Deadlock (Oxford Bookworms Library) [Paperback]

Product Details

• Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0194230627
• ISBN-13: 978-0194230629
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)

More About the Author

Sara Paretsky is the award-winning creator of the V I Warshawski detective novels. When Sara introduced V I in Indemnity Only in 1982, she revolutionized the mystery novel. By creating a female investigator who uses her wits as well a her fists, Sara challenged a genre in which women were traditionally either vamps or victims.

V I is the quintessential urban woman. She grew up in the shadow of the old steel mills on Chicago's Southeast side and knows her way around every alley in town. She's a street fighter, a singer, a bit of a clothes horse, and a woman of great intensity and passion.

So how much like V I is her creator? They certainly come from very different places. Sara grew up in rural Kansas where she attended a two-room school. She continues to believe the high point of her life came at the age of twelve when she was picked to play third base for the Kaw Valley District 95 baseball team.

Bleeding Kansas, Sara's 14th novel, is set in the part of the Kaw River Valley where Sara grew up.

Sara first came to Chicago in 1966 to do community service work in the same neighborhood where Martin Luther King was organizing. It was a time of fierce passions in the city and in the country as people fought over racial justice, the rights and wrongs of the war in Vietnam, and women's rights. Sara has always felt that that summer changed her life forever, and when she finished her undergraduate degree at the University of Kansas, she came back to make Chicago her home. Some of the history of that summer is recounted in her essay collection, Writing in an Age of Silence.

Like V I, Sara likes to sing, in an amateur way, has a hopeless passion for the Cubs, loves Italian shoes'and is obsessed by the search for the perfect cappuccino, so much so that she even went to cappuccino school.

In other academic ventures, Sara received a PhD in American History and an MBA from the University of Chicago. In 1976, she married physics professor Courtenay Wright. The two live in the city of Chicago with their wonder dog Callie. Their lives are made brighter by their adored granddaughter, Maia.

Sara shares V I's passion for social justice. She founded Sisters in Crime in 1986 to support women readers and writers in the mystery world. To give back to the community, Paretsky established the Sara and Two C-Dogs Foundation, which primarily supports girls and women in the arts, letters, and sciences. She has endowed several scholarships at the University of Kansas, and has mentored students in Chicago's inner city schools. She serves on the advisory boards of Literature for All of Us, a literacy group for teen moms, and Thresholds, which serves Chicago's mentally-ill homeless.

Sara has received numerous awards, including the Diamond Dagger for Lifetime achievement from the British Crime Writers Association, the Gold Dagger for best novel for her book Blacklist, and the honorary degree of Doctor of Letters from several different universities. Sara's books have been translated into almost thirty languages.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best Action Sequence in a V.I. Novel, July 8, 2001

By 

Barry D. French, Jr (Lansing, Michigan United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Deadlock (V.I. Warshawski Novels) (Mass Market Paperback)

The title of this book truly is ingenious. (I won't give away any plot points by telling you why). But I do have to say that there is a scene set in the Soo Locks in Michigan that is truly the most gripping and well-written action scene that I have ever read in a V.I. (or any other) novel. I highly recommend this novel for all V.I. and Sara Paretsky fans.

18 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars NOT BAD..., May 1, 2001

By 

Simonetta Cavilli - See all my reviews

This review is from: Deadlock (V.I. Warshawski Novels) (Mass Market Paperback)

I have to admit that I am a HUGE fan of VI Warshawski, I love her tough-as-nails outlook on life, but still has a soft heart. She is a damn good investigator, street fighter and has a mouth on her that would make guys blush, she is a tougher version of Evanovich's Stephanie Plum, and all VI's stories have a great element of humor in them too...

This time, VI is investigating the death of her cousin Boom Boom, who used to work in Chicago's shipping industry. Boom Boom has seemed to have drowned, but VI is convinced her cousin was murdered and spends her time trying to uncover secrets down in the shipyards.

Even though the story is good, it really isn't enough to keep me interested. I did finish the book, but there are many other VI stories out there are much better and much more fast-paced than this little sleeper.

Ok, if you are a VI fan and you want to read the series, otherwise choose another one.

12 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Riveting and fast-paced!, March 26, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Deadlock (V.I. Warshawski Novels) (Mass Market Paperback)

This was my first introduction to tough-as-nails, but soft-hearted, V.I. Warshawski and I've been a fan ever since. V.I. is a welcome addition to the growing number of female private investigators. Paretsky's tale is tautly plotted, with ever-increasing tension. Hope she writes another V.I. book soon.