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V.I. Warshawski #17
Brush Back
Chicago’s V. I. Warshawski confronts crooked politicians and buried family secrets in this gritty mystery from New York Times bestselling author Sara Paretsky.
No one would accuse V. I. Warshawski of backing down from a fight, but she’d happily avoid tangling with Chicago political bosses. Yet that’s what she ends up doing when she responds to a plea for help from an old high school flame, Frank Guzzo.
Frank’s mother Stella was convicted of killing his kid sister, but now that she’s out of prison, she’s looking for exoneration. Even though the Warshawskis and Stella never got along, V. I. agrees to make a few inquiries after she sees how hard life has been on Frank and her other childhood friends.
Only, that small favor leads her straight into the vipers’ nest of Illinois politics—and soon her main question isn’t about Stella’s case but whether or not she’ll make it out of this investigation alive...
A Washington Post Best Mystery of 2015
No one would accuse V. I. Warshawski of backing down from a fight, but she’d happily avoid tangling with Chicago political bosses. Yet that’s what she ends up doing when she responds to a plea for help from an old high school flame, Frank Guzzo.
Frank’s mother Stella was convicted of killing his kid sister, but now that she’s out of prison, she’s looking for exoneration. Even though the Warshawskis and Stella never got along, V. I. agrees to make a few inquiries after she sees how hard life has been on Frank and her other childhood friends.
Only, that small favor leads her straight into the vipers’ nest of Illinois politics—and soon her main question isn’t about Stella’s case but whether or not she’ll make it out of this investigation alive...
A Washington Post Best Mystery of 2015
459 pages, Hardcover
First published July 16, 2015
585 people are currently reading
2236 people want to read
About the author
Sara Paretsky
271 books2,370 followersSara 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).
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).
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 512 reviews
July 30, 2020
Brush Back is the 17th book in the VI Warshawski series written by Sara Paretsky. The book was published in 2015 and focuses on a Chicago-based female private-eye in the 90s. The series began in the 80s (if I remember properly) and covers all the cases VI handles. In most of them, she's beaten to a bloody pulp and almost dies. As individual books, they're fantastic. As a series, given all the times she's physically hurt, the woman must be bionic by now -- and this is not a science-fiction series. That said, I do adore them, and will keep reading the series. I have two more to catch up on before the next one releases in 2020. Onward we go...
Politics. Old Cases. Family Matters. Protecting those you love. VI's high school boyfriend comes out of the woodwork, appealing for her support now that his mother has been paroled from prison after 25 years. She killed her own daughter but claims she didn't. Who framed her years ago? As VI combs through all the old police files and court records, she learns many new facts. The woman's lawyer didn't do a very good job. Her daughter was hiding something that no one knew about. The major political players in Illinois were somehow involved. The Chicago Cubs were also inctricately woven into the story. Which one of these characters truly killed the poor girl? VI must find out, but this time, she's personally involved. The woman released from jail claims VI's cousin, Boom Boom, who died years ago, was the true guilty party.
This was one of my favorites. It had everything you want in a thriller, including a 60-page chase scene where you can't imagine how VI gets herself into Wrigley Field and almost dies. I was certain this was the last book with her, and that some other lead would emerge. She has more lives than a cat and its herd of unruly kittens. There were definitely a few niggles (to use a fave word of a good friend), but overall, if you look past those, this story unfolded with a huge volume of complex layers to keep you constantly guessing. I admit to being disappointed in the ending, hence why I give it 4.5 stars. I'll round up on this one because I've rounded down on the last few Paretsky novels. Ultimately, we see vengeance against some of the bad guys, but there were a few other scenes I really wanted to see in the end.
Stella, the woman who was put in prison for a crime she swore she didn't commit, never had a final confrontation with VI. I didn't need an apology (Stella treated VI like crap even tho she wanted her help) but some sort of finality. Someone flirting with VI (who I initially liked) never came full circle. And that priest!!! He was an arrogant man, and he needed a comeuppance. I'm almost talking myself into a 4 star rating here... but I'll let it go. I felt lots of angst and thrills, so I stand by the higher rating. It's just not quite perfect. A great read, yet not one to read first in the series. It's 500 pages of utter confusion (in a good way) and might be too much for someone new to the series. But once you get to know VI, you'll love her.
Politics. Old Cases. Family Matters. Protecting those you love. VI's high school boyfriend comes out of the woodwork, appealing for her support now that his mother has been paroled from prison after 25 years. She killed her own daughter but claims she didn't. Who framed her years ago? As VI combs through all the old police files and court records, she learns many new facts. The woman's lawyer didn't do a very good job. Her daughter was hiding something that no one knew about. The major political players in Illinois were somehow involved. The Chicago Cubs were also inctricately woven into the story. Which one of these characters truly killed the poor girl? VI must find out, but this time, she's personally involved. The woman released from jail claims VI's cousin, Boom Boom, who died years ago, was the true guilty party.
This was one of my favorites. It had everything you want in a thriller, including a 60-page chase scene where you can't imagine how VI gets herself into Wrigley Field and almost dies. I was certain this was the last book with her, and that some other lead would emerge. She has more lives than a cat and its herd of unruly kittens. There were definitely a few niggles (to use a fave word of a good friend), but overall, if you look past those, this story unfolded with a huge volume of complex layers to keep you constantly guessing. I admit to being disappointed in the ending, hence why I give it 4.5 stars. I'll round up on this one because I've rounded down on the last few Paretsky novels. Ultimately, we see vengeance against some of the bad guys, but there were a few other scenes I really wanted to see in the end.
Stella, the woman who was put in prison for a crime she swore she didn't commit, never had a final confrontation with VI. I didn't need an apology (Stella treated VI like crap even tho she wanted her help) but some sort of finality. Someone flirting with VI (who I initially liked) never came full circle. And that priest!!! He was an arrogant man, and he needed a comeuppance. I'm almost talking myself into a 4 star rating here... but I'll let it go. I felt lots of angst and thrills, so I stand by the higher rating. It's just not quite perfect. A great read, yet not one to read first in the series. It's 500 pages of utter confusion (in a good way) and might be too much for someone new to the series. But once you get to know VI, you'll love her.
May 26, 2019
Number 17 in this series and one of the best too. Over 450 pages just slid past. Vic Warshawski was in top form.
The story begins with Vic being dragged back into her past by various crazy people but then extends to dealings with the mob, several murders and shootings and the abduction of her favourite niece. So much was happening that it was difficult to put the book down. Of course Vic herself gets shot at and beaten up but she bounces back.
I like that the author keeps many of the main characters the same from book to book. We have a little family now of Vic, Jake, Mr Contreras, Peppy and Mitch which works really well. All good and I am looking forward to the next book already!
The story begins with Vic being dragged back into her past by various crazy people but then extends to dealings with the mob, several murders and shootings and the abduction of her favourite niece. So much was happening that it was difficult to put the book down. Of course Vic herself gets shot at and beaten up but she bounces back.
I like that the author keeps many of the main characters the same from book to book. We have a little family now of Vic, Jake, Mr Contreras, Peppy and Mitch which works really well. All good and I am looking forward to the next book already!
May 27, 2019
VI Warshawski is my favorite detective because she is a hard core Chicagoan and has an apartment a stone's throw from Wrigley Field. I have read every book in the series and was so excited when this book came out because the Cubs and Wrigley Field were to play a vital part in the book. On that regard Sara Paretsky did not disappoint.
