Customer Reviews

Hardball (Import Edition)

5 star:		(44)
4 star:		(27)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

It's been four long years since Sara Paretsky's last V.I. Warshawski novel. In brief, Hardball was worth the wait. This is Paretsky's 13th novel featuring her memorable female private detective, and I found it one of the most satisfying.

I first "met" Warshawski on a redeye flight to Chicago for business as a change of pace from the usual work or travel reading as a different way to get to know a new destination. The detective's distinctive character and the insider's perspective of Chicago kept me alert through a long layover and wired rather than asleep even after I finished the book on the second flight. In the two decades since, I've sought out the other books in the series. Because of the subject matter, some of them can be very stark reading, but they are uniformly well crafted and thought-provoking.

This time around, the plot, subject matter and further fleshing out of the character of V.I. Warshawski were enough to place this novel in Paretsky's top three for me. Warshawski's drive, intelligence, work ethic and quirkiness make her a compelling protagonist. Her rough edges and temper make her human; and her relationships with supporting characters, such as her downstairs neighbor, feisty senior citizen Sal Contreras, make her credibly real.

Paretsky again weaves these elements into a novel both illuminating and powerful. She draws upon her own experience in and memories of the racially unsettled Chicago of 1966 to craft a mystery that also is a snapshot of those days. The author also uses the juxtaposition of 1966 and 2009 to flesh out more of Warshawski's own history, adding depth to her character and illuminating more of her childhood.

One of Paretsky's strengths has been the development of a realistic, imperfect and very interesting protagonist. During the course of events in Hardball, Warshawski must look within, even as she works to solve her latest case.

Unlike other books in the series, this story is sufficiently self-contained that new readers should be able to dive right in. However, if the nuances hook you, it's worth reading the previous novels in order: Indemnity Only (1982), Deadlock (1984), Killing Orders (1985), Bitter Medicine (1987), Blood Shot (1988), Burn Marks (1990), Guardian Angel (1992), Tunnel Vision (1994), Hard Time (1999), Total Recall (2001), Black List (2003), and Fire Sale (2005).

I rarely award five stars, but in this case it was a slam dunk.

In this episode, Vic Warshawski is begged by a pastor to find a man missing for forty years to comfort his loving aunt who is now dying. Vic soon suspects that the January 1967 disappearance is connected to a civil rights march that occurred in the summer of 1966. Meanwhile, on the personal side of life, Petra, a young (just of of college) cousin whom Vic has never met comes to town to work on a political campaign, and wants to get to know Vic.

Of course these threads ultimately overlap, and lead us back into the summer of 1966 and the civil rights movement. Scenes from past and present highlight what has and has not changed since then.

Ms. Paretsky has created a truly satisfying plot, where nothing is too obvious, the reader's guesses are not always right, and all the puzzle pieces fit beautifully. But for long-time fans, Vic's interaction with the live members of her family and thoughts about those who have died is the real treat. Vic is much less "together" than usual, and her pugnacious independence seems to be growing, as she ages, into a defensive shell hiding deep loneliness. Lacking any enduring pair bond and having few close friends, she spends an unhealthy amount of time mourning her long-dead father and mother. Her memories of her mother, especially, are compelling. Vic seems so real that I feel like sending her advice.

Finally -- Ms. Paretsky, should you happen to read these reviews, I thank you for making me feel that I am not the only person in America still mourning the loss of the hope and idealism of the '60s.

Sara Paretsky just keeps getting better and better. Some authors of long-running series run out of steam but each new V.I. Warshawski book I read becomes my new favorite. This one is no exception.

If you are new to V.I. Warshawski, this is a really good book and you'll enjoy it. But you won't get all the nuances that you get when you've read enough of the series to "know" the characters. My suggestion is that you start at the beginning of the series (Indemnity Only (V.I. Warshawski Novels)) and read each of the books in order. If you've read any of my other reviews, you'll know I never take my own suggestions to always read a series in order, but I still think it is the best way to go.

