Hardball (V.I. Warshawski Novels Book 13) by Sara Paretsky (Epub)

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.

User’s Reviews

Review Praise for Hardball A New York Times Notable Crime Book of the Year One of NPR’s Top Five Crime Novels of the Year “Extraordinary.”—The Washington Post “A hard book to put down.”—Pittsburgh Post-Gazette “It’s a pleasure to relax for 400-plus pages in the hands of a pro.”—The Boston GlobeMore Praise for Sara Paretsky and the V. I. Warshawski series“Sara Paretsky’s Chicago private eye, V. I. Warshawski, is one tough cookie.”—The New York Times Book Review“One of our genre’s crucial, solid-gold, best-ever series. Paretsky is a genius.”—Lee Child“V.I. Warshawski is one of my all-time favorite investigators.”—Lisa Gardner“For me, the most remarkable of the moderns is Sara Paretsky.”—P.D. James“One of the most-loved characters in crime fiction.”—Booklist (starred review)“No one, male or female, writes better P.I. books than Paretsky.”—The Denver Post“Paretsky’s books are beautifully paced and plotted, and the dialogue is fresh and smart…V.I. Warshawski is the most engaging woman in detective fiction.”—Newsweek

Reviews from Amazon users, collected at the time the book is getting published on UniedVRG. It can be related to shiping or paper quality instead of the book content:

⭐ This is the third book I have read in this series. I love the way she mixes history of real events with the thrill of the detective work and the ensuing chase. Being a liberal person of the Hebrew faith, and having lived through many of the events that she has used over the last 70 years, I love the way she intertwines these events into extraordinary stories. All three of the books ( Hardball, Critical Mass, and Total Recall) involve historic events where human rights and dignity were heavily involved along with the corruption that was rampant in the corporate and police world of those times.Hardball is appropriately name for a key element in the story of the murder and disappearance of civil rights workers in the 1960’s. I know other reviewers on the far right side of the political spectrum found this theme to be extremely annoying. So if that is going to affect your reading of this intriguing story stay away. Read it for the history and a telling of how that history effected so many innocent people and how the system abused them in this fictional telling of how V.I.Warshawsli uses her wits and stamina and an amazing cast of friends to solve a 40 year old mystery. Friends are an elderly neighbor, 2 doctors, a collection of nuns, street people, reporters, and an assorted collection of speciality firms.Each of the 3 books I read was over 500 pages, but don’t let the length bother you as the reading is fast paced. The action takes place in Chicago and even though this is not one of my favorite cities, the story overcame my unfamiliarity with the geography.I just went out and bought 3 more of her books. Great reading and extremely relaxing and enjoyable.

⭐ I have read just about all of the V.I. Warshawski novels. Being from Chicago, I love the descriptions of back home. But – beware – there is a problem with mixing factual events with fiction. I was there when Dr. King marched in Marquette Park – a major plot event – but no one was killed by a nail spiked baseball (as the book depicts). Since the death of this marcher, who purportedly was right behind Dr. King, is a major plot element it may lead readers to mix fiction with the factual events. Yes, rocks were thrown, invective was hurled but no one died. Dr. King, at one point, was hit with a rock – but no one died…. I guess I have to keep repeating this. A less historically inclined reader could infer that this death – like the march itself – was real. There is not now – or was there ever – a Racine police station – another plot element.This blending of fact/fiction can only stoke the racial flames that burn in many parts of the city – including Englewood and Marquette Park, where much of the plot is centered. Too bad the author couldn’t “change the names to protect the innocent” and not further inflame an already tense – and sad – situation.

⭐ Once upon a time, I had to have each new V. I. Warshawski novel as it came out. However, after about four of them, I got tired of her perpetual bad humor and inability to get close to anyone. The atmosphere along such lines of the works just became too oppressive to me, so I bowed out of reading the next set. After having read a recent review of this book, I plunged back in. And am glad that I did.In the early books, she was still young; here, she is about 50 or so, based on some of her comments. As she has aged, the same poor humor and inability to get close to others remains. But, somehow, this has become poignant and adds pop to this novel. Her character, Vic to acquaintances, in a sense, has grown richer since the last time I read one of these works.This novel has several seemingly unrelated threads that end up coming together in a powerful ending. Paretsky’s novels in this series often contain politically oriented issues. No different this time. The key event is racial rioting in Chicago in the latter m1960s, including an attempt on the life of Martin Luther King, Jr. at an event in Chicago. What went down then? Police arrested a young man for murder and tortured him to get an arrest.Move forward 40 years. Plot line # 1. Vic’s (V. I.=Victoria Iphigenia) cousin shows up. She is working for a charismatic candidate (Kennedy-esque)U. S. Senate seat. Plot line # 2. An old, dying woman wants to know what happened to her son 40 years earlier. The two plot lines, of course, seem completely different. However, Paretsky brings them powerfully together.In the process, we continue to be touched by how important Vic’s parents, dead for years, remain to her. It is also part of the poignancy of her rather empty life that they retain such an emotional effect on her. Elements that are a part of this story: the coerced confession; her father Tony’s role in this (and his subsequent dead end career as a police officer); ex-police officers becoming powerful figures in Chicago; a former gang leader imprisoned; the person charged with the murder now free; a nun working to make the lives of immigrants a bit better and her fate; and on and on. The story develops richly, with many components (as one can tell from the preceding partial listing) a Paretsky trademark. And, at the end, perhaps a wisp of hope that V. I. is learning something about herself and might be able to address her demons. Only a wisp, I emphasize.At any rate, this book has reintroduced me to this tough Private Investigator, and I’ll read at least the next novel to come out.

