Book Review: BlackList

Reviewed By: Woodstock - RAM

[3.5 stars]

BlackList Amazon US PB Amazon US HC Amazon Canada PB Amazon Canada HC
Sara Paretsky
Class/Genre: Mystery Private Investigator Woman Main Character
Series: V.I. Warshawski # 12

V I Warshawski is one of the most popular protagonists in today's suspense fiction featuring private investigators. Somehow I have managed to miss earlier installments in this series, so I was eager to be introduced to this well known heroine.

The action takes place in the months immediately following Sept 11, 2001. Warshawki's lover Morell, a reporter working in Afghanistan is out of touch, due to the tenous nature of phone & Email connections where he is working. Her worry and concern for him function as a backdrop to the chaotic nature of her latest investigation.

Warshawski is first engaged to placate the elderly matriarch of a wealthy family, who has been complaining of mysterious lights appearing in the attic of an unhabited mansion located near the apartment complex where she resides. But the action quickly expands when Warshawski discovers a dead body near the mansion, and is engaged by his family to find his killer after the police hint at suicide.

The plot involves a young Egyptian man hiding from authorities, a spoiled high school student from a wealthy family, secrets carried over from the McCarthy era blacklists of suspected communists, a journalist's investigation into these secrets, a wintry escape into northern Wisconsin, and a multiple murderer who may or may not escape prosecution.

I wasn't always able to follow the twists and turns Paretsky builds into the action and I had difficulty maintaining concentration. I would be interested to read earlier installments in this series and give Warshaski another chance to demonstrate why she is so popular.

Woodstock - RAM

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

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