Synopses & Reviews
"Vic is at her stubborn, reckless, compassionate best in this complicated page-turner about selfish secrets passed down through generations. Paretsky has been on a roll lately, her long-running, trailblazing series at its most dynamic since the early days." Booklist on Critical Mass
New York Times-bestselling author Sara Paretskys brilliant protagonist V.I. Warshawski returns in another hard-hitting entry, combining razor-sharp plotting and compelling characters with a heady mix of timely political and social themes.
V.I. Warshawskis closest friend in Chicago is the Viennese-born doctor Lotty Herschel, who lost most of her family in the Holocaust. Lotty escaped to London in 1939 on the Kindertransport with a childhood playmate, Kitty Saginor Binder. When Kittys daughter finds her life is in danger, she calls Lotty, who, in turn, summons V.I. to help. The daughters troubles turn out to be just the tip of an iceberg of lies, secrets, and silence, whose origins go back to the mad competition among America, Germany, Japan and England to develop the first atomic bomb. The secrets are old, but the people who continue to guard them today will not let go of them without a fight.
Review
Praise for Sara Paretsky BREAKDOWN
“Riveting…Warshawski once again proves a dogged champion for the truth at any cost.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“Both Paretsky and she sharp-tongued justice-seeker, V.I. Warshawski, remain formidable in the masterfully suspenseful fifteenth novel in this superb and adored Chicago-set series. … V.I. reigns as crime fictions spiky, headstrong warrior woman of conscience, and Paretsky, classy champion of the powerless, has never been more imaginative, rueful, transfixing, and righteous.”—Booklist (starred review)
“Plotted with all Paretskys customary generosity, this standout entry harnesses her heroines righteous anger to some richly deserving targets, all linked together in a truly amazing finale.”— Kirkus (starred review)
“What really matters in a Sara Paretsky mystery are the crimes behind the crimes ¬- the corrupt politics, the class divisions, the economic inequities, the dirty business practices and all the other injustices that incite the wicked deeds we love to read about. Breakdown takes its first crack at a soft target: a cult series of lurid vampire novels that sends a group of impressionable pre-teenage girls into a graveyard to perform a giddy initiation ritual for their book club. But once V.I. Warshawski, the intrepid private eye who sees herself as “a street fighter, a product of the mills and ethnic wars of Chicagos Steel City,” has rescued the girls from the trauma of discovering the murder victim, the true villains come into sharper focus.”—Marilyn Stasio,The New York Times
“One of the many pleasures of Sara Paretskys V.I. Warshawski novels is that the sharp-tongued, short-tempered detective often seems to be following clues that lead not just to the heart of whatever mystery is at hand, but also into the red-hot center of the zeitgeist itself… the dialogue is sharp, the satire of politics and media intuitions downrightbiting, and the descriptions hilarious.”— L.A. Times
Synopsis
Sixteen-year-old Consuelo Alvarado is diabetic, pregnant, and the daughter of V.I.'s friend. When the girl goes into labor too early, even Warshawski's wild drive to the hospital can't save the young mother or her child. V.I. tries to make sense of the tragedy by investigating possible malpractice at the ER. When she falls for a doctor who works there, V.I. soon discovers that mixing work and love can be bad medicine.
Synopsis
Private eye V.I. Warshawski finds herself up against rampant corruption in the city of Chicago in the fourth novel in Sara Paretsky's New York Times bestselling series. V.I. Warshawski knows her friend Consuelo's pregnancy is already risky--she's sixteen and diabetic--but when the baby arrives prematurely, suddenly two lives are at stake. Despite V.I.'s efforts to provide Consuelo with proper care, both mother and daughter die in the local hospital. Suspecting malpractice, V. I. begins an investigation--and a reluctant romance with an ER doctor. But deadly complications arise when a series of vicious murders and an attack on a women's clinic lead her to suspect a cold-blooded cover-up. And if V.I. isn't careful, she just might have delivered her final case...
Synopsis
New York Times bestselling author Sara Paretsky's fourth V.I. Warshawski novel Private eye V.I. Warshawski knows her friend Consuelo's pregnancy is already risky-she's sixteen and diabetic. Despite V.I.'s efforts to provide Consuelo with proper care, both mother and daughter die in the local hospital. Suspecting malpractice, V.I. begins an investigation- and a reluctant romance with an ER doctor. But deadly complications arise when a series of vicious murders and an attack on a women's clinic lead her to suspect a cold-blooded cover-up. And if V.I. isn't careful, she just might have delivered her final case...
Synopsis
V.I. Warshawskis closest friend in Chicago is the Viennese-born doctor Lotty Herschel, who lost most of her family in the Holocaust. Lotty escaped to London in 1939 on the Kindertransport with a childhood playmate, Kitty Saginor Binder. When Kittys daughter finds her life is in danger, she calls Lotty, who, in turn, summons V.I. to help. The daughters troubles turn out to be just the tip of an iceberg of lies, secrets, and silence, whose origins go back to the mad competition among America, Germany, Japan and England to develop the first atomic bomb. The secrets are old, but the people who continue to guard them today will not let go of them without a fight.
Synopsis
New York Times-bestselling author Sara Paretskys brilliant protagonist V.I. Warshawski returns in another hard-hitting entry, combining razor-sharp plotting and compelling characters with a heady mix of timely political and social themes.
V.I. Warshawski’s closest friend in Chicago is the Viennese-born doctor Lotty Herschel, who lost most of her family in the Holocaust. Lotty escaped to London in 1939 on the Kindertransport with a childhood playmate, Kitty Saginor Binder. When Kitty’s daughter finds her life is in danger, she calls Lotty, who, in turn, summons V.I. to help. The daughter’s troubles turn out to be just the tip of an iceberg of lies, secrets, and silence, whose origins go back to the mad competition among America, Germany, Japan and England to develop the first atomic bomb. The secrets are old, but the people who continue to guard them today will not let go of them without a fight.
About the Author
Sara Paretsky is the author of nineteen books, including her renowned V. I. Warshawski novels. She was named 2011 Grand Master by the Mystery Writers of America, and is also the recipient of the Cartier Diamond Dagger Award given by the British Crime Writers Association. She lives in Chicago.