In this installment, V I's ex ex ex boyfriend Frank Guzzo seeks out her services to solve the murder of his sister Annie which took place 25 years earlier. V I could not stand Frank's mother but complicating the situation was that he happened to be her late cousin Boom Boom's best friend. Additionally, V I's late mother had taken Annie under her wing and encouraged her to follow in V I's footsteps and attend the University of Chicago. Reluctantly, V I takes on the case. As the plot develops, the usual cast of characters emerge. Paretsky long ago developed a formula that works so the book follows the usual path. Yet, because this mystery features Chicago politics, the Blackhawks, and the Cubs, I stayed with it until the end.
VI in this book questions how long she is going to keep fighting crime. I think many loyal readers wonder the same thing. Enter Bernadine Bouchard, Boom Boom's g-d daughter who is visiting Chicago to see if she will attend Northwestern on a hockey scholarship. Of course, she gets involved in Vic's cases. And it made me think, will Bernie take over VI's work load, allowing Vic to ease up and enjoy a semi retirement. Or at least work as an assistant. The possibilities are endless. Until Sara Paretsky churns out the next installment of V I Warshawski, we are left pondering that very question.
In this installment, V I's ex ex ex boyfriend Frank Guzzo seeks out her services to solve the murder of his sister Annie which took place 25 years earlier. V I could not stand Frank's mother but complicating the situation was that he happened to be her late cousin Boom Boom's best friend. Additionally, V I's late mother had taken Annie under her wing and encouraged her to follow in V I's footsteps and attend the University of Chicago. Reluctantly, V I takes on the case. As the plot develops, the usual cast of characters emerge. Paretsky long ago developed a formula that works so the book follows the usual path. Yet, because this mystery features Chicago politics, the Blackhawks, and the Cubs, I stayed with it until the end.
VI in this book questions how long she is going to keep fighting crime. I think many loyal readers wonder the same thing. Enter Bernadine Bouchard, Boom Boom's g-d daughter who is visiting Chicago to see if she will attend Northwestern on a hockey scholarship. Of course, she gets involved in Vic's cases. And it made me think, will Bernie take over VI's work load, allowing Vic to ease up and enjoy a semi retirement. Or at least work as an assistant. The possibilities are endless. Until Sara Paretsky churns out the next installment of V I Warshawski, we are left pondering that very question.
August 19, 2020
"“Look, padre: I came here reluctantly after Frank Guzzo fed me a line about his mother. I have no idea what he hoped I would do, but I’m quite sure it isn’t what he asked me to do. The fact that people are getting perturbed by my presence has to do with the volcano of secrets they’re afraid will erupt if they get off the crater that’s opening below them, not with my climbing up the mountainside."
We fans of “Vic” Warshawski have been taken on an up and down ride by Paretsky through 16 novels and more short stories. Sometimes it seems that we are getting more Paretsky and less Warshawski.
For those of us intrigued about how Vic grew up on the Southeast Side of Chicago, there is a lot of new information, as she is drawn into a case that affected her family, including her beloved mother and cousin “Boom-Boom,” star hockey player for the Chicago Blackhawks who was murdered in book two.
This is the Vic we have chosen to ride with when she tries to uncover the truth:
"“You’re speculating,” he protested. “That’s why you make people unhappy. You make up stories about them that you have no way of proving.”
“It’s the way I work as a detective: I make up stories to see which ones cover the most facts."
The comforting constant is how well Paretsky knows Chicago and can bring to life its venues and its tribulations. Here are two examples:
The first on “home turf:”
"My route north took me past St. Eloy’s, the church where Stella and my aunt Marie and hundreds of steelworkers used to worship—Eloy was the patron of metalworkers. On an impulse, I pulled over to the curb and got out. I’d gone to funerals here as a child. The foul air we all breathed, the smoking all the men and most of the women did, and the unforgiving heavy machinery created a lot of orphans."
The second, Wrigley Field, home of the Chicago Cubs:
"The grass was greener than it had been a week ago. The thick vines along the outfield wall were starting to turn green. I was facing the bleachers, where Boom-Boom and I used to climb the back wall and scramble into the seats—after sneaking onto the L by shinnying up the girders. We didn’t have any pocket money, but I guess that’s no excuse for a life of crime."
And we must remember that in Chicago (as well as Illinois in general) politics is the big sport with much to gain or lose: "In my own lifetime, four Illinois governors have gone to prison for fraud. As has the mayor of Cicero, numerous Cook County judges, Chicago aldermen, and state and federal representatives."
The initial investigation, predictably, becomes a multi-colored ball of yarn where each strand must be identified and separated. This is what our P.I. does for a living, and in this book it is a pretty enjoyable (and at times thrilling) enterprise.
Some of the previous V.I. Warshawski books have been more preachy than entertaining. That could have happened here with topics like “environmental justice” or “pay day loans”; but it didn’t. If this book isn’t the greatest, its because we (like Vic's doctor, Lottie) have had to see her beaten to a pulp more than once before she can track down the bad guys.
I was hoping for better, but will be almost content with this effort.
We fans of “Vic” Warshawski have been taken on an up and down ride by Paretsky through 16 novels and more short stories. Sometimes it seems that we are getting more Paretsky and less Warshawski.
For those of us intrigued about how Vic grew up on the Southeast Side of Chicago, there is a lot of new information, as she is drawn into a case that affected her family, including her beloved mother and cousin “Boom-Boom,” star hockey player for the Chicago Blackhawks who was murdered in book two.
This is the Vic we have chosen to ride with when she tries to uncover the truth:
"“You’re speculating,” he protested. “That’s why you make people unhappy. You make up stories about them that you have no way of proving.”
“It’s the way I work as a detective: I make up stories to see which ones cover the most facts."
The comforting constant is how well Paretsky knows Chicago and can bring to life its venues and its tribulations. Here are two examples:
The first on “home turf:”
"My route north took me past St. Eloy’s, the church where Stella and my aunt Marie and hundreds of steelworkers used to worship—Eloy was the patron of metalworkers. On an impulse, I pulled over to the curb and got out. I’d gone to funerals here as a child. The foul air we all breathed, the smoking all the men and most of the women did, and the unforgiving heavy machinery created a lot of orphans."
The second, Wrigley Field, home of the Chicago Cubs:
"The grass was greener than it had been a week ago. The thick vines along the outfield wall were starting to turn green. I was facing the bleachers, where Boom-Boom and I used to climb the back wall and scramble into the seats—after sneaking onto the L by shinnying up the girders. We didn’t have any pocket money, but I guess that’s no excuse for a life of crime."
And we must remember that in Chicago (as well as Illinois in general) politics is the big sport with much to gain or lose: "In my own lifetime, four Illinois governors have gone to prison for fraud. As has the mayor of Cicero, numerous Cook County judges, Chicago aldermen, and state and federal representatives."
The initial investigation, predictably, becomes a multi-colored ball of yarn where each strand must be identified and separated. This is what our P.I. does for a living, and in this book it is a pretty enjoyable (and at times thrilling) enterprise.
