Bad Company: A Thriller

by Sara Paretsky

International bestseller and groundbreaking icon Sara Paretsky returns with a brand new novel and character - proving once again that she's one of the pre-eminent authors in crime fiction and beyond.

To all appearances, Lily Sedako is an unexceptional retiree - a seventy-something single woman living in Chicago, her days filled with the routine tasks of normal life. But underneath that exterior, lies a remarkable past. A former CIA field agent, she spent her career in various Central Asian countries, but most notably in Hayalistan, a former USSR territory. But everything went sideways when Lily's connections to the mountain tribes resulted in her being moved to a new post and Rani, the tribal leader and first democratically elected President was removed, presumed killed, in a coup back in 2002.

All of this is long behind her when she receives an anonymous package containing a magazine with an article about Hayalistan - an article with a previously unknown photo showing Lily in the background. This was no mistake - someone out there is trying to expose Lily, after more than two decades, for reasons unknown.

Lily, however, is no one's pawn even now. Determined to find out who is behind this, how they obtained these forbidden photos, and what their goal is before she is a casualty in someone else's scheme.

Using hard won skills and personal connections from her former life, Lily is determined to unravel the machinations going on now and what really happened back in Hayalstan more than twenty years ago.

In a powerful novel about love, power, corruption, aging, trust...and revenge, Bad Company reaffirms Sara Paretsky place as one of the pre-eminent crime writers of our time.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Mystery Thriller, Thriller, Suspense, Espionage

Kindle Edition

Expected publication November 10, 2026

About the author

Sara Paretsky is a modern American author of detective fiction. Paretsky was raised in Kansas, and graduated from the state university with a degree in political science. She did community service work on the south side of Chicago in 1966 and returned in 1968 to work there. She ultimately completed a Ph.D. in history at the University of Chicago, entitled The Breakdown of Moral Philosophy in New England Before the Civil War, and finally earned an MBA from the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business. Married to a professor of physics at the University of Chicago, she has lived in Chicago since 1968.

The protagonist of all but two of Paretsky's novels is V.I. Warshawski, a female private investigator. Warshawski's eclectic personality defies easy categorization. She drinks Johnnie Walker Black Label, breaks into houses looking for clues, and can hold her own in a street fight, but also she pays attention to her clothes, sings opera along with the radio, and enjoys her sex life.

Paretsky is credited with transforming the role and image of women in the crime novel. The Winter 2007 issue of Clues: A Journal of Detection is devoted to her work.

Her two books that are non-Warshawski novels are : Ghost Country (1998) and Bleeding Kansas (2008).

Reviews

[Jenny K (on partial break)]

I could not put this book down. Believe it or not, I had never heard of this author, who seems to have written a popular series. I am a new fan.

Plot summary: Lily is a retired CIA agent, and someone sends her a copy of a New Yorker edition featuring an old picture of her from an assignment and blaming her for the woes of fictional country Hayalistan. She starts looking into how the picture got there, finding out that her field director, Jason, is trying to write a memoir and is under house arrest due to threats on his life. She takes action to figure out what's going on.

CIA analyst Marissa is tasked with finding Lily and stopping her. The CIA is pretty sinister here, and willing to kill to protect its secrets.

Lily crisscrosses the world from her hometown of Chicago to Jason in New York to Austrialia, where she can fake a vacation, to Hayalistan. There, she gets ready to expose the bad actors and get her life back.

There is a complicated plot, but it's easy to follow and tons of fun. There are a lot of characters to keep track of, and Lily does a fabulous job being the spy she was trained to be, outsmarting everyone else while she helps the down and out.

From the beginning, there was a bit of an offbeat cadence that made the story feel more real and urgent. I adored Lily and Halina, Marissa's young assistant, who's not sure which side she wants to be on. I can't believe the author made up a country and a language. I had to check if Hayalistan was real because I'd never heard of it! I also presumed she made up Lake Sargo, because there is no such stop on the Long Island Railroad. Quite creative.

I was sure this was part of a series, since there's so much backstory, but it's just presented that way. I sure hope it becomes a new series, because I can't let go of the characters!

If you love action thrillers with great plots and some humor, read this.

Thank you to NetGalley, Minotaur Books, and Sara Paretsky for the opportunity to review an advanced copy.

