Hardball
A V.I. Warshawski Novel
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4.3 • 82 Ratings
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
Chicago politics—past, present, and future—take center stage in this complex and compelling V.I. Warshawki novel from New York Times bestselling author Sara Peretsky.
Tracking down missing persons is part of V.I. Warshawski’s job. But Lamont Gadsden has been missing for more than forty years—last seen heading out into the 1967 blizzard, in the midst of Chicago’s racial unrest. V.I. figured the search would be futile. She didn’t realize it would be lethal...or lead to troubling discoveries about her own family. And when her young cousin Petra disappears, an angry preacher, a jailed gangbanger, and politics from both past and present interconnect—and plunge V.I. into a mystery as unsettling as the ’60s themselves.
A New York Times Notable Crime Book of the Year
One of NPR’s Top Five Crime Novels of the Year
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Bestseller Paretsky tracks the poisonous residue of racial hatred that still seeps into Chicago life and politics in her fine 13th novel to feature gutsy PI V.I. "Vic" Warshawski, last seen in 2005's Fire Sale. In her search for a black man who disappeared in 1967, Lamont Gadsden, Vic reconnects with some of her father Tony's old police colleagues; pays a prison visit to Johnny Merton, a notorious gang leader she once defended in her lawyering days; and tracks down Steve Sawyer, who disappeared following a murder conviction. Vic confronts an ugly period in Chicago's history, a peaceful march in 1966 by Martin Luther King that resulted in a white riot and the murder of a young black woman, Harmony Newsome. Digging into this ancient history stirs passions and fears of what secrets might be revealed. The apparent kidnapping of Vic's fresh-out-of-college cousin, Petra, who's come to Chicago to work on a senatorial campaign, raises the ante.
Customer Reviews
Paretsky's Fantastic!
Great to have VI back.
Deb
Awful...couldn't even finish it!
Hardball
One of the best V I Warshawski stories, this one is gritty and grim, with little comedic relief. It is, however, a very satisfying read. For maximum enjoyment, the V I Warshawski series should be read in order from the beginning, and it is a credit to the author and the work that Vic has had to age in reverse for the past eight years or so; she is attracting a whole new generation of fans. So the past comes back to bite the Warshawski family and cause Vic to experience a lot of self doubt. Plenty of nail biting action and NOT overly predictable, IMHO, because I don't mind a couple of token moments where I get to pump my fist in the air and say "YES!" even though I sort of saw it coming. Excellent recurring themes: sacrifice, loyalty, the power of suspicion/fear, the greater power of good people doing the right thing, both then and now, and an inter-generational transition that looks very promising. Most of the old supporting cast stops by for at least a cameo as well.