Some of the previous V.I. Warshawski books have been more preachy than entertaining. That could have happened here with topics like “environmental justice” or “pay day loans”; but it didn’t. If this book isn’t the greatest, its because we (like Vic's doctor, Lottie) have had to see her beaten to a pulp more than once before she can track down the bad guys.
I was hoping for better, but will be almost content with this effort.
August 3, 2015
Sara Paretsky deserves more recognition than she's received for her VI (Victoria) Warshawski novels. In them, the protagonist scraps through conflict-filled situations, giving as good or better than she gets. VI is the predecessor of female protagonists like those by Stieg Larsson and Taylor Stevens. Paretsky isn't afraid to make the reader wince as VI faces off with hit men and gets injured or knocked out.
This is one of the best of the series, centered on the south side of Chicago, full of old and new family and neighborhood secrets. The underlying tone is forgiving and humane when it isn't tough and investigative.
Paretsky brings readers into the fold--it isn't necessary to have read earlier books in the series.
I especially liked the young hockey-playing Canadian character--few people understand the importance of Chicago/the Great Lakes to Canada and vice versa. Fewer still can get the Quebecois just right, as Paretsky has here. Paretsky also gets the Eastern European/Russian flavor of Chicago--for example when one of the thugs turns out to be an Uzbecki mobster.
Phrases and sentences so lyrical they are Shakespearean: "They start to spread their wings and then they fall to earth. It's hard to leave the world you know." "You sneeze on Ninetieth Street, they whip out a handkerchief on Escanaba Avenue." "whose lives had come uncoupled from their dreams" "When Jake is nervous or depressed, he plays for hours. When I'm nervous or depressed, I want to shoot people." "but poverty is an unrelenting taskmaster" "Five million people in Cook County, but only three stories: 'I wasn't there,' 'I was set up,' 'It was a Vice Lord.' "It isn't really true that vodka is odorless, it just doesn't smell as noticeably as scotch or rum." "They snarled a little, but that was just a reflex."
Paretsky has done much for her fellow writers, both as president of Mystery Writers of America, but more especially as the founder of Sisters in Crime, a mystery readers/authors' group. At a time when women mystery authors weren't getting reviewed, Sisters in Crime made it a mission to start counting, comparing, and reporting the difference in coverage between male and female mystery authors. It still does.
But read Brush Back for its intense yet compassionate tone and hope Sara Paretsky writes many more in this series.
Highly recommended.
This is one of the best of the series, centered on the south side of Chicago, full of old and new family and neighborhood secrets. The underlying tone is forgiving and humane when it isn't tough and investigative.
Paretsky brings readers into the fold--it isn't necessary to have read earlier books in the series.
I especially liked the young hockey-playing Canadian character--few people understand the importance of Chicago/the Great Lakes to Canada and vice versa. Fewer still can get the Quebecois just right, as Paretsky has here. Paretsky also gets the Eastern European/Russian flavor of Chicago--for example when one of the thugs turns out to be an Uzbecki mobster.
Phrases and sentences so lyrical they are Shakespearean: "They start to spread their wings and then they fall to earth. It's hard to leave the world you know." "You sneeze on Ninetieth Street, they whip out a handkerchief on Escanaba Avenue." "whose lives had come uncoupled from their dreams" "When Jake is nervous or depressed, he plays for hours. When I'm nervous or depressed, I want to shoot people." "but poverty is an unrelenting taskmaster" "Five million people in Cook County, but only three stories: 'I wasn't there,' 'I was set up,' 'It was a Vice Lord.' "It isn't really true that vodka is odorless, it just doesn't smell as noticeably as scotch or rum." "They snarled a little, but that was just a reflex."
Paretsky has done much for her fellow writers, both as president of Mystery Writers of America, but more especially as the founder of Sisters in Crime, a mystery readers/authors' group. At a time when women mystery authors weren't getting reviewed, Sisters in Crime made it a mission to start counting, comparing, and reporting the difference in coverage between male and female mystery authors. It still does.
But read Brush Back for its intense yet compassionate tone and hope Sara Paretsky writes many more in this series.
Highly recommended.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 29, 2015
Stella! Talk about a blast from the past, and not a pleasant one, at that. Stella Guzzo is the mother Frank Guzzo, a former high school flame of private detective V.I. Warshawski from her childhood Southside Chicago neighborhood. Stella has just been released from prison after serving 25 years for murdering her daughter Annie, and now Frank wants V.I.’s help exonerating his ma, who says that yes, she did hit Annie, but she was still alive when she left to play bingo. She blames none other than V.I.’s late cousin, former pro hockey great, Boom Boom Warshawski. Hang on to your baseball caps, Sara Paretsky fans. Reading Brush Back, the 17th V.I. Warshawski novel, is like following a 162-game season.
Enter V.I.’s goddaughter, Bernie, who is staying with “Vic” while checking out colleges and Northwestern’s hockey camp. Yes, Bernie can be an annoying, whiny teenager, but she’s not a bad kid. And she has a cute French Canadian accent. She insists that Vic keep plugging away to clear Boom Boom’s name. There are bad guys galore in this extra-inning affair. Some of them are dead and can’t be questioned. Others claim that the events took place too long ago, and either they don’t recall or the trial transcripts do not exist. At one point, V.I. does a genealogy search and finds that several of the parties are related to one another. This is Chicago, after all, where politics equals nepotism and corruption. What if Stella really didn’t kill Annie? What if Boom Boom didn’t either?
The plot is about as complicated as a multi-generational family tree too. Although many of the chapters have clever baseball titles, and the story has baseball flair and some Wrigley field scenes, there was the hockey angle slapped in, making it something of a mixed metaphorical marvel. A secondary plot comes along later, bringing another vexing, distressed young woman, Viola, to Vic’s door. Is it really a separate case, or is it somehow related to Annie’s death?
V.I. is still V.I. She’s a working class P.I. She’s sarcastic. She liberally bends the rules; okay, she breaks them too. She gets clobbered in so many “rhubarbs” that it’s amazing she’s still alive. Despite the “brush back” pitches, she’s tenacious when she’s on a case, even when she knows she may not get paid or find the answers she ‘s paid to find. She wants the truth, even if – well, no, I can’t tell you that part.
There are some very unlikable characters in this book, all of them likely suspects. There’s Stella, of course, a verbally and physically abusive woman who has always envied and despised the Warshawski family. There is Stella’s former attorney, Joel Previn, an alcoholic who is a weak man and a lousy lawyer. Why was he was bullied by his bosses into taking Stella’s case? There are number of important community business leaders and a state politician who all make V.I.’s batting order of possible heavy hitters. Throw in Frank’s wife, Betty, a Catholic priest, an Uzbek mobster, a guy called Uncle Jerry, and the cops, and it is a classic V.I. case. I enjoyed trying to figure out the game, even though it went on a bit too long. You might need a seventh-inning stretch.
As a baseball fan, I got a kick out of the chapter headings and the scenes at Wrigley Field. “Brush Back” is a bit tame for the title, considering everything V.I. goes through. I admire Ms. Paretsky’s ability to put together a combination of so many colorful characters and scores of adventures and misadventures into an entertaining story. Warshawski fans will love that Vic is still loyal to her family’s memory and still has friends in her life – Jake, Mr. Contreras, the dogs, Murray, Lotty, and Max. Grab a beer and some Cracker Jacks. Cheer for V.I. Warshawski in Brush Back.
