04/06/2020
The 14 stories in this welcome collection from MWA Grand Master Paretsky (the V.I. Warshawksi PI series) are loosely tied together by the theme of people who kill for love in all its permutations: a sister for her brother, a child for her father, a son for the mother he never knew. Classic mystery detectives appear in two delightful homages: “The Curious Affair of the Italian Art Dealer,” which involves Sherlock Holmes, and “Murder at the Century of Progress,” set at the 1933–1934 Chicago World’s Fair, which includes a Miss Marple-like sleuth. Two standout tales set during the Vietnam War era are “Miss Bianca,” a touching story of a little girl’s love for a laboratory mouse, and “Wildcat,” a child’s-eye view of the 1966 Chicago race riots. “Safety First,” a terrifying story set in a dystopian near future in which a female doctor is arrested for treating undocumented immigrants, feels only too possible, while “Trial by Fire,” set on the Kansas plains during Prohibition, starkly portrays a grim reality of America’s past. The love that really comes through in each story is the love and empathy Paretsky has for her all-too-human characters. Agent: Dominick Abel, Dominick Abel Literary. (June)
"A crime-fiction pro struts her stuff with short works featuring V.I. Warshawski, her prickly, stalwart Chicago PI, plus several homages to detectives past. Murder binds these wonderfully varied tales, but so does love—including that of a girl for a lab mouse she is determined to save." — People on Love & Other Crimes
"Paretsky shows she’s as superior a writer of the short-form crime story as she is of the novel in this consistently entertaining collection." — Washington Post on Love & Other Crimes
"The well-wrought plots and densely imagined worlds make this the most distinguished mystery collection so far this year." — Kirkus (starred review) on Love & Other Crimes
"Paretsky continues to thrill . . . In addition to heart-pounding crime fighting and sleuthing, these stories run deep with aching sketches of love and loss. Some contain scathing political commentary, with haunting versions of possible futures. Fans of witty characters, complicated plots, stories with somber endings, and, of course, V.I Warshawski will enjoy this book." — Library Journal on Love & Other Crimes
"A wisely provocative and zestfully entertaining crime collection." — Booklist (starred review) on Love & Other Crimes
"The love that really comes through in each story is the love and empathy Paretsky has for her all-too-human characters." — Publishers Weekly on Love & Other Crimes
“Wonderful company and a rich discovery awaiting those who have yet to meet [Warshawski]. ” — Los Angeles Times
“Sara Paretsky reigns as one of the all-time greats.” — Karin Slaughter
“Sara Paretsky is a legend . . . If you haven’t read her yet, now is the time.” — Harlan Coben
“As long as Paretsky’s hotheaded, quick-witted sleuth is on the job, imperiled young women . . . will always have a champion.” — New York Times Book Review
“I’m a fanboy . . . When I was teaching myself to write thrillers, I closely studied Sara Paretsky’s detective V. I. Warshawski.” — John Sandford
“Legendary V.I. Warshawski is as dogged and ferocious as ever. So is Sara Paretsky, who is at the top of her crime novel game.” — C.J. Box
“Writing advance praise for Sara Paretsky is like writing a job recommendation for Bill Gates. Paretsky is the gold standard for novels dealing with crime and its consequences.” — Charlaine Harris
"A crime-fiction pro struts her stuff with short works featuring V.I. Warshawski, her prickly, stalwart Chicago PI, plus several homages to detectives past. Murder binds these wonderfully varied tales, but so does love—including that of a girl for a lab mouse she is determined to save."
People on Love & Other Crimes
As long as Paretsky’s hotheaded, quick-witted sleuth is on the job, imperiled young women . . . will always have a champion.
New York Times Book Review
"A wisely provocative and zestfully entertaining crime collection."
Booklist (starred review) on Love & Other Crimes
"Paretsky shows she’s as superior a writer of the short-form crime story as she is of the novel in this consistently entertaining collection."
Washington Post on Love & Other Crimes
Sara Paretsky reigns as one of the all-time greats.
Sara Paretsky is a legend . . . If you haven’t read her yet, now is the time.
Wonderful company and a rich discovery awaiting those who have yet to meet [Warshawski].
"A crime-fiction pro struts her stuff with short works featuring V.I. Warshawski, her prickly, stalwart Chicago PI, plus several homages to detectives past. Murder binds these wonderfully varied tales, but so does love—including that of a girl for a lab mouse she is determined to save."
null People on Love & Other Crimes
"Paretsky shows she’s as superior a writer of the short-form crime story as she is of the novel in this consistently entertaining collection."
null Washington Post on Love & Other Crimes
"A wisely provocative and zestfully entertaining crime collection."
null Booklist (starred review) on Love & Other Crimes
Legendary V.I. Warshawski is as dogged and ferocious as ever. So is Sara Paretsky, who is at the top of her crime novel game.