[Kristi Lamont]

BOOK REPORT
Received a complimentary copy of Bad Company by Sara Paretsky from St. Martin's Press | Minotaur Books/NetGalley, for which I am appreciative, in exchange for a fair and honest review. Scroll past the BOOK REPORT section for a cut-and-paste of the DESCRIPTION of it from them if you want to read my thoughts on the book in the context of that summary.

⭐ 2.75 ⭐

As hard as it might be to believe, I have never read a Sara Paretsky book before this one. Didn’t even see the V.I. Warkshawski movie starring Kathleen Turner (whom I used to idolize) that came out in 1991.

Now, to be fair, I had a lot else going on in my life back then, not the least of which was moving to Memphis, Tennessee, and working ridiculous hours in a job—and a city—I hated and living a fairly miserable personal life. But you’d think sometime along the way I’d at least have caught the flick on cable, right? Or decided to go on a binge whilst poolside one summer?

Nope.

As of this writing, I’m wishing I’d done so, because this reading experience was not completely enjoyable. Mainly because the pacing was so slow. So, so, so very slow.

S L O W

Plus, I didn’t like a lot of the characters, nor was I a super-big fan of the fictional “-stan” locale. I was shocked—like, mouth-falling-open shocked—to read about Hoover, Alabama, as another locale. I rarely think of Hoover, for good reason, and it’s only 45 minutes or so from me.

That said, it was an OK spy novel read, and it was quite obvious to me that Our Sara had herself a good ol’ time writing it. And more power to her! Also, the About This Book section was particularly interesting. As were all the parallels to real life in this bizarre timeline we seem to be on these days.

Not sure if I’ll ever read her detective series or not.

DESCRIPTION
International bestseller and groundbreaking icon Sara Paretsky returns with a brand new novel and character - proving once again that she's one of the pre-eminent authors in crime fiction and beyond.

To all appearances, Lily Sedako is an unexceptional retiree - a seventy-something single woman living in Chicago, her days filled with the routine tasks of normal life. But underneath that exterior, lies a remarkable past. A former CIA field agent, she spent her career in various Central Asian countries, but most notably in Hayalistan, a former USSR territory. But everything went sideways when Lily's connections to the mountain tribes resulted in her being moved to a new post and Rani, the tribal leader and first democratically elected President was removed, presumed killed, in a coup back in 2002.

All of this is long behind her when she receives an anonymous package containing a magazine with an article about Hayalistan - an article with a previously unknown photo showing Lily in the background. This was no mistake - someone out there is trying to expose Lily, after more than two decades, for reasons unknown.

Lily, however, is no one's pawn even now. Determined to find out who is behind this, how they obtained these forbidden photos, and what their goal is before she is a casualty in someone else's scheme.

Using hard won skills and personal connections from her former life, Lily is determined to unravel the machinations going on now and what really happened back in Hayalstan more than twenty years ago.

In a powerful novel about love, power, corruption, aging, trust...and revenge, Bad Company reaffirms Sara Paretsky place as one of the pre-eminent crime writers of our time.

[Mary Picken]

As a woman of a certain age, I can’t tell you how refreshing it is to find a kick ass protagonist in her seventies. With the notable exception of Doug Johnstone’s outstanding #Skelfs series, such novels are few and far between.

Sara Paretsky’s standalone novel, Bad Company is quite different to her V.I. Warshawski series. In this novel, her protagonist, Lily Sedako, is in her seventies. Lily is living a quiet life in Chicago after forty years as a CIA field agent. She has been pushed into retirement, her body carrying the damage of a career that called for resilience, courage and an almost pathological ability to keep going. Then an anonymous package arrives containing a magazine article and a photograph from Hayalistan, the Central Asian country where Lily spent the happiest years of her professional life. This article questions her actions of all those years ago and suggests that she betrayed the Hayaistan women she had befriended.

Lily is tough, clever, independent and stubborn, but no superhero. Her shoulder hurts. She gets tired. She knows that her body can no longer do what it did decades earlier. She has to compensate for what age has taken from her with what experience has given her. She spent years learning how to read people, improvise, disappear, listen and survive. Those skills have not disappeared.

Lily is forced to examine not just what happened, but what she was part of. She once believed that she was doing good in Hayalistan where in the guise of Cultural Attaché, she built relationships, gathered intelligence and gave a voice to people whose stories might otherwise have been ignored. She loved the culture of these people and was instrumental in introducing it to a wider world. Her relationships with local women were central to her success.