One of the things I enjoy about this series is that Ms. Paretsky weaves social issues into a captivating mystery. This book is a prime example. In a year when we inaugurated our first black president, she brings us back to a time, sadly not all that long ago, when racial tensions resulted in violent protests and riots. The mechanism to bridge the years is a missing person case. V.I.'s search for a missing man brings her into the past and and the past threatens V.I.'s most cherished memories.

Family has always been a big part of V.I.'s life (even though it is mostly through memories) and regular readers know how much she loved her parents. In this book she gets to know some of her extended family members. There is an interesting contrast between the often brusque V.I. who doesn't generally stop to think about whether she's stomping all over someone's feelings and her bubbly young cousin who everyone adores at first meeting.

The author weaves the past and the present together into a story I couldn't put down; not only Chicago's past and present but V.I.'s past and present as well. This is a "must read" book for all mystery lovers not just fans of Sara Paretsky.

I have read all of Paretsky's novels, and wait hungrily for the next to be published. This time, I have to admit I was a trifle disappointed.

Don't get me wrong; this is still a better book to buy and read than some unknown writer or potboiler hack. Even at her worst, Paretsky is better than most. But you like to see a writer progress and excel over her previous efforts, and through most of this book, I felt she was floundering, or perhaps in search of what to do next with her much-loved main character.

The thing that holds this story back the most is the excessive angst. Here we have a character old enough to be a grandmother, yet who still obsesses daily over her long-dead parents. Enough, enough. You want to give her a little shake, tell her to get on with her life and be a grown-up. Enough with Gabriella, the singing, the wine glasses. Dad comes into the story, but the overall tone becomes too maudlin.

The thing that made me continue turning the pages was my previous attachment to the author and her character, but I found that, rather than having difficulty putting this one down, I was setting it aside and turning out the light early. The story does become gripping in the end, but the reader must be committed to slogging through more than half a book of tedium and oh-brother to get there.

This is not a terrible book, but it isn't Blacklist, or any of the writer's other top-drawer stories. It seems to me that perhaps Paretsky would be well served to write one novel about an entirely different character, then return and get back on the horse.

Upon returning from a life-altering trip to Italy, V. I. (Victoria Iphigenia) Warshawski plunges head first into a case that transcends time as she journeys through mementos of her family's past. But unfortunately for V. I., she gets much more than she bargained for as her work in the present causes her to delve deeper and deeper into the work of her father, a policeman in Chicago years before. What was her father hiding? And why is her cousin, Petra, an intern at the governor's office, so interested in the case?

As if she didn't have enough to deal with, V. I. takes on another case at the request of a local nun, a case that leads back to a dangerous prisoner on death row. This puts our heroine up against corrupt policemen from decades past, prison inmates who still run the streets of South Chicago, and a gang known as the "Anacondas" as she tries to loosen the criminal grip on her city.

Readers of the last 14 Paretsky mysteries who have come to love her favorite doctor and great friend, Dr. Lotty Herschel, and her tireless elder neighbor, Mr. Contreras, will not be disappointed as they return to support V. I. as best they can. Also present at each turn of the page are familiar Chicago landmarks and events. Particularly interesting are the references to Martin Luther King's visit to Chicago and the racial tensions the event uncovered. In addition, Chicago corruption (both then and now) adds another dimension to the plot as layer upon layer of the city's seedy underbelly is revealed. But it isn't until Homeland Security gets involved with a presumably simple disappearance case 40 years old that the story really begins to heat up.

When authors write what they know and what they have lived, they are normally on safe ground, and Sara Paretsky is no exception. Paretsky knows Chicago, its not-so-subtle political intrigue and its sordid history. She has been a Chicagoan since the summer of '66, and that time in her life has had a profound effect on her work: "The intensity of that summer, the pleasure I had in working with the children, the engagement with the city, despite its flaws, made Chicago a part of me, or me part of it, and it has been my home ever since. HARDBALL takes place in the present, but the heart of the story has its roots in that summer."

Don't make plans to do anything important when you crack open the cover of HARDBALL. Once you do, you will be unable to put it down until you've finished. With Paretsky at the wheel, you can be sure that you will be in for a wild ride: past meets present, decades-old secrets are unearthed, and all hell breaks loose. Be there to discover if V. I. Warshawski is able to take back the streets of Chicago once and for all.

