Review: BlackList

VI [Victoria Iphigenia] Warshawski is on an emotional rollercoaster, like many of us after Sept. 11th. For VI, it has become personal, as Morrell was in Afghanistan on assignment before Sept 11 and elected to stay afterward, first to cover the war and then to follow the attempts at a new government. It has totally messed up her ability to concentrate. Darraugh Graham is a long-time client whose 91-year-old mother insists there are lights coming from the top floor of their now vacant estate in New Solway [an enclave of the rich and private] and no one believes her. Darraugh asks VI to check it out for him, and VI needs something "physical" to do to keep her from fretting about Morrell. What she finds, while stumbling around in the dark, is a body.

Mark Whitby, until the night of his death by drowning in a weed-choked ornamental pool, was a journalist. With no car in sight anywhere, and no plausible explanation for his presence at the long-abandoned estate, VI is not buying the local police department's theory that he committed suicide. Mark's sister asks VI to investigate, and therein, of course, hangs the tale. VI's investigation take her back 50 years, into the machinations of the New Solvay residents, the McCarthy hearings, the paranoia of the 50s and the paranoia of today. One client wants her to stop, immediately, and quit upsetting his mother. The other client wants to know why her brother is dead.

This has to be Paretsky's most complex storyline to date, and VI's sandpaper personality isn't helping her with this one, but her determination to unearth the truth at all costs keeps her going and puts her in jeopardy - not only from the killer with a buried secret, but from the FBI and their overzealous interpretation of the Patriot Act. Caught in the line of fire between the ultraconservative son of one of the city's more visible liberals and both clients, VI manages to have three police departments and government agents all after her. Paretsky's ability to tie it all into one constantly evolving plot AND take on the Patriot Act is awesome. If this one doesn't make you sit down and THINK, there's something wrong. And when you do think about it, and where we may be heading, you may be just as concerned as Warshawski and Paretsky - at least I hope so! Blacklist deserves to be a blockbuster hit and should be required reading.

Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Webspinner - RAM

Book Review: BlackList