Killing Orders

A slow start with V.I. Warshawski getting rope into the case by estranged family members needing help. Once another facet of the investigation emerges elsewhere, and a friend is killed pursuing financial matters a layman can’t on her own, things start moving. Vic meets a nice range of characters and takes some losses along the way. Not Edgar material but interesting enough. It’s all I ask.

I remember when one of the things that made candidate (and later president) Bill Clinton seem so cool was his being caught reading one of the V.I. Warshawski novels while on the campaign trail. (Playing jazz sax and appearing on Arsenio Hall’s talk show didn’t hurt him, either.) But I never took the plunge on this Chicago public defender-turned-private detective until now. (Thank you, Foxy Vixen!)

Warshawski receives a summons — pretty good way to characterize it — from her hateful great-aunt Rosa Vignelli. It seems that $100,000 of securities have been stolen and swapped for pretty good forgeries at the Dominican monks’ priory where she works. But Warshawski finds that an untold number of people don’t want her to look into show more this fraud. Killing Orders is the third in the Warshawski series, but I, a newbie, had no trouble keeping up; rather, I was swept into the plot and stayed up way too late to find out what happened. What a rollercoaster ride! Readers will adore this five-star page-turner! show less

I loved that the book finally got into more background on V.I.'s dead mother and her antagonistic relationship with her Aunt Rosa. I didn't really enjoy the parts that dealt with the outdated attitudes about lesbians and at one point hoped that the character of Bobby would have a stroke. I also didn't believe all of the craziness that was surrounding V.I. was realistic and her not wanting to tell the police anything was beyond stupid. Her falling out with Lotty was actually interesting, but that quickly got resolved by the end of the book.

in "Killing Orders" V.I. is called to help out her dead mother's aunt. V.I. can't stand the woman and has no idea why her mother on her deathbed demanded a promise from V.I. that she would help Rosa if show more she ever came calling. Rosa (who sucks by the way) is under investigation by the FBI and SEC after counterfeit stock certificates show up in a church safe where she worked as the treasurer. Though V.I. wishes that the FBI would just come and drag Rosa off into the night (and so will you by the end of this book) V.I. reluctantly investigates. She comes across some bits and pieces that don't seem like they will fit, but ultimately do. She also has a romance with a man who was introduced in the last book (Roger Ferrant) that I was actually interested in this time through cause for once we have Vic (I am tired of typing out V.I.) realizing that she doesn't need to be defensive and nasty towards someone who is expressing concerns towards her.

We get appearances by Lotty, Bobby, Murray, her college friend that was also mentioned in a previous book, and a new character by the way of Lotty's uncle who I thoroughly enjoyed. I have to say that Bobby really sucks in this one. Someone close to Vic in this one dies and there is an ugly accusation that Vic is a lesbian. The whole thing was terrible to read and just made me shake my head. I am glad it's 2017, but I know that old attitudes like that die hard.

We also get some of Vic's thoughts on the Catholic Church which didn't surprise me at this point in the series.

The writing was good though once again I had to laugh from the constant barrage of attacks that Vic is under and how she seems to get out of trouble every five seconds. She's like the freaking road runner. I started just nodding my head after a while.

I have to say that I didn't buy the ending at all though did like that we finally have Vic moving locations. Her apartment sounds terrible. Now if only she moved offices. show less

I remember when one of the things that made candidate (and later president) Bill Clinton seem so cool was his being caught reading one of the V.I. Warshawski novels while on the campaign trail. (Playing jazz sax and appearing on Arsenio Hall’s talk show didn’t hurt him, either.) But I never took the plunge on this Chicago public defender-turned-private detective until now. (Thank you, Foxy Vixen!)

Warshawski receives a summons — pretty good way to characterize it — from her hateful great-aunt Rosa Vignelli. It seems that $100,000 of securities have been stolen and swapped for pretty good forgeries at the Dominican monks’ priory where she works. But Warshawski finds that an untold number of people don’t want her to look into show more this fraud. Killing Orders is the third in the Warshawski series, but I, a newbie, had no trouble keeping up; rather, I was swept into the plot and stayed up way too late to find out what happened. What a rollercoaster ride! Readers will adore this five-star page-turner! show less

V. I. Warshawski is one of my favorite female detectives. Killing Orders was the third in the series. It's full of action It starts with V. I.'s aunt asking for help and then trying to make Vic quit. There's stock fraud, machinations in a secret clerical order, Vic gets burned with acid and her apartment is burned down. Like I said, plenty of action. It wouldn't have taken me so longer to read it, normally, but I am so tired these days I kept falling asleep after two or three words. No reflection on the book.

Book 3 of V.I. Warshawski series. " V.I. investigates counterfeit stock certificates at a local Catholic priory to clear her despised, estranged Aunt Rosa of theft." Cool characters. Tense investigation scenarios. Love seeing V.I. continue to get shit done. Insurance/money trail a little too byzantine for me to appreciate.

I didn't think of it before, but Wasrshawski is a proto-Buffy. She is, after all, a private detective who loves fancy shoes, but is tough enough for her job. Further musing suggests that the crime genre has always been accepting of women who were both tough and feminine. There is, after all, Nancy Drew, (Kick-Ass) Girl Detective [the Kick-Ass is silent].