Hardball

BySara Paretsky

Release Date: 2009-09-22
Genre: Women Sleuths

Score: 4.5

4.5

From 87 Ratings

Description

Chicago politics—past, present, and future—take center stage in this complex and compelling V.I. Warshawki novel from New York Times bestselling author Sara Peretsky.

Tracking down missing persons is part of V.I. Warshawski’s job. But Lamont Gadsden has been missing for more than forty years—last seen heading out into the 1967 blizzard, in the midst of Chicago’s racial unrest. V.I. figured the search would be futile. She didn’t realize it would be lethal...or lead to troubling discoveries about her own family. And when her young cousin Petra disappears, an angry preacher, a jailed gangbanger, and politics from both past and present interconnect—and plunge V.I. into a mystery as unsettling as the ’60s themselves.

A New York Times Notable Crime Book of the Year
One of NPR’s Top Five Crime Novels of the Year

Reviews

Deb
1
By Runnindeb
Awful...couldn't even finish it!
Hardball
5
By Character Driven
One of the best V I Warshawski stories, this one is gritty and grim, with little comedic relief. It is, however, a very satisfying read. For maximum enjoyment, the V I Warshawski series should be read in order from the beginning, and it is a credit to the author and the work that Vic has had to age in reverse for the past eight years or so; she is attracting a whole new generation of fans. So the past comes back to bite the Warshawski family and cause Vic to experience a lot of self doubt. Plenty of nail biting action and NOT overly predictable, IMHO, because I don't mind a couple of token moments where I get to pump my fist in the air and say "YES!" even though I sort of saw it coming. Excellent recurring themes: sacrifice, loyalty, the power of suspicion/fear, the greater power of good people doing the right thing, both then and now, and an inter-generational transition that looks very promising. Most of the old supporting cast stops by for at least a cameo as well.
Paretsky's Fantastic!
5
By williamjfox
Great to have VI back.