Bitter Medicine

Sorry, this book started off really well and then floundered in the middle and fell flat at the end.

in this fourth installment in the V.I. Warshawski series, we have V.I. settled in her new co-op and not doing any life or death cases. She gets involved with Lotty's friend's family woes. Teen Counselo is expecting her first child. She has some medical issues (diabetes and other things which is affecting her health due to her pregnancy) and a husband who is pretty worthless and doesn't want to work. When Counselo dies in the hospital after her newborn child also dies, Warshawski at first doesn't think a thing is amiss until a doctor working alongside Lotty turns up beaten and murdered too.

I have to think to myself that this book when it show more was written (1987) was definitely pushing the envelope. Paretsky, through V.I. talks about abortion and the pro-life movement which I did shake my head at, doesn't seem much changed. Everyone seems pro-life until the baby is born and then it's well you just need to strap on your boots and deal with things. Vic is pretty upfront about being a "radical" and a feminist. But I think that this book also shows how out of touch Vic is with the world and also how her actions (though she thinks that they are benign) affect other people.

Case in point, Vic thinks that since she got a high profile drug dealer less time in prison, he would be willing to talk to her and possibly dime out Counselo's husband about possibly being behind the doctor's death that worked with Lotty. The incident doesn't go off the way that Vic thinks, but the man brings up that he could read contempt on Vic's face the whole time. The whole thing shakes her and it's brought up throughout the book. Honestly, I have to wonder how Vic even kept investigated after a while. She is getting pushed by Lotty, and the dead man's girlfriend to get to the bottom of things.

The case takes a turn and once again we have one of Vic's love interests cautioning her to be careful and not being really appreciative of her job. Also, can I say right now, I am a little over Vic dating people that are tied into her case. Maybe wait to make sure that they are on the up and up. Gah.

We have references to Bobby (thank goodness he is not in here) and we have some new characters, a Black Chicago detective whose name is eluding me right now, and a downstairs neighbor of Vic's that is retired and nosy.

I honestly thought the whole case was a bit confusing and we get data dumped as I like to say via a character we have never met before who I detested (his name is Max and he is dating Lotty). We literally have a gross whose on first thing happening with Max, Murray, and Vic, as those three get increasingly drunk (or at least it read that way) as they explained things to Lotty who was upset about how glib they were all being.

To make matters worse, they set things up to catch the "bad" guys (for no reason I could tell) and then there's a couple of scenes involving a dog that was just devastating and terrible. At least the dog thing gets redeemed by the end of the book though. Up until then I was thinking I was going to just be done with this series. show less

Book 4 of V. I. Warshawski series. "Follows V. I. as she investigates corruption and malpractice in the private hospital system. When a young, pregnant friend of hers dies at a local for-profit hospital alongside her baby due to questionable medical care, V.I. initially assumes it is a tragedy..." Liked the shift to the medical field for the plot on this one. V.I. continues to be a badass at getting things done. Great to see her connect with a different cop in a less belligerent way. Also great to see her deploy her legal chops. Super satisfying.

SPOILER ALERT!!!

I had read a few of Paretsky's other Warshawski novels before I got to this one, and although I rolled my eyes a little bit at the way the tough P.I. gal from the gritty blue collar side of Chicago was always running up against (and bringing down) some big bad corporate criminal types -- whatever. The books were fairly well written and we all know those callous corporate criminal types are out there.

I had to quit reading her with this one, though -- because the whole premise of the book is fatally flawed. And because I'm in a position to know, from personal experience, just how off-base she was here, I know I'm going to be impatient and unable to suspend disbelief from here on out.

The big bad corporate criminal in Bitter show more Medicine is a huge hospital conglomerate that builds a new hospital in a majorly upscale neighborhood and is so interested in pure profit that it doesn't equip itself appropriately for the care of a poor pregnant woman who lands there and goes into premature labor.

