine....… (more)
Media reviews
By sending Warshawski back into the old neighborhood for a closer look at events from the past that helped to shape her character, Ms. Paretsky forces no great self-revelations onto her detective and grants her no inner peace. But she does her best and boldest work to date in creating a criminal
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investigation that is a genuine heroic quest. Show Less
User reviews
LibraryThing member Darrol
Good company with good characters, although V.I. does come off as a little difficult.
LibraryThing member TheoClarke
I picked up this Bookcrossing book in a cafe because I thought that it might be time to give Sara Paretsky another chance. I had given up reading her novels about VI Warshawski when I tired of her endless criminal investigations of her extended family. Ironically, this novel is the UK edition of
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the first novel with which I had a problem when it appeared as Blood Shot. I did not recognise it under its UK title until I started to read it. Almost twenty years ago, I was more disappointed with the absurdity of the solution to the mystery than I was with the largely uncommercial basis of Warshawski's business because this one is about helping a childhood friend rather than one of her inumerable cousins. I remembered the book when the basketball game starts late in the first chapter. That is not very far in. All the chapters are short. That is part of Paretsky's style. As is the use of frequent recaps as if she does not really trust her readers to pay attention. Despite this, the books all have pace. None of this is enough, however. The plots become formulaic and the characters do not develop. And by this fifth book I was no longer getting pleasure from the Chicago locations. If I want repetitive formulaic detective novels in a familiar city, I need look no further than the witty staccato conversations of Robert B Parker's Spenser novels. Show Less
LibraryThing member jepeters333
VI helps an old family friend find her father and gets involved with a crooked company.
LibraryThing member PollyMoore3
"You can't heal the world, Liebchen. I know you know that. You can only work with one person at a time, in a very small way. And over the individuals you help you have much effect. It's only the megalomaniacs, the Hitlers and their ilk, who think they have the answer for everyone's life. You are in
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the world of the sane, Victoria, the world of the limited". Lotty Hershel to Vic. Show Less
LibraryThing member readingwithtea
"I felt a little prickling along the base of my neck, that primitive adrenaline jolt that lets you know you're getting close to the saber-toothed tiger"
Sara Paretsky's veteran private investigator, V. I. Warshawski, is summoned to her childhood suburbs in this family/industrial mystery, in which
As usual, there is a decent sized cast as Vic battles with the police, her client, a geriatric doctor and his battleaxe sister - Cleo is my favourite character in the whole book, I think - and a swathe of villains. Vic's downstairs neighbour makes plenty of overprotective appearances, as always, and her friends Lotty and Max come back too. I can't say there's masses of character development of Vic herself, but Caroline is quite a riddle and it's good to see her evolve; ditto the mayor's son Art.
I didn't see any of the plot thread resolutions coming, so that's a big commendation. The various threads all tie up neatly, but it was good to see the different threads (Caroline's paternity, the murder of a key character, the historical industrial relations issue, and the doctor's past) being attended to in reasonably equal measures.
The writing is of a better quality than I had remembered Paretsky's to be - she uses words like submoronic, pilfering, "exuberant philathropy" - it's not Pulitzer-winning but it's a pleasant surprise to see a crime writer stretch their vocabulary every now and again. The book was very easy to pick up again, despite the multiple plot threads.
One for Eighties nostalgics and private investigator fiction fans.
Sara Paretsky's veteran private investigator, V. I. Warshawski, is summoned to her childhood suburbs in this family/industrial mystery, in which
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the kid next door wants Vic to find her father. Vic stumbles onto a industrial negligence cover-up, and as usual, is shortly on the trial of the bad guys...As usual, there is a decent sized cast as Vic battles with the police, her client, a geriatric doctor and his battleaxe sister - Cleo is my favourite character in the whole book, I think - and a swathe of villains. Vic's downstairs neighbour makes plenty of overprotective appearances, as always, and her friends Lotty and Max come back too. I can't say there's masses of character development of Vic herself, but Caroline is quite a riddle and it's good to see her evolve; ditto the mayor's son Art.