3-1/2 stars
Enter V.I.’s goddaughter, Bernie, who is staying with “Vic” while checking out colleges and Northwestern’s hockey camp. Yes, Bernie can be an annoying, whiny teenager, but she’s not a bad kid. And she has a cute French Canadian accent. She insists that Vic keep plugging away to clear Boom Boom’s name. There are bad guys galore in this extra-inning affair. Some of them are dead and can’t be questioned. Others claim that the events took place too long ago, and either they don’t recall or the trial transcripts do not exist. At one point, V.I. does a genealogy search and finds that several of the parties are related to one another. This is Chicago, after all, where politics equals nepotism and corruption. What if Stella really didn’t kill Annie? What if Boom Boom didn’t either?
The plot is about as complicated as a multi-generational family tree too. Although many of the chapters have clever baseball titles, and the story has baseball flair and some Wrigley field scenes, there was the hockey angle slapped in, making it something of a mixed metaphorical marvel. A secondary plot comes along later, bringing another vexing, distressed young woman, Viola, to Vic’s door. Is it really a separate case, or is it somehow related to Annie’s death?
V.I. is still V.I. She’s a working class P.I. She’s sarcastic. She liberally bends the rules; okay, she breaks them too. She gets clobbered in so many “rhubarbs” that it’s amazing she’s still alive. Despite the “brush back” pitches, she’s tenacious when she’s on a case, even when she knows she may not get paid or find the answers she ‘s paid to find. She wants the truth, even if – well, no, I can’t tell you that part.
There are some very unlikable characters in this book, all of them likely suspects. There’s Stella, of course, a verbally and physically abusive woman who has always envied and despised the Warshawski family. There is Stella’s former attorney, Joel Previn, an alcoholic who is a weak man and a lousy lawyer. Why was he was bullied by his bosses into taking Stella’s case? There are number of important community business leaders and a state politician who all make V.I.’s batting order of possible heavy hitters. Throw in Frank’s wife, Betty, a Catholic priest, an Uzbek mobster, a guy called Uncle Jerry, and the cops, and it is a classic V.I. case. I enjoyed trying to figure out the game, even though it went on a bit too long. You might need a seventh-inning stretch.
As a baseball fan, I got a kick out of the chapter headings and the scenes at Wrigley Field. “Brush Back” is a bit tame for the title, considering everything V.I. goes through. I admire Ms. Paretsky’s ability to put together a combination of so many colorful characters and scores of adventures and misadventures into an entertaining story. Warshawski fans will love that Vic is still loyal to her family’s memory and still has friends in her life – Jake, Mr. Contreras, the dogs, Murray, Lotty, and Max. Grab a beer and some Cracker Jacks. Cheer for V.I. Warshawski in Brush Back.
3-1/2 stars
July 1, 2015
If you've ever spent any time on this blog, you've probably heard me speak of my love for Sara Paretsky and VI Warshawski. (If not, just trust me: they are two of my favorites.) It seems like a new VI Warshawski novel shows up just when I need it most, and this time was no exception.
I love how these novels are political. (Warning: if you are conservative, you will probably not appreciate this as much, but our politics align nicely, so...)
It's not exactly a secret that VI's family is a major sore spot for her, for lack of a better term. She loved her parents and cousin fiercely and the best way to get her to do something is to attack them. (So the fact that Stella Guzzo basically slanders all three is a majorly dumb move.) I don't want to discuss the plot too much, but it was really nice to hear more about her hockey-playing cousin Boom Boom.
My favorite part, though, is how the most recent novels are definitely set in the present but also give us a major glimpse into VI's past or Lotte's past. I love Lotte too, and more time with her is a great thing. Maybe we can get more Mr. Contreras next time; he was largely absent in this book. (That is literally my only complaint.)
Here's hoping the next two years fly by; I miss VI already.
Highly recommended.
I love how these novels are political. (Warning: if you are conservative, you will probably not appreciate this as much, but our politics align nicely, so...)
It's not exactly a secret that VI's family is a major sore spot for her, for lack of a better term. She loved her parents and cousin fiercely and the best way to get her to do something is to attack them. (So the fact that Stella Guzzo basically slanders all three is a majorly dumb move.) I don't want to discuss the plot too much, but it was really nice to hear more about her hockey-playing cousin Boom Boom.
My favorite part, though, is how the most recent novels are definitely set in the present but also give us a major glimpse into VI's past or Lotte's past. I love Lotte too, and more time with her is a great thing. Maybe we can get more Mr. Contreras next time; he was largely absent in this book. (That is literally my only complaint.)
Here's hoping the next two years fly by; I miss VI already.
Highly recommended.
July 16, 2018
Besides the clever ending which gets at the title of the book, this one was a chore to get through. At first I thought a case tying things back to VI's family, specifically her cousin Boom Boom would be great. But after a while the whole thing sounded so freaking implausible I just could not. I also hated that we get a Petra stand in (Boom Boom's goddaughter Bernie) and Mr. Contreras was maddening. We also get a return of Bobby and Conrad (bah to him, I am glad that VI finally told him to let shit go) and the whole book felt endless. I think the big problem is that there were too many moving parts that didn't make a very cohesive plot.
In "Brush Back" we have VI being asked by her ex-boyfriend (from high school) to look into his mother's murder case. More than decades has passed since Frank Guzzo's mother Stella went to jail for the murder of his sister Annie. Stella admits to beating Annie and going to bingo (as one does) but claims she was alive when she left. Things seem to be out of VI's hands after Stella refuses her help and acts like an asshole while doing so. When Stella accuses VI's dead cousin Boom Boom of murdering her daughter and her father covering it up, VI starts snooping to figure out who could have killed Annie if not Stella.
VI was rightfully riled up in this one. I like to see her mad and her investigation skills have not gotten rusty. She knows immediately her cousin could not have done this and starts pulling out threads about the Guzzo family. You also find out how hard things were for VI after her mother passed away and how some of the neighbors were jerks. I can see why she booked it out of South Chicago.
We get familiar secondary characters in this one: Lotty, Max, Bobby, Conrad, VI's tenant she shares office space with, Mr. Contreas, Jake. We also get some new characters, VI's cousin's god daughter who is obviously a Petra stand-in. I didn't like her much in this book and loathed in the next book. She ends up being a pain in the ass and costs VI in both books cause she doesn't listen and swears she knows all. I hope that Paretsky poofs her in book number 19 (Shell Game).
I have to say though the plot doesn't make a lot of sense. The why behind people trying to set up Boom Boom was dumb as hell. If you met VI even once you have to know that threatening her or her family member's memories would not make her back off. Things don't tie together nicely and I have to say the ending was very frustrating/not believable things at all. VI can't just get people to always come out and rescue her and her doing this I am an independent woman who needs no one shtick. I wish she get a partner again, but looks like we won't see that happening anytime soon.
In "Brush Back" we have VI being asked by her ex-boyfriend (from high school) to look into his mother's murder case. More than decades has passed since Frank Guzzo's mother Stella went to jail for the murder of his sister Annie. Stella admits to beating Annie and going to bingo (as one does) but claims she was alive when she left. Things seem to be out of VI's hands after Stella refuses her help and acts like an asshole while doing so. When Stella accuses VI's dead cousin Boom Boom of murdering her daughter and her father covering it up, VI starts snooping to figure out who could have killed Annie if not Stella.
