V.I. Warshawski: Blacklist

More about the book

Every new Sara Paretsky novel is an event, offering readers the chance to reconnect with her beloved heroine, V. I. Warshawski, described as "a private eye with the sharpest tongue and hardest head in Chicago" (The New York Times Book Review). This installment is particularly compelling, weaving a narrative of secrets and betrayals spanning four generations—political, social, sexual, and financial, all potentially lethal. In the wake of 9/11, V.I. takes on a request from an old client to check an empty family mansion. She unexpectedly encounters an intruder, leading to a chase that results in her falling into a pond. In her frantic grasp for support, she discovers a lifeless hand belonging to a reporter who had been probing events from the McCarthy era. This discovery pulls her into the intertwined histories of two prominent Chicago families, marked by blood, sex, money, and lingering scandals that may involve murder. Concurrently, she becomes entangled in the case of a missing Egyptian boy with potential terrorist ties, making him a target for government interest. As the two cases converge, V.I. finds herself in increasingly dangerous situations, revealing that wealth and privilege come with a heavy toll, and the past is rife with patriotic scoundrels. By the end, at least two lives will be lost, and V.I. may become one of them.