Now she has to question whether her good actions really made her part in this intelligence operation benign. The United States was not operating in Hayalistan out of altruism, and behind democracy, diplomacy and national security lurk the old, ugly appetites of money, minerals and power.

I loved the contemporary resonance of these themes. Hayalistan is fictional, but the struggle over strategic resources, foreign influence, corruption, coups and competing American, Russian and Chinese interests is not. Paretsky portrays battles fought over information, technology, resources and, crucially, the ability to control the story told about them.

When Lily goes undercover to find out why she has been maligned in this article, the CIA is on her trail. The organisation she once served now wants her silenced.
Lily’s CIA experiences were dominated by sexism and an overwhelming underestimation of her capabilities. Now she has to protect herself from former boss Bruce Weyrich, CIA analytics chief Marissa Hockney, and Halina Roman, a young analytics assistant.

Lily’s experiences are contrasted with those of Marissa and Halina. These women have operated inside the same institution but have not necessarily experienced it in the same way. They reveal different compromises and responses to a male-dominated organisation in which competence does not always protect a woman from being underestimated, sidelined or blamed. I’d have liked to have heard a little more from their perspectives, though.

Lily responded by becoming fiercely independent. She disregarded men who thought they knew better, cultivated sources they overlooked and trusted her own judgement.

Lily also made an enemy in Hayalistan, in the form of Anta, an adviser to the short lived leader, Rani, with whom Lily had formed a close relationship.
Anta’s hostility towards Lily seethed. She watched Lily enter her society, form intimate connections with its women and develop a profound attachment to Rani, the charismatic leader whose fate became entwined with the American presence in Hayalistan. To her, the American agent represented an outside power whose intentions could not be separated from the consequences of American intervention.

Anta’s antagonism embodies one of Bad Company’s most uncomfortable questions: what happens when the person who believes she is helping you is also part of the machinery that is harming you? That question is fundamental in Lily’s journey.

Lily’s access to Hayali women came partly because she listened to them when male intelligence officers could not or would not. She understood that women who were ignored by powerful men nevertheless possessed extraordinary knowledge. But there is a moral ambiguity here too. Lily’s empathy made her a better intelligence officer, yet she was still gathering information for an organisation pursuing American interests.

This is why Bad Company is more than a straightforward spy thriller. Beneath the disguises, escapes, surveillance and attempts on Lily’s life, is a novel about institutional power and the stories nations tell themselves about their own virtue.

Verdict: Paretsky’s spy thriller is fast and entertaining, with all the usual dark forces at work, but what stayed with me was Lily’s reckoning with her own past. She is not simply trying to discover who is threatening her. She is trying to discover whether the woman she remembers being was telling herself the truth.
This is what makes Bad Company a timely and fascinating thriller. In an age of disinformation, covert influence, resource wars, political manipulation and collapsing faith in institutions, the question of who controls the truth is as frightening as the question of who controls the arms. Lily is what makes this book sing. She is a fascinating protagonist and it is so good to see a 70 something woman who refuses to disappear!

[Kelly]

I haven’t read Sara Paretsky’s V.I. Warshawski series, so Bad Company is my first book by this author.

It’s a standalone novel, one of only a few she’s written, so it felt like a good place to start. It centers around the forcibly retired CIA agent Lily, who receives a magazine article in the mail in her new home of Chicago that stirs up questions about her stint posted to Hayalistan, a fictional country near Russia, and the current state of affairs in the country.

Reviled by her boss for being a woman and an unapologetic and unfeminine one at that, Lily functions around the rules during her time in Hayalistan, including getting involved with Rani, a man eventually elected to lead the country. Several years later Lily is reassigned to India, Rani is killed in a coup, and a puppet leader is put in place to allow an American businessman and his political friends ownership rights to valuable natural resources.

After receiving the article, Lily discovers that what happened in the past is continuing to happen in the present day to serve the best interests of the rich and powerful, and decides to do something about it, with few people to rely on and little resources to ensure her success. Chased by the CIA, her former employer, Lily puts the pieces together for one last op to expose greedy businessmen and corrupt officials who are wrecking havoc on the Hayalistan land and people.

