Deadlock

This is the one about the docks and shipping companies on the great lakes - a geographical concept that probably has to be seen to be believed, because they're quite a bit bigger than 'lake' means to me.

VI's oldest friend is found drowned and she refuses to believe he'd commit suicide. But there doesn't seem to be a motive for anyone to have done away with him - until she starts investigatign the finances of everyone around.

Working my way through the VI Warshawski books, from the beginning. She's acerbic, yeah, but it only really seems to come out when someone challenges the idea of a woman private detective, or challenges her abilities. These aren't as 'day-in-the-life' as Grafton's Kinsey Milhone - Vic has a much sharper edge and can't be bothered with everyday life. What's nice about these, like Grafton, is that the cases seem more realistic in the world of crime. Not high-wire crime only found in books and movies, but the gritty underbelly of violence and bad choices.

Sara Paretsky is credited with helping establish women as credible private investigators in fiction. This is the second entry in a now long-running series about V.I Warshawski, an investigator in the hard-boiled tradition who goes about her business with a whole lot of method, not to be brow-beaten or intimidated by any man she encounters. She's entirely convincing, and the mystery itself is well done as it involves the Chicago Black Hawks, lake freighters and grain shipments. Most of the action happens in Chicago but Sault Ste. Marie also figures large as a location in this story, a place I'm very familiar with.

I don't know all the tropes of murder mystery novels so I'm at a bit of a disadvantage here. I do note that sometimes the show more detective is almost willfully blind or thoughtless at a key moment in order to overlook or dismiss something that allows the mystery to be drawn out to a sufficient page number. It didn't terribly bother me. I liked how Vic unraveled the mystery like untying a difficult knot, pulling at first one string and then some seemingly unrelated other to see what would come loose. It doesn't seem like there's a whole lot of action, but when it occurs she handles herself well without having to be superhuman. I would be open to reading more in this series. show less

Once again am shocked by how much I really enjoyed book #2 in the V.I. Warshawski book. We have V.I. who is one stone's away from being killed every five seconds it feels like when she starts to investigate whether her cousin Boom Boom (don't ask) slipped or committed suicide at some docks where he was working. I loved the ins and outs that Paretsky gets into with the shipping industry. Also V.I.'s work on her last case dealing with the insurance industry comes in handy in this book. We get two potential love interests in this one. But one thing I do appreciate in these books is that the men that come across V.I's path are not really important. She wants someone to look at her and accept her as she is, but she is 100 percent not in the show more mood to do the same (which did crack me up).

V.I. I find interesting and definitely a contradiction. I find myself comparing V.I. a lot to Kinsey Millhone and though Kinsey and I have a lot of characteristics in common, I would probably get a long more with V.I. though her sarcasm would make me want to brain her. A lot of the book is deductions and snooping that V.I. does. She is able to put things together and I can honestly say that I loved that I was not able to guess where the story was going and who the guilty parties were. I totally guessed wrong which is par for the course for me when it comes to mystery novels.

We get reappearances in this one, we once again get Doctor Lotty Herschel, V.I's father's old friend Bobby, and her contact at one of the papers, Murray. We also have V.I. still in her same terrible apartment and still perplexed why one would make the bed, clean the dishes, and wash clothes. Seriously at times I had to go downstairs and tidy up my house since I was getting second hand issues over the messiness I was reading about in this book.

The writing was good, but honestly I wish that the character of Bobby would be flattened by something. It's two books in and I am tired of reading about how Bobby hates what V.I. does as her job and wishes she was married with 6 kids. Also I am starting to realize that most of the cops in this series are inept as hell. I liked how Sue Grafton portrays Kinsey's interaction with the police better.

Once again Chicago sounds like a pain in the butt to deal with in any type of weather.

The ending was a surprise and I loved how even though V.I. figured out what was going on, justice unfortunately was delayed. show less

Note: Even though this is Book 2 in the series, it works just fine as a stand alone novel.