VI was rightfully riled up in this one. I like to see her mad and her investigation skills have not gotten rusty. She knows immediately her cousin could not have done this and starts pulling out threads about the Guzzo family. You also find out how hard things were for VI after her mother passed away and how some of the neighbors were jerks. I can see why she booked it out of South Chicago.
We get familiar secondary characters in this one: Lotty, Max, Bobby, Conrad, VI's tenant she shares office space with, Mr. Contreas, Jake. We also get some new characters, VI's cousin's god daughter who is obviously a Petra stand-in. I didn't like her much in this book and loathed in the next book. She ends up being a pain in the ass and costs VI in both books cause she doesn't listen and swears she knows all. I hope that Paretsky poofs her in book number 19 (Shell Game).
I have to say though the plot doesn't make a lot of sense. The why behind people trying to set up Boom Boom was dumb as hell. If you met VI even once you have to know that threatening her or her family member's memories would not make her back off. Things don't tie together nicely and I have to say the ending was very frustrating/not believable things at all. VI can't just get people to always come out and rescue her and her doing this I am an independent woman who needs no one shtick. I wish she get a partner again, but looks like we won't see that happening anytime soon.
August 13, 2015
We continue to read every new private eye V.I. Warshawski novel from popular author Paretsky – but despite our penchant for leading lady crime solvers, these stories are starting to leave us dry. “Brush” is long, complicated, and full of bit characters, not to mention an interrelated double story line – but unlike most reviewers, we hardly cared a moment for anything that happened. Her temporary housemate Bernie is as irritating as the bratty cousin Petra used to be. Moreover, V.I. spends much of the book running all over South Chicago, her growing-up “hardscrabble” burg; and most of the over-the-top action is hard to swallow.
Even the plot leaves us caring little – a woman jailed for 20 years for murdering her own daughter is finally released from prison, and then starts claiming it was V.I.’s famous hockey player cousin who did the deed. V.I. is sort of hired to look into it, and then a missing person in theory somewhat related to the matter creates more uncertainty, as all manner of thugs and probably corrupt politicians stir the pot. V.I. gets mugged twice, shot at more than once -- but of course prevails over all. Plowing through some 450 pages was really not that much fun – where was the Editor when we needed one.
Even the plot leaves us caring little – a woman jailed for 20 years for murdering her own daughter is finally released from prison, and then starts claiming it was V.I.’s famous hockey player cousin who did the deed. V.I. is sort of hired to look into it, and then a missing person in theory somewhat related to the matter creates more uncertainty, as all manner of thugs and probably corrupt politicians stir the pot. V.I. gets mugged twice, shot at more than once -- but of course prevails over all. Plowing through some 450 pages was really not that much fun – where was the Editor when we needed one.
September 12, 2015
The latest entry in the V.I. Warshawski is a winner. I love that she has aged to 50 and is just as bad and thorough as she was. She suffers some aches and pains from aging but it certainly doesn't stop her. She paddles a kayak, climbs fences and explores the underbellies of Wrigley Field, home of Chicago Cubs. You go girl.
In this one, V.I. is drawn back to her childhood neighborhood in South Chicago by an ex-boyfriend, Frank. Frank's mother is just released from prison for murdering her daughter and he wants her exonerated. Frank's family has had an active dislike for V.I.'s and when the mother slanders her beloved mother and father, all bets are off. There's no way V.I. is going to take that laying down.
I love V.again. I.'s supporting cast of supporting characters including her boyfriend, Jake. The characters are vividly drawn. The story line is interesting but the outcome has no surprises. You knew who did almost immediately. Still the journey was a pleasure and loved spending time with her again.
In this one, V.I. is drawn back to her childhood neighborhood in South Chicago by an ex-boyfriend, Frank. Frank's mother is just released from prison for murdering her daughter and he wants her exonerated. Frank's family has had an active dislike for V.I.'s and when the mother slanders her beloved mother and father, all bets are off. There's no way V.I. is going to take that laying down.
I love V.again. I.'s supporting cast of supporting characters including her boyfriend, Jake. The characters are vividly drawn. The story line is interesting but the outcome has no surprises. You knew who did almost immediately. Still the journey was a pleasure and loved spending time with her again.
July 27, 2015
A good mystery writer engages the writer at the beginning, and gets the adrenaline pumping by the 75% point in the story arc. A great mystery writer grabs us by the shirt right from the get-go, ramps us up into overdrive during the first quarter of the story, and doesn’t let us go till we turn the last page, exhausted, feeling both satisfied and bereaved because the story is over. And Sara Paretsky is a great writer, every single time. She’s only gotten better with this 17th installment of the Vic Warshawski series. Thank you and thank you again (and again, and again) to Putnam-Penguin Publishers and Net Galley for the DRC. You can buy this book July 28 if you want to. And you know you do!
Vic is a working class hero, but she’s left the mean streets of the south part of Chicago behind, and when she goes back to visit, nobody who knew her when she was younger will let her forget it. But she does go back, because an old flame approaches her with a serious problem. His mother Stella is out of prison, finally. She pulled the full twenty years for murdering her daughter Annie. But now there is a possibility she really didn’t do it, and Frank wants Vic to search for the truth. Vic doesn’t like it one bit, but agrees to give him a single hour off the clock; after that, it’s the standard fee. She has bills to pay just like he does.
Things turn ugly very quickly, of course. Of course they do! But just as she is ready to wash her hands of the whole unpleasant business, the evening news picks the story up, along with insinuations that smear her own family’s legacy. Now it’s a matter of family honor; Vic is in it for keeps. Her attorney tells her to keep out of it; Lotty, who is like a second mother to Vic, tells her the same thing. Steer clear; let it go. But our detective is like a dog with a bone, and together with her family pride and reckless nature, she’s in it up to her neck again in no time.
In this installment of the Warshawski series, Paretsky has eighty-sixed young relative Petra, who visited a recent installment, and I was glad to see her go. I found her abrasive. However, young cousin Bernie, a high school student checking out colleges, is visiting, and every inch of my being understood Warshawski’s annoyance at the lack of privacy a teen in one’s home creates, and the irritation of having a young person who’s awake half the night and sleeping in the living room all damn day. I have five grown children and endless others have accepted my hospitality over various summers, and so this tidbit hit home. But Bernie is a much more agreeable sidekick than Petra was, and I hope Paretsky will find cause to bring her back in some future installment.
Another of my favorite moments was the lecture Warshawski’s mechanic treated her to when her car was stripped right down to the nub after she left in parked in a South Chicago hot spot under emergency circumstances. He recites the litany of every bad thing she has ever permitted to happen to every single car she’s owned and brought to him, and I laughed out loud as I read it. I would quote it here, but for that I am supposed to wait for the published copy to be sure it hasn’t been altered, and that won’t happen, since you need to know to order your copy right now.
In closing, there are four things you need to remember. First, don’t just pack your gun; pack enough ammunition to get you through your misadventures. Second, technology is a great boon to those that collect threatening evidence against bad guys; scan your pictures, your receipts, your photos and damning letters and put them in the Cloud where bad guys can’t get to them. Third, try to stay away from the cement mafia if at all possible. The things they do to their enemies just aren’t pretty. And fourth, in an unfair scrap when they’re bigger than you are, go for the ankles!