--- Reviewed by Marge Fletcher

Perhaps it's easier to describe what the V. I. Warshawski books aren't. They're not romantic suspense, though sometimes romance shows up in them. They're not political thrillers, though sometimes politics plays a part in the plot. They're not noir detective stories, though sometimes they're quite noir-ish.

They are character driven mysteries, and V. I. can be counted on to risk life and limb, though she never makes a big deal out of it. She's a woman of her word in the Spenser sense, and will do what she says she'll do. She also has a fondness for shoes. The best entries in the series are moving and very personal, and V. I. is the BFF you absolutely want on your side because she's not intimidated by anyone or anything. In this case, there's rascism and wrong convictions in the Chicago legal system and Vic's own father may be involved. Her coltish young cousin Petra is definitely involved in something sinister and abruptly disappears. Vic doggedly pursues the truth even though it may have far reaching personal repercussions.

Recurring themes from previous books include corrupt politicians, the plight of the homeless, the attempts by various agencies to do good in such a complex city, and the abuse of power. We're also treated to more tidbits from Vic's past--details from her childhood and her parents' lives. Ms. Paretsky has the sense to dole out small amounts of information as needed so that the reader is as invested in the story as the characters.

Hardball cooks from the first page. Whether Vic is being pummeled with smoke bombs, or hiding in a bass fiddle case, she is wonderful. She has a new friend in this one, and the end of this one has all the signs that Ms. Paretsky has more Warshawskis in mind. Great news, indeed!

This book makes V I seem really stupid for not being able to figure out what was going on. I wanted to stop reading but continued and the end picked up a bit. Hope that her next one is much better. I wait anxiously for new Paretsky novels and this is the only one I wouldn't give 5 stars to.

I can only recommend this book to Sara Paretsky's fans, not to new readers. While the plot about the civil rights actions in the 60's is very interesting, and the ending is awesome and satisfying, and beginning of the book is a little hard to follow and the middle bogs down a little bit. Also, there is some self doubt involved VI that I didn't really care for, it was a little out of character. You can pick up who all the bad guys are pretty early, and some of the things they do a felt were a little far-fetched. I was glad to see all our favorite side characters, but I felt that she changed her neighbor a little bit too much from being all on her side to a little questioning. I do like the new male character that's introduced, and the very last chapter is really great. All in all, not her best book but not her worst.

To think, I nearly put this book on the shelf, unread. The author had a "Thanks" introduction that simply didn't sell me; it seemed the book would be too historical, too political, to suit my current mood. But I read some Vine reviews that were so glowing that I gave it another chance.

Thank you, other reviewers, for pushing me to give it a shot. I loved this book. Hardball was gritty, sad, compelling, exciting -- all with V. I. Warshawski at the helm, creating havoc every time she starts detecting.

The story introduces Vic's niece, Petra, who arrives in Chicago to work for an aspiring senator on his campaign. Petra's big mouth gets a lot of powerful men up in arms, and it seems likely linked to Vic's latest case. Of course there are explosions, ransacked apartments, escapes in instrument cases and hospital linen carts. Old gangs, bad cops, civil rights marchers, even Vic's beloved cop father all figure into the plot.

It had been a long time since I read a V.I. Warshawski book. This was by far my favorite, probably the best. I really loved it. Even the very last chapter -- the very last line -- were great.

As a long-time fan of this series, I have been impatiently tapping my foot waiting for the next V.I. Warshawski case to arrive. Here it is at last, and it's terrific. This author and her heroine just keep getting better with age. Sara Paretsky always does a masterful job of working social issues into the story without being preachy, and this missing-person case that reaches back to the civil rights era is no exception. Juggling past and present with nary a fumble, the author both entertains and enlightens with a thought-provoking, gut-wrenching tale as relevant as today's headlines.

Readers also learn more about V.I.'s personal past as the investigative trail leads her toward disturbing discoveries about her own family. And the city of Chicago itself becomes one of the book's colorful, vividly drawn characters, proving once again that this author knows her setting inside and out.

By skillfully weaving together the various narrative threads, Paretsky raises the emotional stakes and cranks up the suspense, delivering a knockout ending. Wow! It doesn't get any better than this.