⭐ V. I. Warshawski is such a likable heroine. She cares about people, black, white, those downtrodden, family. She puts herself at risk time and again in order to bring the bad guys to justice. She is a great combination of hard and soft. She is bright, and dogged in figuring things out. Her mother, no longer living, is a powerful force in her life, as is her father the cop who is also dead. The story thread reaches back 40 years, but in the end she is able to bring to justice, with a little help from her friends, those who committed murder. There is a nice ending. It is a story I really enjoyed reading.

⭐ I have been reading Sara Paretski’s Warshawski novels in chronological order. They show steady progress through the series. I think that Hardball is the best one I’ve read so far. Mainly, I am thankful that I am not Vic’s medical insurer.

⭐ She never fails to give you a good read – I read some of her earlier works and then she fell off my radar when she was on a hiatus of sorts until I came across some of her books on a clearance table at a local bookstore – I bought one to catch up with her and was not disappointed, I then caught up the rest of the series with her Kindle editions. The only CON to her books is the higher than normal Kindle price – I wanted to finish the series and was glad I did BUT I feel she needs to get in line with her Kindle edition pricesSome have complained about her liberal views coming through the book – they are part of the character – I for one am glad to read something other than cookie cutter detective stories

⭐ and how I hope you’ll come back soon! This is an excellent novel. So many things to like, not the least of which is an excellent who-dunnit story. Vic is her usual tart, hard-boiled-with-a-huge-sense-of-justice self (yea! I hope that never changes) struggling to find the answers that her client wants her to find, but she’s faced with emotional challanges also – finding out that her beloved father might not be the man she thought he was and making peace with that and trying to decide if who she is is who she really wants/needs to be. She handles the emotional parts to the best of her ability and finds answers for the client even though it means hurting members of her own family. But that’s Vic and that’s why we lover her. Please Ms. Paretsky, bring Vic back more often. Reading “Hardball” just makes me realize how much I miss her.

⭐ I have read all of Paretsky’s novels, and wait hungrily for the next to be published. This time, I have to admit I was a trifle disappointed.Don’t get me wrong; this is still a better book to buy and read than some unknown writer or potboiler hack. Even at her worst, Paretsky is better than most. But you like to see a writer progress and excel over her previous efforts, and through most of this book, I felt she was floundering, or perhaps in search of what to do next with her much-loved main character.The thing that holds this story back the most is the excessive angst. Here we have a character old enough to be a grandmother, yet who still obsesses daily over her long-dead parents. Enough, enough. You want to give her a little shake, tell her to get on with her life and be a grown-up. Enough with Gabriella, the singing, the wine glasses. Dad comes into the story, but the overall tone becomes too maudlin.The thing that made me continue turning the pages was my previous attachment to the author and her character, but I found that, rather than having difficulty putting this one down, I was setting it aside and turning out the light early. The story does become gripping in the end, but the reader must be committed to slogging through more than half a book of tedium and oh-brother to get there.This is not a terrible book, but it isn’t Blacklist, or any of the writer’s other top-drawer stories. It seems to me that perhaps Paretsky would be well served to write one novel about an entirely different character, then return and get back on the horse.

⭐ Gracious, she writes well! This was an edge of the seat mystery with at least two horrible backstories. Poignant? Oh, yes. You won’t regret reading this book. You may love it.

⭐ V.I. is back…faithful readers of Sara Paretsky’s brillant novels enter again Chicago and the concrete streets of south Chicago. This time V.I. has to find a young man missing for forty years. But the trails are cold. The readers will notice that Paretsky was eye witness of the civil rights struggle. Therefore she can create an universe of ruthless politicians and cops. As she searches to track this young man she finds a nun who marched with Martin Luther King Jr. She dies before she can talk about the death of a young woman who marched arm in arm with her on that day. V.I. almost dies in a fire set by criminals. She discovers that her beloved father may had played a role in a political and racial trial in the sixties. Petra, a young cousin, arrives from Kansas City to work on a political campaign. They both discover after a lot of investigations that the play in politics and in law enforcement is hardball, a nail studded baseball ball. Finally, V.I. will try to overcome all the griefs and suspicions listening to her mother’s voice on CD: “Forse un giorno il cielo encora sentirá pietá di mi”.A fascinating novel from the first to the last page. When will V.I. enchant us again?Ursula von Lojewski de Jaramillo

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