Oh, there’s so much more, but hey, that’s what the book itself is for. It’s not due out till the end of the month, but you can reserve your copy now. Do it!
Vic is a working class hero, but she’s left the mean streets of the south part of Chicago behind, and when she goes back to visit, nobody who knew her when she was younger will let her forget it. But she does go back, because an old flame approaches her with a serious problem. His mother Stella is out of prison, finally. She pulled the full twenty years for murdering her daughter Annie. But now there is a possibility she really didn’t do it, and Frank wants Vic to search for the truth. Vic doesn’t like it one bit, but agrees to give him a single hour off the clock; after that, it’s the standard fee. She has bills to pay just like he does.
Things turn ugly very quickly, of course. Of course they do! But just as she is ready to wash her hands of the whole unpleasant business, the evening news picks the story up, along with insinuations that smear her own family’s legacy. Now it’s a matter of family honor; Vic is in it for keeps. Her attorney tells her to keep out of it; Lotty, who is like a second mother to Vic, tells her the same thing. Steer clear; let it go. But our detective is like a dog with a bone, and together with her family pride and reckless nature, she’s in it up to her neck again in no time.
In this installment of the Warshawski series, Paretsky has eighty-sixed young relative Petra, who visited a recent installment, and I was glad to see her go. I found her abrasive. However, young cousin Bernie, a high school student checking out colleges, is visiting, and every inch of my being understood Warshawski’s annoyance at the lack of privacy a teen in one’s home creates, and the irritation of having a young person who’s awake half the night and sleeping in the living room all damn day. I have five grown children and endless others have accepted my hospitality over various summers, and so this tidbit hit home. But Bernie is a much more agreeable sidekick than Petra was, and I hope Paretsky will find cause to bring her back in some future installment.
Another of my favorite moments was the lecture Warshawski’s mechanic treated her to when her car was stripped right down to the nub after she left in parked in a South Chicago hot spot under emergency circumstances. He recites the litany of every bad thing she has ever permitted to happen to every single car she’s owned and brought to him, and I laughed out loud as I read it. I would quote it here, but for that I am supposed to wait for the published copy to be sure it hasn’t been altered, and that won’t happen, since you need to know to order your copy right now.
In closing, there are four things you need to remember. First, don’t just pack your gun; pack enough ammunition to get you through your misadventures. Second, technology is a great boon to those that collect threatening evidence against bad guys; scan your pictures, your receipts, your photos and damning letters and put them in the Cloud where bad guys can’t get to them. Third, try to stay away from the cement mafia if at all possible. The things they do to their enemies just aren’t pretty. And fourth, in an unfair scrap when they’re bigger than you are, go for the ankles!
Oh, there’s so much more, but hey, that’s what the book itself is for. It’s not due out till the end of the month, but you can reserve your copy now. Do it!
February 9, 2016
I have a great deal of affection for VI and Sara Paretsky, the author. I have read everything that Ms Paretsky has written and enjoyed all of it. In this novel, we find Vic takes such a battering that it is a wonder that she lives to fight another day. In an intricately plotted and thrilling roller coaster of a ride, the story begins with Frank, asking Vic to look into his mother, Stella's conviction for murdering her daughter, Annie. Stella is an obnoxious character who loathed the entire Warshawski Family and in particular Vic's mother. Nevertheless, Vic investigates and finds herself in South Side and the murky, ruthless and corrupt world of Chicago politics and the mob.
Vic retains her cast of friends and allies. This includes old flame Murray, Mr Contreras, Jake, Lotte, Max and the Streeter Brothers. She also has Bernie, the teenage daughter of Pierre Bouchard, staying with her. Bernie is your typical teenager in that she often acts before she thinks. Vic finds herself having to fight for her life and endeavour to protect Bernie in a dangerous trail. When it looks like the guilty parties look set to get off scot free, Vic finds herself pushed into actions in an attempt to redress the balance.
It is great to see Vic surviving. I am now looking forward to the next in the series!
Vic retains her cast of friends and allies. This includes old flame Murray, Mr Contreras, Jake, Lotte, Max and the Streeter Brothers. She also has Bernie, the teenage daughter of Pierre Bouchard, staying with her. Bernie is your typical teenager in that she often acts before she thinks. Vic finds herself having to fight for her life and endeavour to protect Bernie in a dangerous trail. When it looks like the guilty parties look set to get off scot free, Vic finds herself pushed into actions in an attempt to redress the balance.
It is great to see Vic surviving. I am now looking forward to the next in the series!
March 22, 2017
Now I have read all of Sara Paretsky's books and I am ready for her newest one, Fallout, which will be released next month, April 18, 2017!
I first read Sara Paretsky in 2005 when one of my reading groups read and discussed Fire Sale. I was hooked! I felt, and still feel, that V I Warshawski was the best female private investigator of all. I went back and started reading all her books in order.
Brush Back takes V I back into the South Side Chicago neighborhood where she grew up. An old boyfriend appears one day asking for her help in exonerating his mother Stella, who has served a 25 year stint behind bars for manslaughter. She had been convicted of murdering her own daughter, but is still claiming innocence. However, she is no victim but is in fact a violent, crazy woman and she hates V I with a passion.
As in every Sara Paretsky mystery, what seems like a small matter explodes into a trail of corruption and injustice involving white collar crime. Also as usual, the police have little interest in getting involved, leaving it up to V I to risk her life tracking down the truth.
In Brush Back a blue collar neighborhood has been gutted by the closing of the steel industry and overrun by gangs and drugs. It is being somewhat propped up by a purported do-gooder who is as corrupt as they come. V I takes plenty of flack for having left the neighborhood and having had a degree of success with her private investigator one woman business. Rather than anyone being glad to see her coming back to help, she is vilified and obstructed at every turn, even though her deceased cousin Boom-Boom is well-loved for his success as a famous hockey player.
The book is so timely. Those down-trodden South Side residents are a part of the demographic that put our current President in office. The criminal behind all the supposed "good work" he does in the neighborhood is the one who is actually driving the area further down. What is he hiding?
In these days of calls for activism, V I Warshawski is an admirable example of the dangers involved in exposing corruption, greed, and the rotten spots in city politics. I wish I was that brave. At least I read the books. Follow the money is still an important watchword.
I first read Sara Paretsky in 2005 when one of my reading groups read and discussed Fire Sale. I was hooked! I felt, and still feel, that V I Warshawski was the best female private investigator of all. I went back and started reading all her books in order.
Brush Back takes V I back into the South Side Chicago neighborhood where she grew up. An old boyfriend appears one day asking for her help in exonerating his mother Stella, who has served a 25 year stint behind bars for manslaughter. She had been convicted of murdering her own daughter, but is still claiming innocence. However, she is no victim but is in fact a violent, crazy woman and she hates V I with a passion.
As in every Sara Paretsky mystery, what seems like a small matter explodes into a trail of corruption and injustice involving white collar crime. Also as usual, the police have little interest in getting involved, leaving it up to V I to risk her life tracking down the truth.
In Brush Back a blue collar neighborhood has been gutted by the closing of the steel industry and overrun by gangs and drugs. It is being somewhat propped up by a purported do-gooder who is as corrupt as they come. V I takes plenty of flack for having left the neighborhood and having had a degree of success with her private investigator one woman business. Rather than anyone being glad to see her coming back to help, she is vilified and obstructed at every turn, even though her deceased cousin Boom-Boom is well-loved for his success as a famous hockey player.
