Blacklist

How satisfying it is to read a great Sara Paretsky novel that is not mired in politics, social injustice, mistreatment and all the other unsolvable ills of the world. "Blacklist" is a wonderful mystery pure and simple. With roots in the days of McCarthy-era blacklisting, the evil plot that Warshawski must unfold takes place in the wealthy estates that Chicagoans will recognize as Barrington (and parts beyond.) Most of the time Warshawski is sleuthing around dirty old tenements, so this is a surprising change of pace.In order to solve the murder of an enterprising black reporter, Warshawski has to jump through numerous hoops, most thrown up by rich folks who don't want the status quo broken. She does so in masterful style (although my bones ached for all her injuries). The end ties up cleanly, albeit sadly. This is a great read with throught-provoking questions about privacy and privilege tossed in along the way. Brava to Paretsky for a well-crafted book!

I found it a great read. But be forewarned that this book expresses a strong sense of political outrage at the current political clime and your reading enjoyment will be strongly colored by your political beliefs. I found it an interesting, fast paced mystery novel which is filled with fascinating historical tidbits. It weaves a comparison between the black listing of the McCarthy era and the Patriot act into the plot. I was also very aware that my view was not unbiased because I was mentally cheering every time I felt the author expressed a particularly salient political point and I realized that had this book been written from a conservative political viewpoint I might not have made it past the second chapter without feeling totally outraged no matter how good the book was.

The first Paretsky book I read, I knew I was going to have to read all of them. And I have, and I'm still not tired of this V. I. Warshawski broad, Chicago private eye.Blacklist deals with the long-term effects of discrimination and guilt. A friend of Vic's (V. I.) asks her to investigate possible trespassing in the family mansion where she grew up. Here's a good scene: on her first foray into the property in years, she stumbles into a cruddy pond and comes up holding hands with some dead guy. Turns out he's a black journalist writing about stuff from the 30s. Things get deeper and murkier when the man's sister asks Warshawski to investigate the murder.I get the feeling that Paretski has done some fantastic research in the writing of this book, as the content spans cultures, generations, and politics over 70 yrs as she proves that prejudice is alive and well in our world.No big surprise there, but she does it so very, very well.

Blacklist is an intelligent, suspenseful pageturner. Paretsky seems to have put her heart and soul in this one. I have read all the other V.I. series and this is one of the best. I recommend it highly.

The impact of 9/11 even in the heartland continues to have impact on residents. While her lover writer is in the Afghanistan or is that the Ubekistan area, private investigator V.I. Warshawski agrees to accept a strange case, at least from this particular client, longtime corporate customer Darraugh Graham. His ninety-year-old mother insists that she has seen lights looking out from her room in a nursing home from inside the nearby abandoned Larchmont Hall.V.I. goes to the deserted building anticipating running into either homeless or teens, but instead finds the corpse of T-Square magazine reporter, Marc Whitby. Apparently, he was investigating 1950s dancer Kylie Ballantine, a victim of Olin Taverner's witch-hunt. The county declares Marc killed himself, but his wife Harriet hires her because she wonders if government officials murdered him. V.I. accepts the case though the FBI and local law enforcement want her to step back because they are investigating a case involving a possible terrorist that might have a bearingon the reporter's death.BLACKLIST is Sara Paretsky's best tale in several years as the author effortlessly brings out the caring side of her sleuth without diminishing the strength of V. I. All that is placed inside a political thriller wrapped around a fast-paced who-done-it. This well written exquisitely exciting hooks the reader while also providing a warning message that the witch hunts of Salem and McCarthy are not isolated aberrations. They are a consistent part of history (same sh*t just after WW I) especially when people allow the flag and "security" to warp freedoms. After a dozen or so books, Warshawsky hopefully has more adventures like this one that is if she can avoid vanishing in front of a military tribunal.Harriet Klausner