While Hayalistan is a fictional country (though there’s a part of me that wishes Paretsky had set that part of the story in a real country) the idea that an oligarch would plot with members of their government to repress and poison people in a third world country, installing puppet leadership so they can control natural resources and profit mightily from it feels alarmingly real. Perhaps so much so that this is the very reason the book is set in a fictional place.

This isn’t the only alarming concern Paretsky weaves into the story, also highlighting the Agency’s quite possible disregard of Americans’ rights and freedoms in pursuit of America’s “best interests”, as well as the blatant then more casual discrimination against women and queers.

For as interesting as the plot is, the book unfolded too slowly for me, not keeping me as engaged and propelling me forward as much as I would have liked. In many regards it reminded me of reading Tom Clancy novels that built very slowly before the pace picked up towards the end of the story, though the pace never really felt like it picked up here.

This book is probably best suited for someone who’s enjoyed previous novels by Paretsky, or slow burn espionage thrillers that will have you checking your home for bugs and wondering how many pies around the world the alphabet agencies have their fingers in.

A complimentary copy of this book was provided by the publisher. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

[Martin Paul]

A gripping story about the struggle for truth and justice.

"Bad Company" opens in the present day. We meet Lily, a seventy-something former CIA agent in living in Chicago. For over forty years she was a top-level operative, with many successful ops under her belt - but she was independent and a rule-breaker, and so her bosses forced her to retire as soon as they could manage it. One day, she receives a package containing a magazine article with a photograph of a young Lily, bathing nude with a group of women - a group she had infiltrated during one of her most impressive ops in Hayalistan, one of the old Soviet republics. The image proves she herself was under surveillance and that someone wants to "out her" all these years later. Enraged, Lily sets out to uncover the photographer and why they sent it.

Soon Lily and the reader are knee-deep in an investigation that goes back four decades - to a time when the Soviet Union was still a power, and America and Russia were fighting over land and resources that would determine the future. Without the resource she used to command, Lily relies on her old skills and friends to travel to Hayalistan to slowly unpick the events of so long ago. She uncovers conspiracy, greed, fear and hatred, as she learns that things were not as she thought they were. And this is where the story really lifts off the page - as we learn about global events that were taking place, people and groups that were manoeuvring pieces on the gameboard, and those that were stuck in the middle. Although Hayalistan is fictional, the author builds a whole culture and people around which Lily's story exists, and it's both a joy and a horror to read. Likewise, as she revisits people and relationships, she has cause to question her life as a CIA agent.

This is a story about Lily, not the CIA, but the backdrop is wonderful - money, power and greed all colour the motives of those appointed to keep America safe. Lily finds herself protecting those she cares about from the very people she thought were keeping her safe.

There seems to be a growing number of books featuring female, aged spies appearing now - Tess Gerritsen, Mark Ezra, and Deanna Raybourn have all produced some fine stories recently, and the good news is that Sara Paretsky has produced another. It's a fast-moving, thought provoking story and greed, corruption and manipulation and

Heartily recommended.

[Annette]

I used to be a big fan of this author and loved her early 1980s VI Detective novels which were forerunners in the female crime genre. The lead detective was a woman who could do anything that the male detectives could do including fighting and putting herself in danger - she was not merely an assistant or secretary like in earlier books in the detective genre so I was very excited to be able to read Sara Paretsky’s latest book which is about a retired CIA agent called Lily.
Comparisons with VI are clear, both are strong independent women who can compete with the men in their fields. Both are headstrong and brave, keen to do the right thing and ensure the criminals get what they deserve, even if they have contacts in very high places.
However whereas the VI novels were fast paced and easy to read, I found Bad Company, slow moving, complicated and too political. There were many characters, in fact so many that I had trouble keeping up with them. The plot was so intricate that at times I wasn’t quite sure what was going on- I certainly speed read a few sections including the poetry parts.
I really liked Lily as a character, her cleverness and excellence at her spycraft were interesting to read about as was her post retirement life and the fact that she was still able do what she was good at well into her seventies when she decides to right a wrong perpetrated by the “Company”
This seems to be one of a plethora of novels about retired spies that are popular at the moment I have read and enjoyed several recently.
I think that this one would have benefited from being shorter and less complicated although I would probably read another book about Lily in the future as she had indeed enchanted me by the end of the book.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for my advance copy.

