Sara Paretsky (born June 8, 1947) is an American author of detective fiction, best known for her novels focused on the protagonist V. I. Warshawski.
Dead Land (2020) is the first of her books I’ve read.
It’s an odd but entertaining book.
For some reason, V. I. Warshawski investigates this case without getting paid by anyone.
Not much happens plot-wise. BUT that doesn’t stop Vic.
The main reason to read it to follow the first-person narrative of the sarcastic, funny, and fiercely self-reliant character.
Chicago is the city of broad shoulders, but V.I. Warshawski knows its politics: “Pay to Play.” Money changes hands in the middle of the night; by morning, buildings and parks have been replaced by billion-dollar projects.
Private investigator V.I. gets pulled into one of these clandestine deals when her impetuous goddaughter Bernie tries to rescue a famous singer-songwriter, now living on the streets.
Thanks to Bernie, V.I. finds herself in the path of some developers whose negotiating strategy is simple: they bulldoze – or kill – any obstacle in their way.
Questions pile up almost as fast as the dead bodies. When she tries to answer them, the detective finds a terrifying conspiracy stretching from Chicago’s parks to a cover-up of the dark chapters in the American government’s interference in South American politics.
Rick McCharles 