Wonderful company and a rich discovery awaiting those who have yet to meet [Warshawski].
Writing advance praise for Sara Paretsky is like writing a job recommendation for Bill Gates. Paretsky is the gold standard for novels dealing with crime and its consequences.
I’m a fanboy . . . When I was teaching myself to write thrillers, I closely studied Sara Paretsky’s detective V. I. Warshawski.
06/01/2020
Paretsky continues to thrill with her latest collection filled with stories set in her home state of Kansas as well as her PI heroine V.I. Warshawski's hometown of Chicago. These 14 stories transcend time with settings ranging from the Prohibition era through the 1960s and modern day. Many of them extrapolate upon past Warshawski novels, telling stories readers never knew they needed. Vic sniffs out likely and unlikely suspects in "Love & Other Crimes" and "Is It Justice?" In "Safety First," Dr. Herschel gets sent to jail in a dystopian nightmare. "Trial by Fire" features ancestors of characters in Paretsky's novel Bleeding Kansas , a miniprequel in the making. The author pays homage to mystery authors past, such as Agatha Christie and Anna Katharine Green with letter formats, fun plot lines, and rich characterizations. In addition to heart-pounding crime fighting and sleuthing, these stories run deep with aching sketches of love and loss. Some contain scathing political commentary, with haunting versions of possible futures. VERDICT Fans of witty characters, complicated plots, stories with somber endings, and, of course, V.I Warshawski will enjoy this book.—Kay Strahan, Univ. of Tennessee Health Sciences Lib., Memphis
Narrator Susan Ericksen teams up again with author Sara Paretsky to provide listeners with a special treat: 14 short stories themed on love in a variety of machinations. Seven of the stories feature Paretsky’s famous private detective, V.I. Warshawski. Ericksen succeeds in capturing the mini-worlds of the stories, which are populated by both familiar and new characters of different ages, backgrounds, and ethnicities. Ericksen masterfully uses accent, tone, and pace to bring these characters to life in the brief timeframe that the short story structure allows. She also voices Paretsky herself, who shares notes on the inspiration for each story. Fans will welcome this opportunity to gain insight on Paretsky’s writing process. E.Q. © AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine
Narrator Susan Ericksen teams up again with author Sara Paretsky to provide listeners with a special treat: 14 short stories themed on love in a variety of machinations. Seven of the stories feature Paretsky’s famous private detective, V.I. Warshawski. Ericksen succeeds in capturing the mini-worlds of the stories, which are populated by both familiar and new characters of different ages, backgrounds, and ethnicities. Ericksen masterfully uses accent, tone, and pace to bring these characters to life in the brief timeframe that the short story structure allows. She also voices Paretsky herself, who shares notes on the inspiration for each story. Fans will welcome this opportunity to gain insight on Paretsky’s writing process. E.Q. © AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine
★ 2020-03-29
Five of the seven stories about Warshawski are first-rate; only “Wildcat,” which takes the young Victoria’s family through the disruption of Martin Luther King’s 1966 visit to Chicago, and “Is It Justice?” a wish-fulfillment sequel to Critical Mass (2013) in which somebody shoots a newly exonerated killer as he descends the courthouse steps, play better as politics than fiction. In the others, V.I. seeks out a student she humiliated at a high school Q&A; finds a contemporary case of plagiarism beneath a decade-old murder; hunts down her client’s father only to be told that he’s not her client’s father; turns down a bodyguard gig on behalf of a wealthy author who begins trash-talking her every chance she gets; and, in the brand-new title story, goes to bat for her dislikable ex-neighbor’s kid brother when he’s arrested for murder. What’s even more impressive is the variety of the other seven stories. Paretsky effortlessly masters Dr. Watson’s voice in an adventure that shows Sherlock Holmes bested by an upstart American and sends Carroll John Daly’s pioneering hard-boiled dick Race Williams to the 1933 Century of Progress Fair. The deftly plotted “Acid Test” shows an apostle of nonviolence arrested for bombing a neighbor’s scientific institute. The charming “Miss Bianca” turns on a 10-year-old girl’s solicitude for a lab mouse. The dystopian fantasy “Safety First” and “Trial by Fire,” a pendant to Bleeding Kansas (2007), show off Paretsky’s willingness to take risks. And “Heartbreak House,” in which a romance writer’s editor recommends that she consult a psychotherapist, who promptly gets killed, ends the collection on a wryly amused note.
The well-wrought plots and densely imagined worlds make this the most distinguished mystery collection so far this year.