[Kate Baxter]

What a thrilling circuitous espionage tale. It's cat and mouse, all the way!

Retired American agent, Lily Sedako, lives a solitary life filled with tutoring teens in foreign language within Chicago. She really wasn't ready to throw in the towel but Langley had other ideas and off to Chicago to aid her aging mother Lily went. She missed the excitement of life in the field and really felt out of place in an American city. That is until she received an unmarked package with an article referencing her assignment in the early days. Furthermore, how did the writer get their hands on that photo with her in it? The photo alone got the juices running and Lily was a dog with a bone. The chase is afoot!

Ms Paretsky has written a most engaging tale of spooks within Central Asia, mining exploitation, and backroom agreements. Her protagonist covers three continents in a very brief period. The flight itinerary alone is exhausting. The writing is solid, the story engaging, and the world building is spectacular. The tension remains throughout the story. Personally, I wish I had nearly as much energy as this seventy year old retired agent. She's a pistol!

The book I received is an uncorrected copy of the book. It is my hope that the few factual and typographical errors contained therein were corrected prior to publication. Otherwise, this was a most enjoyable read.

I am grateful to Ms. Paretsky and her publisher Minotaur Books for having provided a complimentary copy of this book. Their generosity, however, has not influenced this review - the words of which are mine alone.


Publisher: Minotaur Books
Publication date: November 10, 2026
Number of Pages: 416
ISBN: 978-1250412195

[Rachel]

Lily comes out of retirement to run one last op while on the run from her former employers in U.S. intelligence, and to reexamine her legacy as a field agent and as an American in foreign lands. Throughout her career she was known as frequently impulsive and even insubordinate, but also an effective and loyal agent. She believed she was a force for good in the world and someone who could raise the voices and visibility of the marginalized peoples of Central Asia, where she was stationed. Forced to confront her complicity in the American exploitation of the people and resources of the former Soviet satellite of Hayalistan, she springs into action to expose the secret machinations of power. Lily doesn't hesitate to put her own life on the line to fight for what she believes is right, revealing the considerable skills of disguise and infiltration that she has retained into her seventies.

Bad Company is full of fiercely talented and determined women, each trying to make their own way in a world that denies them respect and agency. As a longtime fan of Paretsky's V.I. Warshawski series, I recognize these traits and admire the characters as they outwit and outplay the rich and powerful in the pursuit of justice. In addition to Lily, CIA analysts Marissa and Halina struggle with the ethics and constrictions of their roles within the intelligence power structure. And while they aren't given a narrative point of view, there are many other women of various ages in Chicago, Long Island and Hayalistan finding their voice and their power to aid Lily along the way.

[Irene S]

Sara Paretsky has given us a heroine that I cheered for. In her past retired CIA agent Lily Sedako was known for her unconventional approach to gathering information and accomplishing missions. Now in her 70's, she is concerned when she sees her picture in a magazine of a private women's religious ceremony from the past. Lily is being blamed for the coup in Hayalistan, the death of the leader Rani, and the changes to the country since the Americans won the mining concessions. Lily is angry and starts digging into who exposed this private moment. Soon the CIA is on her trail. I received a free copy of this eBook from the publisher through Netgalley. This is my honest and voluntarily given review. An exciting escape in the beginning of the book is a foreshadowing of a suspenseful and satisfying ending. At times, I found the story slowed down so much that I wanted to quit, but I'm glad that I didn't. As Lily investigates, there is a lot of detail that is essential to the story. I just needed to be more patient as the story evolved.
I really like that the story was also shown through the eyes of CIA analysts Marissa and Halina as well as a teenage girl that Lily had been trying to help. The story hits close to home with billionaires' involvement in governments and how working women were discounted at times. This is the first book that I have read by Sara Paretsky, but it won't be the last.

[Carolyn]

I received an advance copy of this book, thank you

Sara Paretsky is one of my favorite authors, and this book didn't disappoint.
There is a lot of action in this book. Lily is an older woman, ex-CIA who now volunteers at a local theater that works with youth; a far cry from her previous employment but she's quite satisfied with her life. Then one day she gets an envelope with a news article about Hayalistan, a former USSR territory and a photo taken of her and a group of women while she was there. The article seems to blame not only the US, but also her of manipulating the outcome of elections and the destiny of Hayalistan. Determined to find the source of this article, Lily dives in, and it soon becomes apparent that the CIA is determined to make sure nothing else becomes exposed.
Drawing on all her past expertise, she evades "the Company" as she digs deeper into the past and the cover up.
As I mentioned, there is a lot of action, conspiracies, trying to separate the good guys from the bad guys. Lily does us older folks proud, as she is a go getter, with a lot of skills that many underestimate.
Great read.
I enjoyed reading the author's note.