Only here's the thing: it would be shocking and horrible if hospitals didn't (and maybe the big, for-profit ones don't, what do I know) give proper care to indigents who end up in their emergency rooms. But Paretsky made this one up out of whole cloth . . . because the OB/GYN floors and neo-natal critical care units these days are full of affluent moms who are there with their in-vitro-fertilized babies (or the twins and triplets that were the result of fertility treatments). Labor and delivery, neo-natal care -- those are big cash cows for hospitals these days and there's just no way there wasn't even going to be a highly skilled OB/GYN doc at this hospital. It's pure fantasy.

Which is fine, but Paretsky is so full of fire to expose the negligence and indifference of the corporate world -- and she didn't even bother to do her own homework.

Oh yeah -- I know a little something about NICU's and the whole treatment of pre-term labor because my own four babies were each born about 10 weeks early. We're not affluent, and fertility treatments had nothing to do with it. But the doctors and nurses who took care of my babies -- saved their lives. show less

I like V.I. Warshawski. In this case, she helps out her friend Dr. Lotty Hershel and Lotty's nurse, whose young sister, Consuelo, married badly and is pregnant and not well. V.I. volunteers to drive Consuelo and her worthless husband, Fabiano, to an interview. While there Consuelo goes into labor and V.I. drives her to a nearby hospital where she meets a doctor, Peter Burgoyne. Sadly the baby and Consuelo die. The hospital buys off Fabiano who eagerly takes advantage to make money and get rid of a wife he didn't want. Then a young doctor who was asked by Lotty to help with Consuelo is murdered in his apartment. Gradually, Vic figures out that something is going on and it involves Consuelo's death. Lotty's clinic is targeted by a vicious show more anti-abortion activist and not only is the clinic wrecked but all records regarding Consuelo are missing. Then Vic's apartment is also trashed and her older neighbor, Mr. Contreras, is badly injured when he hears the invasion of her apartment. Vic slowly connects the dots while occasionally seeing Burgoyne but she starts to suspect he is involved. After sorting out the mess and getting finding some of the missing records (thru questionable means). Vic ends up with a dog. show less

Chicago private eye V.I. Warshawski brings a teenager about to give premature birth to a private hospital where the mother and her baby die. Warshawski asks her friend, Dr. Tregiere, to check procedures; he's found murdered later. When the supposedly bereaved husband is murdered, Warshawski begins to dig into the life and death of the young mother. There are other appalling deaths as V.I. gets to the facts behind a tawdry cover up. The city of Chicago, with its ethnic mix, and neighborhoods, as enlived by Paretsky, plays an important role. I’ve loved Paretsky’s work since the first one, this one was no different. There were sufficient plot twists and turns, a romantic interlude, loveable yet annoying characters... all the stuff that show more makes us enjoy V.I. It’s sort of like one of the famous RedHots, Chicago style hot dogs. Big on flavor and history, reminding those of us who spent time there why we remember it so fondly despite the weather. show less

This is an earlier V.I. Warshawski novel, somewhat dated (mid 80's, I think), but most of the content is still relative to today. The storyline wasn't bad, but I have mixed feelings about the main character of Vic. I appreciate that she's supposed to be a tough female lead character, but I'd like to be able to see a little more of her inner character. My favorite thing about this series is that it's set in Chicago, and I can relate to the place names, locations, etc. I esp. love the references to the Cubs, and in this case, it was nice to flash back to a few 80's references from back in the day (this is showing my age, I guess). I question, however, the choice of having Donada Peters as the reader for this audiobook. While a very show more competent reader, her British accent didn't quite fit with the Chicago setting, and I was somewhat offended by her pronunciation of Harry "Caray" (w/ the emphasis on the 2nd syllable) on at least two occasions. Still, I've decided I enjoy Paretsky's novels enough to probably read some more if they happen my way. show less

Not my favorite V, I. story. I did finish it. The thread of corrupt hospital practices was too dark for me. I love V.I. and her travels through Chicago and elsewhere to solve the crime. She is a tough cookie.