Set in the 1990s in Chicago, Vick Warshawski is a private detective. The story opens with a funeral for her cousin Boom-Boom Warshawski, an ex-hockey player. He was working for a Great Lakes shipping company and apparently slipped on an icy pier and died in the water. Vick is Boom-Boom’s executor of his will; dealing with his estate and papers leads her to wonder if his death was an accident after all. As she digs into Boom-Boom’s death, her own life is threatened.

I like that Vick likes sports and pays attention to the local games and teams. I don’t care for sports at all, but I like having a main female character that does have a passing show more interest in professional sports. Vick has a practical kind of toughness that I find irresistible. She’s not tough because she’ll argue back or because she insists on doing things on her own terms. She’s simply a strong personality and would be no matter what gender she was born into. Her practical nature (letting trusted friends know where she’s off too – sometimes, carrying a weapon that she’s proficient in, wearing sensible clothing and shoes, etc.) is what keeps the character grounded for me.

The main subject of this book, the Great Lakes shipping industry, involves the great locks of the lakes. I find locks fascinating and I was pretty excited to see Vick traveling through a major lock or two in this novel. Vick spends a chunk of the book trying to understand the shipping manifests for the company Boom-Boom was working for. As such, she enlists someone in the business to explain the finer details. Here is where my one little quibble with the story lies. In Book 1, Indemnity Only, Vick becomes romantically involved with a man who works at the insurance company that Vick is kinda sorta looking into. Now, here, in this book she becomes romantically interested in a man who is hired by the shipping company she’s looking into. I felt this plot mechanism was a little overused in the series.

Now, back to the good stuff. Paige is a beautiful dancer that was having a secret romance with Boom-Boom. Vick meets her at Boom-Boom’s funeral and Paige asks a small favor – she would like access to Boom-Boom’s apartment so that she could collect her things. While they hadn’t reached the point of exchanging keys yet, she did have a few bits of clothing and makeup at his place. The plot deepens when Vick finds her there going through Boom-Boom’s papers. Paige fesses up to looking for some personal letters the two exchanged while she was on tour. I, like Vick, think she’s hiding something. I really wasn’t sure what until the last bit of the book. Vick figured it out before I did.

Finally, there’s this major accident in the book that I totally didn’t see coming. It slid right in there under my radar and it was well written. Vick got to experience it all first hand and I was worried she would be injured enough for a hospital! I was a little surprised at the body count for this book, but that just keeps me on my toes. I do enjoy a mystery series that can keep me guessing and surprised.

Narration: Once again, Susan Ericksen makes a really good VI Warshawski. She does the Chicago accent quite well. Her male voices are believable. With Book 1, I noted that sometimes I had to turn down the volume during the shouting scenes. That was not an issue with this book. The characters sounded like they were shouting but I didn’t have to adjust my volume control. show less

Book 2 of V. I. Warshawski series. Vic investigates her former hockey-player cousins death at a shipping company. Digs into the financials and operations of Great Lake bulk shipping. Interesting setting and great to see Vic putting the pieces together but got a little confused by all the samey shipping dude characters. Vic still badass and getting shit done.

I was a little under-the-weather this weekend, so I was glad to be distracted by this second book in the V. I. Warshawski series. I started this series when Sara Paretsky came to the Iowa City Book Festival. I read the first book before she came and enjoyed it. But after hearing her talk about creating the character of V. I. Warshawski and the growth of this character over the course of the series, I was excited to read more.

This is another fast paced mystery, but this time, V. I. is personally involved with the death. Her cousin, former hockey star Boom Boom Warshawski, slips off a deck at Chicago's lakefront and dies. But V. I. senses that his death is not an accident. Boom Boom has been working in the shipping industry, and V. I. show more must learn the ins and outs of the big ships that transport cargo across the Great Lakes. As more deaths occur, the urgency builds, and I couldn't turn the pages fast enough. This is a strong and enjoyable series! show less