[Linden]

Lily, retired and in her 70’s, was a CIA cultural attaché for many years. Her primary posting was to central Asian Hayalistan, formerly part of the USSR. When a magazine article comes out about the country’s problems, Lily is in an accompanying photo. Even though she is unidentified, the picture was unauthorized as it was taken at a sacred women’s ceremony. Lily is desperate to learn more, so she travels to Hayalistan under an assumed name. The story of the imaginary country is fascinating, and the characters are multi faceted. Some of the locals still blame Lily for their country’s problems, seeing her as a symbol for those who are motivated by money and power. Lily is on the run—can she clear her name before she is made to disappear? An exciting thriller with well drawn characters—not VI, but similar in themes of sexism and the way in which “powerful people use their position to harm ordinary people.” Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC.

[Nancy Tice]

This was one fabulous and unexpectedly delightful book! I absolutely loved every page of it, while the dishes piled up and my family fended for themselves. It would be impossible to describe all the intricacies of the plot, which zigs and zags over four decades, and the lives of people spread from one end of the earth to the other.

I’ve never been able to get caught up in a “spy” novel, but this certainly held my interest. Perhaps it was the main character, a white-haired veteran of the CIA, who has never lost her dislike of authority and formality, while preserving her bias for the underdog. I could totally relate to a woman who worked hard be recognized by the Boys Club hierarchy in place.

It was fun to read about a woman my age, who still has cleverness and talent while consistently being discounted and lost in the crowd of old ladies who are all the same. Read this for spies, love, nasty, greedy billionaires and a wonderfully detailed country built out of thin air.

[Andy Krahling]

This one was probably closer to a 4.5 star rating -- I really enjoyed this political espionage in Central Asia. The fact that the author created this entire country, culture, fables, everything -- was astonishing in its attention to detail and its ability to create its own world, coinciding with our world. Amazing.

That's actually one of my critiques, too -- that it was a made up country. I wish we had gotten to know of of those "Stans," the countries most of us know nothing about.

My other critique is minor - when I saw the title, I, being of a certain age, immediately started humming the song of the same name by the band of the same name. Smile.

Anyways, I was engaged from the start, and I loved that we had a 75 year old heroine -- Yay!

Highly recommended.

Will I read more from the author? Yes.

I received a complimentary e-copy of the novel from the publisher and NetGalley, and my review is being left freely.

[Ryan Thompson]

Lily is in her seventies. She’s a retired CIA Field Agent.
She receives a package containing a magazine article with a photograph of a young Lily, bathing nude with a group of hayali women - a group she had ingratiated herself in during one of her most impressive ops in Hayalistan, an old Soviet republics. The image proves Lily was under surveillance.

Lily now has to revisit everything about her posting in Hayalistan. This leads Lily to go rogue and delve into her most dangerous op of her life.

Her op unravels corruption, bribes, coups and murder from those high up the chain in the intelligence service, politicians, and billionaires.

This was an intricately plotted, thrilling novel with a large cast of mainly deplorable characters and I was totally immersed in the story and the fictional country of Hayalistan.

Lily is by far the standout in this novel and I would not want to mess with her!

An enjoyable spy novel!

[Julie]

Lily is a retired CIA operative who is living in Chicago, somewhat minding her own business, spending her days translating for immigrant students in a local high school and volunteering with a young adult theater group.
Life is rolling along until it isn't.
Lily is sent an anonymous newspaper clipping of a picture of her, taken from an article,mentioning her / undercover/ work in Asia, many years previous,with the story itself implying she had a hand in the disappearance of a very rebel popular leader at that time.
When she takes off to the Asian country, in one of her many disguises and fake identities, to track down sources and background, she becomes the number one target of the CIA and all hands are on deck in trying to find her and shut down her personal quest for answers.
Great mystery with suspense, thrills and non stop mayhem.
Very good read.