The book is so timely. Those down-trodden South Side residents are a part of the demographic that put our current President in office. The criminal behind all the supposed "good work" he does in the neighborhood is the one who is actually driving the area further down. What is he hiding?
In these days of calls for activism, V I Warshawski is an admirable example of the dangers involved in exposing corruption, greed, and the rotten spots in city politics. I wish I was that brave. At least I read the books. Follow the money is still an important watchword.
September 29, 2015
I thought that this was, without a doubt, one of the worst books I've read in a very long time. And a complete disappointment. I have always looked forward to V.I. Warshawski's antics. In this book she bound by honor of her family and to solve an old murder, exonerating everyone in the process, her repeated efforts of getting beaten, near death too many times to remember, are somehow supposed to make this a worthwhile read. It wasn't, at least by me. It's nearly 500 pages make this a tedious tiresome read. I only completed it because I'm just one of those readers who has putting down even a lousy book.
August 26, 2015
I love Paretsky and look forward to her books.
I had a hard time with this one because the relationship between V.I. and Conrad was tedious and tiresome. Too much negativity.
V.I. was beaten up more than I could deal with it. A normal person would be dead. I don't remember as much violence in previous books. Maybe I'm getting older.
Her friendships are always solid even when they don't always agree with her.
I had a hard time with this one because the relationship between V.I. and Conrad was tedious and tiresome. Too much negativity.
V.I. was beaten up more than I could deal with it. A normal person would be dead. I don't remember as much violence in previous books. Maybe I'm getting older.
Her friendships are always solid even when they don't always agree with her.
July 31, 2015
I so look forward to new books in this series! As always, deeply and thoroughly plotted, well written, and featuring characters that you may loath, but in whom you completely believe. Excellent job yet again, Ms Paretsky!
August 2, 2015
Being completely trite (which Paretsky would never be), she knocks this one out of the park. Great story, beloved characters and completely believable, corrupt Chicago. I love to go total immersion with her Chicago set books. You can imagine Royko smiling from above. She does a flawless job of re-creating a city and culture that inhabitants and former inhabitants love in spite of itself. For non-Chicagoans, I still think this book will make the cut. Paretsky is meticulous in presenting her stories and making sure the reader has enough information to understand. Warshawski is getting older but she's as tough as ever and has new bumps and scars to prove it.
August 9, 2015
The twenith book written by Ms. Paretsky and I have read them all. I have to admit this was long and I kind of felt as if it was taking a little long to just get to the end. How many times can someone almost die in one book?
But I really do enjoy her books and finish them up quickly and hunger for more. Glad she is still writing.
But I really do enjoy her books and finish them up quickly and hunger for more. Glad she is still writing.
June 19, 2024
An old flame (as in high school crush) contacts V.I. Warshawski. His mother has recently been released from prison after serving a sentence for the murder of his sister, Annie. Frank feels she was unfairly accused and wants Vic to investigate. Vic isn't that interested as the mother was a wild woman, free with the fists with her children and an avid detractor of the Warshawski family, especially Vic's mother. However, Vic is Vic and loyalty to her South Chicago roots sends her to visit Stella. Well, they say no good deed goes unpunished. Tis true in this case.
Corruption, greed and all sorts of unethical behaviour later, Vic thinks she has stumbled on to a bigger secret. She's like a dog with a bone, no giving up until she has answers. And she pays for that, over and over with beatings.
This is one of the best private detective series out there. Gritty, complicated and character driven. However, in real life, Vic would be dead by now with all the beatings she's taken over the years. It's a little much. But I'm sure I'll be back for another visit to Chicago with familiar characters that make me feel welcome when I open the book. 3.5 stars
Corruption, greed and all sorts of unethical behaviour later, Vic thinks she has stumbled on to a bigger secret. She's like a dog with a bone, no giving up until she has answers. And she pays for that, over and over with beatings.
This is one of the best private detective series out there. Gritty, complicated and character driven. However, in real life, Vic would be dead by now with all the beatings she's taken over the years. It's a little much. But I'm sure I'll be back for another visit to Chicago with familiar characters that make me feel welcome when I open the book. 3.5 stars
September 15, 2025
In 2025 I decided that I was going to go through this entire series in the correct order in the audible format. I thought when I began that I had read all of the books but it turns out that I was wrong. The previous book and this book Have been new to me and maybe some additional books toward the end of the series will also be new experiences. That is not to say that I have clear recollections of the books that I had previously read. At the age of 78 I read most of these books Maybe a dozen or more years ago. And while I remember the concepts and the things that were repeated over and over in the series, the details of the individual adventures have almost always been as if they were brand new!
This book had an overlay of baseball, but really had very little actually to do with baseball. Other than the fact that one of the young people was hoping for a future baseball career in the major leagues and some of the book actually took place in the Wrigley field Chicago home of the Chicago Cubs who are the team of VI Warshawski!
I have observed before that reading these books back to back and quickly one after the other is probably not the best way to experience this series. There are lots of reasons that a new book in the series comes out approximately every year! The events in these books are much more palatable when they are separated by a little time and other Books!
This book had an overlay of baseball, but really had very little actually to do with baseball. Other than the fact that one of the young people was hoping for a future baseball career in the major leagues and some of the book actually took place in the Wrigley field Chicago home of the Chicago Cubs who are the team of VI Warshawski!
I have observed before that reading these books back to back and quickly one after the other is probably not the best way to experience this series. There are lots of reasons that a new book in the series comes out approximately every year! The events in these books are much more palatable when they are separated by a little time and other Books!
January 3, 2016
I won this book in a Goodreads giveaway. I have read several of these books over the years, but have not read all of them nor in any semblance of order. I always find them to be GREAT reads. This book is no exception. Easily read as a standalone, with one heck of a turning, twisting, intertwining plot. Had me at page one all the way to the end! I would definitely recommend this book.
July 27, 2015
I always look forward to the next VI book and this one didn't disappoint. It's like visiting old friends when I read one. The stories are always great and have me on the edge of my seat waiting for the ending. I can hardly wait for the next one!
April 14, 2017
Vintage classic Warshawski, slightly too long a book. Got to love a character who stays true to herself!
August 27, 2017
This was my favorite book in this series in a while. It had all my favorite characters from all of this series. I look forward to reading the next in this series.
September 12, 2015
What a pleasure it has been to spend a few days with VI again! I have been reading Sara Paretsky's books since the early 1990s and so for the past 20 or so years, VI has been my companion and inspiration. It has been quite a journey - I love that VI has aged as the series has gone on (and, hearteningly, has kept pace with my age. She's 50 in this book and so am I!), and that she tackles hard issues without ever losing sight of her principles. And that she stands up for others - mostly women and minorities - when they can't do it for themselves. She is tough and independent and caring and vulnerable all at once. When I grow up, I want to be VI.