I didn't see any of the plot thread resolutions coming, so that's a big commendation. The various threads all tie up neatly, but it was good to see the different threads (Caroline's paternity, the murder of a key character, the historical industrial relations issue, and the doctor's past) being attended to in reasonably equal measures.
The writing is of a better quality than I had remembered Paretsky's to be - she uses words like submoronic, pilfering, "exuberant philathropy" - it's not Pulitzer-winning but it's a pleasant surprise to see a crime writer stretch their vocabulary every now and again. The book was very easy to pick up again, despite the multiple plot threads.
One for Eighties nostalgics and private investigator fiction fans.
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LibraryThing member leslie.98
2017 reread: While some aspects of this 5th entry of the Warshawski series are slightly dated, overall it remains an exciting PI story. Paretsky creates a great sense of place with her descriptions of various parts of Chicago, especially the economically struggling South Side. I found that even
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though I recalled some aspects of the story from my previous reading (20 or so years ago), much of the story took me by surprise, making this a more exciting read than I had expected. Show Less
LibraryThing member FerneMysteryReader
As I've previously read some of the series after viewing the movie with Kathleen Turner as Victoria 'V.I.' Warshawski, also known as Vic, reading another novel in the series is returning to spend time with a favorite character as created by Sara Paretsky.
In this novel, Vic returns to the old
In this novel, Vic returns to the old
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neighborhood on the South side of Chicago - memories abound and it was an interesting turn to learn how Vic would pivot the intrigue into a solved case. Show Less
LibraryThing member JenniferRobb
Prior to this, I only remember reading book 2 in the series, but I am strongly considering requesting the books in between from the library to catch up on what I've missed.
Warshawski is asked by a friend-who's-close-as-a-relative to find out who her father really is. What seems to be a harmless
I enjoyed Warshawski's relationship with her neighbor and his dog. I can understand why she wants to be independent, but sometimes I think she takes that a bit too far.
It seemed like a lot of people were running scared and not willing to tell the full story to anyone (let alone to Warshawski) which prolonged the novel--and the repetitiveness of it got a bit dull after a while--while it did make me, as the reader, know that there was something going on, it would have been more interesting if not all the characters made Warshawski feel that way.
Warshawski is asked by a friend-who's-close-as-a-relative to find out who her father really is. What seems to be a harmless
Show More
request uncovers several cans of worms--from family secrets to industrial concealment.I enjoyed Warshawski's relationship with her neighbor and his dog. I can understand why she wants to be independent, but sometimes I think she takes that a bit too far.
It seemed like a lot of people were running scared and not willing to tell the full story to anyone (let alone to Warshawski) which prolonged the novel--and the repetitiveness of it got a bit dull after a while--while it did make me, as the reader, know that there was something going on, it would have been more interesting if not all the characters made Warshawski feel that way.
Show Less
LibraryThing member leslie.98
2017 reread: While some aspects of this 5th entry of the Warshawski series are slightly dated, overall it remains an exciting PI story. Paretsky creates a great sense of place with her descriptions of various parts of Chicago, especially the economically struggling South Side.
I found that even
I found that even
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though I recalled some aspects of the story from my previous reading (20 or so years ago), much of the story took me by surprise, making this a more exciting read than I had expected. Show Less
LibraryThing member David_Fosco
I found 'Blood Shot' to be an engaging mystery of a woman who simply wants to escape her childhood neighborhood, but no matter how hard she tries she keeps getting dragged back into to solve its mysteries. Threats, Fraud, Bribery, and even death circle in this V.I. Warshawski mystery.
LibraryThing member DianeVallere
So far my favorite of the series!
Subjects
Awards
Anthony Award (Nominee — Novel — 1989)
Crime Writers' Association Awards (Winner — 1988)
Shamus Award (Shortlist — 1989)
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
1988
Physical description
351 p.; 19 cm
ISBN
3492155898 / 9783492155892