[Mary]

BAD COMPANY by SARA PARETSKY
Lily’s Still Here — and fabulous! — wily and courageous, and so good at connections, reminding me a bit of Mrs. Pollifax. Her quiet volunteer work as translator for Russian students and assistant for a theater program is interrupted by the aftermath of work done decades earlier. The years and injuries have taken a toll, and webs of lies endanger her and her allies, but determination and character remain strong.
This is a complex and fascinating tale of good facing off against evil greed, using every skillful trick at hand, and I loved it. Some useful bits on disguise, respect for allies, tasks requiring a sewing kit, willingness to adapt to rough conditions . . . just reading about her travels wore me out. TV stayed off, sleep was delayed, and my mind still returns to people and scenes even after reading the satisfying and cathartic conclusion.

[Vanessa]

It is so refreshing to read a book with a sharp, capable older female lead who isn't baking pies or playing the cozy amateur sleuth.
In Bad Company, Sara Paretsky introduces Lily—a retired CIA operative wrestling with her complicated past and the heavy decisions she made while working for the Company. Lily is such a standout character. She stays physically active and relies on her sharp tradecraft, but she’s also realistic about her body, openly acknowledging the physical limitations that come with age and past injuries.
Watching her navigate the lingering fallout of her espionage days gives the plot genuine weight without sacrificing any of the tension. If you enjoy smart, character-driven thrillers with a tough, grounded mature woman at the center, definitely pick this one up!
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Gordon Johnston]

A very different novel from Sara Paretsky, best known for the Chicago based VI Warshawski series. Bad Company features retired CIA agent Lily Sedako, who spent much of her career in the central Asian republic of Hayalistan. A press report lures her back to the area, where a democratic government was previously overthrown and lucrative mining rights awarded to a US billionaire.

But what was the CIA's role in all of this? And how is a former FSB General who defected to the US involved? Lily resolves to find out - which doesn't exactly enamour her to her former employers.

The novel takes Lily across the us and back to Hayalistan, seeking the truth and facing her own history. It's a broad and sweeping story arc, complex and multi faceted. Bad Company is a long novel, but never drags and, although bordering on the improbable at times, has an element of truth at its heart.

[Debbie Jones]

This was an engaging mystery with a refreshing lead character. As a senior adult reader, I am always drawn to stories featuring active, intelligent older protagonists, and Lily absolutely delivered. A retired CIA agent, she proves that age does not diminish determination, courage, or quick thinking. I especially appreciated how she used her experience and sharp instincts to outwit and outrun both the FBI and CIA, while still feeling realistic through her aches, fatigue, and need for rest. The flashback sections slowed the pacing a bit for me, but overall this was a smart and entertaining espionage mystery. Readers who enjoy suspenseful mysteries, capable senior heroines, and a touch of spy intrigue will find a lot to enjoy here. Thanks to Minotaur and NetGalley for this ARC.

[Kathryn E Hagen]

Lily is a retired CIA agent with a problem. She’s just received an old photo of herself participating in a Full Moon ceremony in the foreign country where she used to work. No men were supposed to be present. Yet here it is in a popular magazine. Who sent it to her?

I thought the pacing of “Bad Company” was rather slow for about the first third of the book. Lily didn’t really appeal to me either. But suddenly the book became very exciting, and I thought Lily and other former CIA employees were getting an extremely raw deal. Not only was Lily in mortal danger, but a former colleague was as well.

I couldn’t put it down.

Thank you to NetGalley for the advance reader copy. This is my honest review.

[Kathleen]

In BAD COMPANY by Sara Paretsky, federal agents come looking for a woman they believe betrayed her country. The woman is seen escaping a building through the window by a group of homeless people. It turns out that her name is Lily, and she is on the run from the FBI. I want to know more.

I care about Lily and want to know what happens to her. The way Hayalisan is portrayed makes it seem like a real Muslim country. There are times I have to pay extra attention to follow this plot. I like that the chapters have titles. I also like that an older woman is having an exciting life. I look forward to reading other books written by Sara Paretsky. Thank you, St. Martin's Press and NetGalley, for the chance to read and review an advance copy of BAD COMPANY.

