Blacklist: A V.I. Warshawski Novel (Hardcover)

~ (Author) "The clouds across the face of the moon made it hard for me to find my way..." (more)
Key Phrases: private autopsy, dead carp, pocket organizer, New Solway, Marcus Whitby, Geraldine Graham (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Privilege, politics, and perfidy jointly propel the circuitous plot of Blacklist, Sara Paretsky's 11th novel featuring tenacious Chicago private-eye V.I. Warshawski. By the time this story runs its course, V.I. will have harbored an alleged Arab terrorist, resurrected the ghosts of America's 1950s anti-Communist hysteria, and questioned the integrity of a man she once admired "to the point of hero worship." In other words, it's a typical case for this hard-headed, sarcastic, and perpetually sleep-deprived sleuth.

Still suffering from "exhaustion of the spirit" in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, V.I. is hired to find out who may be sneaking into a vacated suburban mansion. Geraldine Graham, the home's 91-year-old former owner, who still lives nearby, claims she's seen lights in the attic at night. Our heroine suspects this is simply a bid by the wealthy dowager for greater attention, but agrees to do some nocturnal prowling--only to stumble (literally) across the body of a dead black journalist, Marcus Whitby, in the estate’s ornamental pond and encounter a teenage girl fleeing the scene. The girl turns out to be Catherine Bayard, the granddaughter of Calvin Bayard, an unapologetically liberal book publisher who survived a hounding by the U.S. House Un-American Activities Committee in the '50s without being blacklisted like so many of his authors. Digging deeper, V.I. learns that Whitby was doing research for a book about an African-American dancer and anthropologist who had enjoyed Bayard's support before she too was branded a Communist. Was Whitby killed en route to visit Bayard, one of Graham's neighbors--and a man who has strangely vanished from public view? And is there any connection between this murder and the disappearance of an Egyptian dishwasher, or the recent demise of a right-wing attorney and Bayard foe, in whose apartment V.I. is attacked by an intruder?

Except for a few astounding turns of luck (including the 11th-hour discovery of a revealing audiotape left in a car's player), Paretsky rolls out a credible yarn here, enriched by meticulous character development and an agreeably ambiguous conclusion. The author's intention to link McCarthy-era abuses with post-9/11 government assaults on civil rights is obvious, without being didactic, and it adds currency to a fictional investigation that's already rife with sex, betrayal, and long-held secrets among the rich. It's good to see that V.I. the P.I. hasn't lost the compassion or righteousness that first made her attractive two decades ago, in Indemnity Only. --J. Kingston Pierce

From Publishers Weekly

Chicago private eye V.I. ("Vic") Warshawski needs all her strength and ingenuity to deal with the tragic effects of discrimination past and present in this riveting exploration of guilt and fear, the 12th installment in Paretsky's stellar series. Longtime client Darraugh Graham asks Vic to investigate his mother Geraldine's suspicion that trespassers are living in the empty mansion her father built in the suburban Chicago enclave where she has spent most of her life. Vic literally tumbles into trouble when, upon falling into a pond on the property, she comes up clutching the hand of a dead man. He is identified as Marcus Whitby, a young African-American journalist who was writing about members of the 1930s Federal Negro Theater Project especially a beautiful Negro dancer once championed by local liberals and blacklisted during the Communist witch hunt. Hired by Marcus's sister to look into his death, Vic spans cultures and generations in her investigation. Is Benji, the young Arab student sheltered in the mansion's attic by 16-year-old Catherine Bayard (whose politically daring publisher grandfather Calvin was once Vic's hero), somehow connected? Whether or not he has terrorist ties, Benji is at risk, so after Vic finds him she persuades Father Lou, a tough but caring community activist, to hide him in spite of post-9/11 dictums. Digging deeper, Vic must face disturbing allegations about Calvin Bayard and the likelihood that her lover, Morrell, on assignment in Afghanistan, is in danger. Paretsky reminds us that although victims change, prejudice is still alive and all too well. With this top-notch offering, she earns another vote of confidence for V.I.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 448 pages
• Publisher: Putnam Adult; First Edition edition (September 29, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0399150854
• ISBN-13: 978-0399150852
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.4 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (88 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #440,904 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars 12th installment, and Im not tired of this broad, October 28, 2003

By	Peggy Vincent "author and reader" (Oakland, CA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

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.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars V. I. is not Miss Marple, March 11, 2005

By	Laura A Jackson (Chicago, IL) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Blacklist (V.I. Warshawski) (Paperback)

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.

14 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Blacklist, October 12, 2003

By	K. Freeman (Apple Valley, CA USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

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.