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V.I. Warshawski #22
Pay Dirt
Legendary detective V.I. Warshawski uncovers a mystery with roots dating back to the Civil War in this edge-of-your-seat thriller from New York Times bestseller Sara Paretsky. V.I. Warshawski is famous for her cool under fire, her sardonic humor, and her unflinching courage. All that changes when a case ends with a father killing the child she’d been hired to find. She’s second-guessing herself, forgetting to eat, forgetting her workout. Her worried friends send her down to Kansas for a weekend of college basketball; Angela, one of her protégées, is a Northwestern star. And that’s when V.I.’s troubles really begin. Sabrina, one of Angela’s roommates, disappears and V.I. agrees to stay behind to try to find her. Finding a missing person in a town where she doesn’t know anyone and has no snitches is hard, but not as hard as the local reaction to the detective. When V.I. finds Sabrina close to death in a drug house, the mother’s gratitude quickly turns to suspicion. V.I. finds herself in the FBI’s crosshairs, and the young men running the county’s opioid distribution are not happy. When V.I. discovers a local troublemaker’s dead body in the drug house a few days later, she is pitched headlong into a local land-use battle with roots going back to the Civil War. Today’s combatants are just as willing as opponents in the 1860s to kill to settle their differences. V.I.’s survival depends on keeping one step ahead of players in a game she doesn’t even know she’s playing.
400 pages, Hardcover
First published April 16, 2024
About the author
Sara Paretsky
257 books2,278 followersSara Paretsky is a modern American author of detective fiction. Paretsky was raised in Kansas, and graduated from the state university with a degree in political science. She did community service work on the south side of Chicago in 1966 and returned in 1968 to work there. She ultimately completed a Ph.D. in history at the University of Chicago, entitled The Breakdown of Moral Philosophy in New England Before the Civil War, and finally earned an MBA from the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business. Married to a professor of physics at the University of Chicago, she has lived in Chicago since 1968.
The protagonist of all but two of Paretsky's novels is V.I. Warshawski, a female private investigator. Warshawski's eclectic personality defies easy categorization. She drinks Johnnie Walker Black Label, breaks into houses looking for clues, and can hold her own in a street fight, but also she pays attention to her clothes, sings opera along with the radio, and enjoys her sex life.
Paretsky is credited with transforming the role and image of women in the crime novel. The Winter 2007 issue of Clues: A Journal of Detection is devoted to her work.
Her two books that are non-Warshawski novels are : Ghost Country (1998) and Bleeding Kansas (2008).
The protagonist of all but two of Paretsky's novels is V.I. Warshawski, a female private investigator. Warshawski's eclectic personality defies easy categorization. She drinks Johnnie Walker Black Label, breaks into houses looking for clues, and can hold her own in a street fight, but also she pays attention to her clothes, sings opera along with the radio, and enjoys her sex life.
Paretsky is credited with transforming the role and image of women in the crime novel. The Winter 2007 issue of Clues: A Journal of Detection is devoted to her work.
Her two books that are non-Warshawski novels are : Ghost Country (1998) and Bleeding Kansas (2008).
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 286 reviews
May 26, 2024
VI Warshawski is a tough and broken private eye. Her boyfriend suffered a tragedy, and he took it out on her. They temporarily split, leaving her dazed and sullen. A niece invites her to watch a sports game where her friends are playing, and it leads to a new case. Heading back to Kansas, VI runs into old enemies and friends, makes some new ones from both categories, and nearly ends up dead at least three times. I love this character even though she puts herself in way too much danger just to solve the mystery. Even when the client is a bare connection, or the cops threaten her with years of imprisonment. She's dedicated and perseveres through it all. Solid writing. Complex thriller. Loved it!
July 27, 2024
I cannot believe there are now 22 books in this series and it is still as good as ever.
When Pay Dirt begins we find P.I. Vic Warshawski in a bad place. After a very nasty incident in a previous case Peter has fled to another country and seems to be ghosting Vic, and she appears severely depressed - not eating and not interested in anything. Friends encourage her to go on a trip to Kansas where she becomes involved in a murder case. The police think she is a suspect so she picks herself up and starts investigating again.
Despite containing some really overused tropes and a few unlikely errors this book is brilliant. I found myself noticing the occasional mistake and not caring. The story was so good I just powered on and inhaled every page. So, so good. An easy five stars.
When Pay Dirt begins we find P.I. Vic Warshawski in a bad place. After a very nasty incident in a previous case Peter has fled to another country and seems to be ghosting Vic, and she appears severely depressed - not eating and not interested in anything. Friends encourage her to go on a trip to Kansas where she becomes involved in a murder case. The police think she is a suspect so she picks herself up and starts investigating again.
Despite containing some really overused tropes and a few unlikely errors this book is brilliant. I found myself noticing the occasional mistake and not caring. The story was so good I just powered on and inhaled every page. So, so good. An easy five stars.
December 26, 2023
Please note that I received this book via NetGalley, this did not affect my rating or review.
