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Looking for her young niece, V. I. Warshawski finds her in an unused cemetery with a group of thirteen-year-old girls, acting out a scene from a popular teenage book. But lying in a nearby tomb was the body of a man killed as if he were a vampire, stabbed through the heart with a wooden stake. In the group of girls was the granddaughter of one of the wealthiest men in Chicago and the daughter of a woman running for the US Senate. There could be all sorts of unpleasant rumors about these people if word got out. V.I. rushed them out and sent the girls on home. But it was impossible to keep the existence of the dead body quiet and soon a muckraking radio talk show host began telling distorted stories about the girls, smearing their relatives in the process. He accused the wealthy man of stealing money and cheating people back in Lithuania. Another problem has V.I. troubled. An old friend from the past with whom she had more or less lost touch called and said she had to talk with her. But before they could have a meeting, the woman either jumped or fell from a balcony in a church and was now in a coma. There are many plots and subplots leading the reader through this complicated but fascinating book. V.I. goes from the home of great wealth to an insane asylum outside of Chicago following the stories There are more murders. The other girls are clearly in danger. With red herrings and distractions, the reader is never sure where the story is going until, in the denouement, all is revealed. V.I. is stubborn and relentless, although concern for her own life and limb makes her cautious at times. She is a strong woman who goes her own way undeterred by threats even though she is careful how she does it. She has faults and weaknesses, sometimes misinterpreting what she is seeing, sometimes being misled by false clues. She is protective of her cousin and by extension of the other girls. She loves the old man who has an apartment in the same building and enjoys the two dogs they share. She is a very realistic character and one that has learned and changed over the course of the books. The other characters mostly are two dimensional and exist to carry the story forward. Paretsky always brings in some contemporary issue and takes a stand on it without interfering in the story and the characters. In this book it involves that radio host who invents scandalous charges about liberals and those he distrusts or fears or simply doesn't like. His stories are outrageous, yet people believe them. He stirs the pot and has people ready to attack each other. The book takes place in Chicago, Paretsky's city, and the setting is very realistic. The reader gets a good sense of what the city is like. V.I. comes from the south side, the ethnic area, and she never forgets where she came from. She understands how the working people feel. But she can also rub shoulders with the rich and famous and does not feel inferior to them. It is a powerful city, one that V.I. resembles a great deal. The reader of this audiobook, Susan Ericksen, does a very fine job. She is able to make the listener believe in V.I. and the story she has to tell. The book is written in the first person from Warshawski's point of view so Ericksen does not have to create many different characters. The story was absorbing and complex and kept me listening carefully to the very end. § Sally Fellows is a retired history teacher with an MA in history and an avid reader of mysteries.
Reviewed by Sally A. Fellows, March 2012
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