Customer Reviews

Blacklist (V. I. Warshawski Series)

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(20)
3 star:		(15)
2 star:		(14)
1 star:		(20)

 

 

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.

This is another great V.I. Warshawski book. She does a great job in evoking Chicago and the current political environment. My main critique would center on number of characters and the complexities of their ancient histories which makes it a bit of a challenge in terms of keeping the cast of characters straight. In addition to the main plot, the subtext of the story comprises a compelling weaving of various histories... of African Americans, leftists and gays... and the challenges they have faced in various times in our recent history. The juxtaposition of the current "Patriot Act" environment with the MacArthy era is an effective way of demonstrating the perils of an unencumbered police state and judiciary. While some may prefer more 'timeless' Miss Marple type mysteries where there is little reference to the current sociopolitical context, weaving current challenges into the story makes it even more interesting, and in some ways, educational.

I really enjoyed this book.

V.I. must face corruption among the scions of rich families, and the ghosts of 1950's witchhunts rise up to threaten the civil liberties of the modern day.

This was a stronger book, in my opinion, than the recent "recovered memory" Warshawski book, and probably better than the "women's prison" one as well, though I liked that. Paretsky has created a strong and real-seeming character who continues to appeal through multiple novels; the plot is both exciting and plausible; and, unlike in some installments, the antagonists in Blacklist are believable.

I like Paretsky's politics, as expressed in her books: left-wing in the sense of humanist concern for the working class, rather than in the sense of silly New Agey political correctness. This sensible point of view is one of the books' attractions, especially compared to the radical-right-wing paranoia of some other mystery/thriller authors.

Blacklist provides a good balance of action and character-centered drama, with some trenchant critique of modern politics thrown in. I highly recommend it.

Fine novels have always transcended their story lines to say something more universal about the way people are. Often, mystery novelists get caught up in their plots and fail to make an important statement. In Blacklist, Ms. Sara Paretsky provides an intriguing look at American politics, racism and sexism over the last century. It's an impressive job of impugning the motives and methods of the influential, powerful and wealthy in our society. Those who are ardent conservatives will hate this book. It isn't as tough on the liberals as it is on the conservatives during most of the book, and argues strongly against government challenges to our Constitutional rights, such as the Patriot Act and the Congressional search for Communists in the 1950s.

The mystery is a fine one, and makes good use of the over 400 pages to develop the story slowly . . . allowing it to age in your mind like fine wine does. I especially liked the way that V.I. encountered many emotional and physical problems during the story that delayed and complicated her investigations, much like happens in real life.

The book has two main weaknesses. First, it is too often preachy rather than illustrative or instructive. Second, Ms. Paretsky is too cynical for my taste about how much the powerful can get away with. She leaves us with the sense that we are powerless to protect those we love and ourselves from what the powerful want for their own personal agendas. Otherwise, I would have happily assigned this book five stars.

I would like to commend Ms. Paretsky for working some of the worst characteristics of the Patriot Act into her story, illustrating problems that too few people are aware of.

The story itself has two entertwined plot lines that coincidentally connect up on an empty estate. Late one night, V.I. is poking around to discover the source of some mysterious lights inside the supposedly locked and secure empty mansion. V.I. spots a teenager on the grounds and grabs a clue from her that leads to identifying who the teen is. Then, while traipsing around in the dark, V.I. falls into an ornamental pond . . . and discovers a dead man. The police aren't very interested in what happned to the dead man, and V.I.'s persistence is essential to reveal what really happened. Is he connected to the mysterious lights?

As I finished the story, I found myself thinking about Iago and all of the trouble he causes for Othello through his misrepresentations. We should be careful about how much we trust those in power. They may have hidden agendas that we are unaware of.

I noticed other readers had the same problem I did--I paid for entertainment and got an op-ed on current politics. I read fiction to escape; not to be lectured. Other reviewers cover the constant political nature so I'll just add one more disturbing point that was in the book--class warfare--ie rich people equal bad. Towards the end there's even a paragraph from V.I. about "how the rich and powerful walk away from the messes they make, and people like me, like my neighbor, like my parents, pay for the clean up." Who cleans up the murders and messes of poor people??? Same ones that clean up those of the rich. It isn't a money issue, it's a crime issue and rich people aren't automatically worse than poor people. A murder is a murder and gosh, I bet sometimes even rich people get arrested and thrown in jail, but you wouldn't get that impression from the whining that goes on in this book.

I don't have a problem with Paretsky's political opinions--celebrities have the right to be political--but not when I'm paying for entertainment and end up buying a political agenda. Be political on your own time--just like I don't want to hear it at a concert, I don't want to have it forced on me through characters/settings that I enjoy. I resent the "forced" education as well as the "worst case" scenario of laws, wars and other human failings.

isn't it interesting to read the reviews and notice that what made me like this book is what others critized. My question here is- why is Paretsky supposed to leave all politics out of her novels? I enjoyed her drawing parallels between the patriot-act/ post 911 era and the Mc Carthy era. It was a fun entanglement of past and present in every way, couldn't put it down.

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 bearing
on 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

I like mysteries that are actually ABOUT something. I enjoy having the crime at hand being set in a real context that encourages me to think about more than the clues and facts at hand. To borrow a phrase from Law & Order, it makes the story feel "ripped from the headlines," anchored in real life. And in Blacklist, the HUAC committee activities in the 1950s and the Patriot Act of the 2000's give the story credibility and texture. And while I agree that VI got some very lucky breaks (one of the professional reviewers above commented on a fortunate little tidbit she happened to find at the last minute in a victim's car; something she or the cops certainly would have found earlier), I still enjoyed this book. The incident Vic begins investigating leads her in two very different directions and I was with her every step of the way. The affectionate and well-meaning resistance she got from her dear friend Lottie added a great deal. And early on in the book, when she danced right over a clue that EVEN I GOT, I was annoyed. At the end of the book, I think I got Vic's and Paretsky's point. It's not that it's good to be a "screaming liberal," nor that the rich are bad and the poor are good. It's that hero worship can be dangerous, no matter how old we are, and can blind us from the truth as potently as hate can.

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.