The VI books fall into roughly two categories: stories around current issues (usually involving peoples' rights eg on abortion or anti-terrorism laws) or stories focused on the people in VI's life. This story is the second variety. It takes us back to the Chicago of VI's childhood and the world surrounding her cousin, Boom-Boom Warshawski, a pro hockey player. The premise is that VI agrees to help a friend of Boom-Boom's, Frank Guzzo, investigate whether or not his mother, Stella, was wrongly convicted of murdering her daughter, Annie. As always, what starts off as something straightforward is anything but. In the process, VI unravels a very dark side of organized crime and its links with politics, while weaving both baseball and hockey into the story (no mean feat!).
Like every VI book, the plot races along and by the time you are 30 pages in you can't stop the pages turning (or at least, I can't!). It is complex with numerous sub plots. It all comes together in the end, of course - that's the satisfying part. It is hard for me to be objective about any VI book. Is this my all time favourite? I don't think so - because I love political issues, the "issues" stories grab me much more. I did think at times the story was getting a bit overloaded with detail and subplots, but that is a small criticism. I still couldn't put it down and I loved every minute of it. Counting down the days till the next VI book comes along!
August 6, 2015
Sara Paretsky proves once again that she is one of the best mystery writers out there. This book is a real wild ride. I read through the book at breakneck pace. The tension never lets up from the first page right up to the very end where Ms. Paretsky treats us to such a menacing ending. What she does best is her characterization. Her bad guys are really bad guys and VI always finds herself on the wrong side of them and she's quite often in the unenviable place of being on the outs with Chicago's finest at the same time. In this book we get a good look at VI's young growing up years in the rough south end of Chicago. An old flame asks for her help to gather information to help get an exoneration for his mother who has just served 25 years in prison for killing her daughter who was Frank's sister. It goes against everything VI wants to do. She does not want to dredge up all the memories of her childhood when her mother and father were both alive, but she is forced into helping when some old acquaintances start bad -mouthing her family and herself. At great risk to herself ,she sets out to clear the name of her famous cousin Boom Boom Warshawski who was a stellar hockey player for the Chicago Blackhawks. I love VI. She's such a champion of the truth and will do anything to help people who come to her for help. Non-stop action, and the developing relationship between VI and her musician boyfriend Jake were what kept me flipping pages in this book. I highly recommend it.
July 8, 2015
V.I. Warshawski, the PI with nine lives...well that's probably on the low side. She attracts trouble like a magnet but always manages to get through it. One tough lady.
In Brush Back, she finds herself up against a Russian mob enforcer, but even more dangerous the Chicago Southside political machine that has extended into the Illinois state legislature. An old friend has asked for her help. His mother, a not very nice person, was convicted of murder 25 years ago but is out of prison and proclaiming her innocence. She has always hated the Warshawski family, and her implication of V.I.'s famous hockey-player cousin, now deceased, makes it personal. There is nothing VI won't do to protect her family and loved ones. or their reputations.. Her motto should be "Don't tread on me or those I love."
This is written in the style Sara Paretsky fans are use to. Her writings are more detailed and complex than many of the popular mystery/suspense/thriller writers. of today. You will find them well written and well proofed. They are always full or twists and turns and danger. What they are not full of is graphic sex and profanity.
If you are already a fan, I think you will enjoy this book. If you're not, give it a try. You might find yourself with a new favorite author.
In Brush Back, she finds herself up against a Russian mob enforcer, but even more dangerous the Chicago Southside political machine that has extended into the Illinois state legislature. An old friend has asked for her help. His mother, a not very nice person, was convicted of murder 25 years ago but is out of prison and proclaiming her innocence. She has always hated the Warshawski family, and her implication of V.I.'s famous hockey-player cousin, now deceased, makes it personal. There is nothing VI won't do to protect her family and loved ones. or their reputations.. Her motto should be "Don't tread on me or those I love."
This is written in the style Sara Paretsky fans are use to. Her writings are more detailed and complex than many of the popular mystery/suspense/thriller writers. of today. You will find them well written and well proofed. They are always full or twists and turns and danger. What they are not full of is graphic sex and profanity.
If you are already a fan, I think you will enjoy this book. If you're not, give it a try. You might find yourself with a new favorite author.
August 7, 2015
This book is number 17 in the V.I. Warshawski series. One of the things I like about Paretsky’s writing is she includes information about Chicago both past and present. In this story Vic reluctantly returns to the South Chicago neighborhood she grew up in. Vic’s high school friend Frank Garro asked Vic to look into his mother Stella’s long ago conviction for beating his sister Annie to death. She has served the time but continues to say she was framed.
We learn more about Vic’s cousin Boom Boom, a star player with the Blackhawks years ago. Boom Boom’s god-daughter hockey player Bernadine Fouchard is visiting Vic while checking out colleges. Paretsky points out how important sports are in South Chicago’s poor side enabling the excellent players a chance for a college education.
The story is rich and aromatic, entertaining with lots of baseball references. I noted the punning chapter titles. Paretsky has included information about Wrigley Field; I now know about the history of the field. The book is well written and as usual Paretsky plots dig deeper and deeper into the past and present until all is revealed. I read this as an audiobook downloaded from Audible. Karen Peakes narrated the book. I wish this series had the same narrator all the time instead of changing with each book.
We learn more about Vic’s cousin Boom Boom, a star player with the Blackhawks years ago. Boom Boom’s god-daughter hockey player Bernadine Fouchard is visiting Vic while checking out colleges. Paretsky points out how important sports are in South Chicago’s poor side enabling the excellent players a chance for a college education.
The story is rich and aromatic, entertaining with lots of baseball references. I noted the punning chapter titles. Paretsky has included information about Wrigley Field; I now know about the history of the field. The book is well written and as usual Paretsky plots dig deeper and deeper into the past and present until all is revealed. I read this as an audiobook downloaded from Audible. Karen Peakes narrated the book. I wish this series had the same narrator all the time instead of changing with each book.
August 8, 2015
The heat is on, so I'm hibernating in the AC under the ceiling fans. But I really can't complain about summer. There's almost always a baseball game on TV, a friend just brought me one of her delicious peach pies and I've been binging on crime novels. Sara Paretsky knocks it out of the park with the aptly named Brush Back (Putnam's, digital galley), No. 18 in her V.I. Warshawski series. Never one to be intimidated, Vic is only encouraged by the threats she receives after taking a case in her old South Side Chicago neighborhood. Her 80-year-old client even takes a swing at her, and that's before she begins digging up secrets about a 25-year-old murder case that possibly implicates her late cousin, Boom-Boom, a star player for the Blackhawks. Finding the real culprits leads Vic to rigged construction sites, corrupt politicians, local fixers and territorial cops, as well as to the bowels of Wrigley Field. Real inside baseball, tense and action-packed.
from On a Clear Day I Can Read Forever
from On a Clear Day I Can Read Forever
July 28, 2015
V I Warshawski returns to South Chicago to investigate slurs against her family with the ones about BoomBoom creating major media event.. Her house guest, Bernie is BoomBoom's goddaughter. For once V I listens to her lawyer and leaves the scandal alone but Bernie does not. There are other matters on the South side that catch her attention and she becomes involved with them. Are they connected with the slurs about her father and BoomBoom? V I needs answers to why her family and her are being attacked. At the same time shes wants to keep Bernie under control and safe.
I recommend this book.
Disclosure: I received a free copy from Penguin Group Putnam through Netgalley for an honest review. The opinions are my own.
I recommend this book.
Disclosure: I received a free copy from Penguin Group Putnam through Netgalley for an honest review. The opinions are my own.
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