[Deborah]

Sara Paretsky has delivered a thrilling novel about spies, politics, love, oligarchs, and greed. Lily is in her 70s, a retired CIA operative who learns of a betrayal when a magazine publishes of a private photo from her past. She travels to Hayalistan, a former territory of USSR, where she worked many years ago and where she was involved with Rani, the leader of Hayalistan. Lily tries to learn who distributed the photo and why. But her visit ends up disturbing too many people and makes her a target of many entities.
Paretsky once again shows her brilliance in creating a complex tale with societal implications. Fans of other works by the author are sure to enjoy this exciting and riveting thriller.

#netgalley
#saraparetsky
#badcompany
#minotaurbooks
#thriller

[Likestotravel]

My rating for Bad Company oscillates between a three and a five so I’ll settle at four. At three and at five for the same reasons - complex, highly developed characters (many starting with the same letters) and detailed descriptions of the settings both in the U.S. and in the fictionalized -stan. Three rating is for too much of these and five rating is for a delightful bounty of these. Additionally three (too much) and five (well detailed) for the obsession with the past history between the CIA and the various players. Captivating, culturally dense, and creative, Bad Company is an enigma.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the opportunity to read this ARC.

[Susan]

It pains me to say this, but Bad Company was just a so-so book for me. I'm a fan of Paretsky's VI Warshawski series and expected something similar with this book. For the most part, I liked the main character, Lily Sedako, a retired CIA agent who was incredibly smart and good at her job. It was the slow pace of the book that did me in. The first chapter was great and then the story dragged until about the last third of the book. The politics were somewhat hard to follow and I got bogged down in all the characters in the fictional country. I appreciated Paretsky's author notes.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing an advance reading copy in exchange for my honest review.

[Susanne Gulde]

I received an advance reader copy from the publisher through Edelweiss. Thank you!
The publish date is scheduled for November 10, 2026.

Sara Paretsky is one of my favorite authors and I thoroughly enjoyed this new character. The plot was more thriller than I usually read, but I was taken in right away with Ms. Paretsky's writing and the characters. The book features an older main character with lots of interesting supporting characters, both young and old.
I will definitely request this book for the library when it's published in November.

[Christel Nance]

Bad Company follows Lily, a retired CIA agent after she gets a picture in the mail that could expose her.

I had a hard time keeping my interest with this until I got further invested. However it’s very in depth, and I love seeing an elderly woman seemingly done with her career on one last adventure. We get to see her work with her knowledge. That’s always a plus when it’s a topic I know nothing about.

The author is female, which isn’t as common in this kind of book. I love that because oftentimes men and women give different perspectives.

I received this ARC from NetGalley for my honest review.

[Sara Aoyama]

Absolutely phenomenal read! This is really brilliantly done. So brilliant that I had to keep telling myself that it was fiction but the line really started blurring for me as I got deeper and deeper into the book. There are so many complex components to the book and the reader does have to work a little. But the main character is so likable despite her imperfections that you can't help but become fully engaged with her mission.

Thank you to NetGalley for an advance copy of this book. I hope it shoots straight up the bestseller lists where it belongs.

[Mary C]

Lily is a retired CIA agent living quietly in Chicago until a photo from the past appears, regarding her assignment in Hayalistan. She sets out to discover who released the photo and why she is being blamed for what has happened after Rani, the tribal leader was killed. Her search for answers will uncover how far the authorities were willing to go to control the resources of Hayalistan and her determination will finally reveal what really happened.
#BadCompany #StMartinsPress #MinotaurBooks #NetGalley

[Courtney]

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an ARC for review.

I normally love Sara Paretsky and her V.I. Warshawski detective series. This standalone, though - I did not finish it. I gave up around 70%. This is a political espionage thriller following a 70ish-year-old retired CIA agent, revisiting a fictional Asian country. I don't like political thrillers; I can't keep track of the major players or issues. I just wasn't interested or engaged in the characters or plot.

[Becky]

Thank you to Goodreads for the opportunity to read Bad Company by Sara Paretsky. I really enjoyed this book. It’s the story of a retired seventy-something spy named Lily Sedako. Lily has lived a quiet retirement in Chicago until a magazine mysteriously shows up with a story tying her to a past coup in the (fictional) country of Hayalistan. Suddenly, the CIA is trying to hunt her down, forcing Lily to use her old spy skills to clear herself. It’s an exciting fast-paced thriller.