Sara Paretsky: Detective fiction as trauma literature

by Cynthia Hamilton

Sara Paretsky is known for her influential V.I. Warshawski series, which transformed the masculine hard-boiled detective formula into a vehicle for feminist values. But Paretsky does more than this. Her novels also illustrate the extent to which detective fiction acts as a literature of trauma, allowing Paretsky to address the politics of agency in ways that go beyond the personal, for trauma always has a social and a political dimension. Paretsky’s work also exploits the way detective fiction mirrors the writing of history. Here, Paretsky uses the form to expose the partiality of historical accounts – whether they be personal, institutional, or national – that authorise ‘forgetting’ of a particularly insidious kind. Significantly, all these issues are explored within the framework of the traditional hard-boiled detective novel. As a result, Paretsky’s achievement forces us to acknowledge the deeply subversive potential of detective fiction.

200 pages, Hardcover

First published June 1, 2015

About the author

Cynthia Hamilton started writing 2000 as a means of coping with a debilitating illness. Writing gave her lifeline and a way to channel her overly-active imagination. Late-stage Lyme disease turned out to be a blessing in disguise, giving her a career she never imagined for herself, one that constantly inspires her.

Cynthia writes in a variety of genres: mysteries/general fiction/memoir. She is currently working on the 9th book in the Madeline Dawkins Mystery Series, and is still finding tremendous inspiration from her protagonist.

FINDING RUTH, the book she wrote to understand her mother's life from her POV, was the 1st Place Winner in the Firebird Book Awards in the Women's Fiction and Relationships categories.

Cynthia recently attended a book signing Q & A at Chaucer's Bookstore in Santa Barbara. You can click on the link below to watch the interview:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mEaLu...

During an interview on SPEAK UP TALK RADIO hosted by Pat Rullo, she spoke about her books and the role writing has played in her life:

https://www.speakuptalkradio.com/cynt...

Cynthia lives in Santa Barbara, California with her husband and their extended family. She loves reading, writing, discussing books with other book lovers, and walking for hours, especially on the beach. She considers herself immensely fortunate.

You can also find her at http://cynthiahamiltonbooks.com, Twitter (@AuthorCynthiaH), and Facebook: http://bit.ly/2IDnLcF