V. I. Warshawski: Fire Sale

More about the book

V. I. Warshawski returns to her old South Chicago neighborhood to coach the girls' basketball team at her former high school, encountering a diverse group of players, including gangbangers, fundamentalists, and teenage moms. Among them is young Josie Dorrado, whose mother expresses concerns about sabotage at the flag manufacturing plant where she works. With By-Smart, the largest employer on the South Side, paying even less, Ms. Dorrado fears for her family's future if the plant shuts down. Her worries come to a head when the plant explodes, injuring V. I. and killing the owner. As V. I. investigates, she confronts the Bysen family, owners of By-Smart. The patriarch, William "Buffalo Bill" Bysen, is in his eighties and struggles with his quarrelsome sons, including the frustrated Young Mr. William and his idealistic grandson, "Billy the Kid." When Billy runs away with Josie, V. I. finds herself caught between the needs of both families. As she searches for the teenagers and a ruthless murderer, she risks her own life in the treacherous underbelly of Chicago.