Hard Time - Softcover

Paretsky, Sara

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0140276726 ISBN 13: 9780140276725

Publisher: Penguin, 2000

Synopsis

"With the creation of V.I Warshawski, Sara Paretsky did more than anyone to change the face of contemporary women's crime fiction . . . With her latest outing, she demonstrates that V I has lost none of her passion, her determination or her integrity in spite of the temptations to succumb to corrupting influences around her . . . HARD TIME is a compulsive read, revealing its author at her most passionate and most page-turning. Cleverly constructed and well-written - the contrast between prison life and the false glamour of the entertainment industry alone is worth the cover price. This is the most gripping and thought-provoking novel Sara Paretsky has given her readers for some time." - Val McDermid, Sunday Express

About this title

Review:

V.I. Warshawski, Sara Paretsky's tough-talking, dog-loving, justice-seeking private investigator, has been missing in action since 1994, when she ratted out a big city political scandal on the streets of Chicago in Tunnel Vision. But now our Vic is back for her ninth adventure--a wee bit older, a tad more jaded and as broke as ever. It all begins when Warshawski weasels an invitation to the hottest event in town, a glitzy party celebrating television's brightest new star, Lacey Dowell, or, as she's better known, the Mad Virgin. Vic's old pal (and one-time fling) Murray Ryerson now works for Global Enterprises, the corporate giant behind the Lacey sensation. On the way back from the party Vic almost runs over a woman lying in the middle of the road, her Mad Virgin t-shirt soaked in blood from an earlier beating. The victim, Nicola Aguinaldo, dies in hospital, and Vic quickly realises that a particularly nasty cop, Detective Lemour, intends to frame her for vehicular homicide. Her anger at these absurd charges hits boiling point when Nicola's body disappears from the morgue before an autopsy can be carried out. Why was this woman, an escapee from the local Coolis prison, so important to Lemour? And why does the whole Mad Virgin phenomenon smell so rotten? "I didn't want to dive into Nicola Aguinaldo's wreck," V.I. grouses, "but it felt as though someone had climbed up behind me on the high board to give me a shove." In her search for answers, Warshawski runs afoul of Global Enterprises magnate Edmund Trant and Robert Baladine, the head honcho of the nation's biggest security firm. They have enough clout to have V.I. thrown into Coolis for another crime she did not commit. But incarceration gives the resourceful Vic a perfect opportunity to snoop into Nicola's last days there--and uncover a sensational scandal.

As she has done throughout the series, Paretsky brilliantly juxtaposes strikingly different environments. Here she contrasts the dilapidated environs of the jail with the exorbitant homes of Chicago's filthy rich. In fact, readers who have anxiously awaited V.I. Warshawski's return will be glad to find that little has changed in her world. Mitch and Peppy the wonder dogs are as endearing as ever, her landlord, Mr. Contreras is his normal fearless self, and V.I. is victorious. It really is like returning home. --Naomi Gesinger

Review:

Praise for Sara Paretsky:

"Paretsky's books are beautifully paced and plotted, and the dialogue is fresh and smart."
--"Newsweek "

"Paretsky is still the best...she doesn't pull punches."
--"The Washington Post Book World"

"Sara Paretsky has hit the big time...she gets better and better!"
--"Los Angeles Times Book Review"

Praise for Sara Paretsky:
"Paretsky's books are beautifully paced and plotted, and the dialogue is fresh and smart."
--"Newsweek "
"Paretsky is still the best...she doesn't pull punches."
--"The Washington Post Book World"
"Sara Paretsky has hit the big time...she gets better and better!"
--"Los Angeles Times Book Review"

Praise for Sara Paretsky:
"Paretsky's books are beautifully paced and plotted, and the dialogue is fresh and smart."
--Newsweek
"Paretsky is still the best...she doesn't pull punches."
--The Washington Post Book World
"Sara Paretsky has hit the big time...she gets better and better!"
--Los Angeles Times Book Review

Praise for Sara Paretsky:

"Paretsky's books are beautifully paced and plotted, and the dialogue is fresh and smart."
--Newsweek

"Paretsky is still the best...she doesn't pull punches."
--The Washington Post Book World

"Sara Paretsky has hit the big time...she gets better and better!"
--Los Angeles Times Book Review

About this edition

• Publisher: Penguin
• Publication date: 2000
• ISBN 10: 0140276726
• ISBN 13: 9780140276725
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 432