A solid VI novel but it gets so complicated at the end it was just a bit too much. 4.5 stars rounded to 5 because of the explanation about a character who was missing for almost the entire book. It wasn't necessary and I would have left that on a cliffhanger.
"Pay Dirt" follows a down and out V.I. She's shaken and broken after a case she gets involved in results in a young woman being murdered by her father in front of her and her boyfriend Peter. V.I. hasn't taken a case in months outside of her regular clients and she's lost weight and the ability to sleep without nightmares. When her almost goddaughter Bernie pops up and invites V.I. to watch a basketball game in Kansas she agrees. But Bernie being the worst (yep I said it) still pushes at V.I. to help her when a friend of hers that came on the trip disappears. V.I. doesn't want to get involved, but does and finds herself rusty and being almost out thought by something deeper and darker in Kanas that wants the past to stay buried.
I thought that the insight into V.I. and how she's feeling like she's running on fumes was true to form. It was also a good idea to get her out of Chicago. It was fascinating watching her meet new people and make all new enemies.
The flow though gets to be a bit much after a while. I think it's because we keep getting the truth dangled in front of our faces but it gets ripped away again and again. And I don't know if I buy the whole story since I still don't understand [redacted]. But the book definitely shows a U.S. that is coming out against trans women and anything being "woke" which makes V.I. wonder what she's even fighting for anymore.
The ending was good, almost all tided up, but then I said, there's an 11th hour explanation that was not necessary I thought.
A solid VI novel but it gets so complicated at the end it was just a bit too much. 4.5 stars rounded to 5 because of the explanation about a character who was missing for almost the entire book. It wasn't necessary and I would have left that on a cliffhanger.
"Pay Dirt" follows a down and out V.I. She's shaken and broken after a case she gets involved in results in a young woman being murdered by her father in front of her and her boyfriend Peter. V.I. hasn't taken a case in months outside of her regular clients and she's lost weight and the ability to sleep without nightmares. When her almost goddaughter Bernie pops up and invites V.I. to watch a basketball game in Kansas she agrees. But Bernie being the worst (yep I said it) still pushes at V.I. to help her when a friend of hers that came on the trip disappears. V.I. doesn't want to get involved, but does and finds herself rusty and being almost out thought by something deeper and darker in Kanas that wants the past to stay buried.
I thought that the insight into V.I. and how she's feeling like she's running on fumes was true to form. It was also a good idea to get her out of Chicago. It was fascinating watching her meet new people and make all new enemies.
The flow though gets to be a bit much after a while. I think it's because we keep getting the truth dangled in front of our faces but it gets ripped away again and again. And I don't know if I buy the whole story since I still don't understand [redacted]. But the book definitely shows a U.S. that is coming out against trans women and anything being "woke" which makes V.I. wonder what she's even fighting for anymore.
The ending was good, almost all tided up, but then I said, there's an 11th hour explanation that was not necessary I thought.
June 3, 2024
I struggled with whether to give this book 3 or four stars but because of my love for the series I went with four. I didn’t like it set in Kansas, but I understand why it was. I didn’t like her being a suspect, but that is something personal to me that I don’t like my friends to be accused of a crime and have to prove their innocence. I would rather my detectives not go through that, the topic was not my favorite and I felt like she took her dog places she shouldn’t have ! It kept me up until 130 so maybe that says it all !! I hope the next book is set back in Chicago with all our friends! P.S I did love her reference to my favorite TV show ‘ Brokenwood mysteries ‘
March 30, 2024
In the early years of this series - this is the 22nd book therein - I never missed an installment. The author was a favorite, and edgy V.I. Warshawski was a private eye after my own heart. But then life intervened - my kids needed both parents and I'd returned to work and finishing the college education I'd put on the back burner for too long - and we lost touch. Happily, we've reconnected in recent years, this one being the most recent - and it seems both of us have grown, well, older.
But Victoria still has it, although maybe not quite together at this point. main squeeze, archeologist Peter, has dropped off the face of her earth following a particularly traumatic event - maybe never to return. Vic herself was psychologically impacted by said event and is still struggling to get her own head back on straight while dealing with Peter's disappearance from her life. When the roommate of one of Vic's college basketball "stars" goes missing, she agrees (albeit reluctantly) to hang around and track her down. Vic finds her - in what appears to be some kind of party house where drugs are the main attraction - and the girl's mother freaks out and suspects Vic of aiding, abetting and lying. The local police and FBI seem to be of the same opinion - with possible murderer thrown in, and they put up roadblocks to her investigation in the fervent hope that she'll go back where she came from (which, for the record, is Chicago).
Things go from bad to worse when Vic discovers the dead body of another young woman in the same house - but now Vic is determined to see it through. Complicating matters is the potential start-up of a nearby coal-fired power plant at the very historical site of a proposed resort that raises all kinds of questions - most notably, why would a resort need that much power? Even more to the point, why would someone put so much effort into keeping Vic from looking for the answers?
From that point on, it's pretty much nonstop action all the way to the end. If I have a criticism, it's that my aging brain struggled to keep the plethora of characters - some from long-ago days - straight in my head. But the plot won out, "forcing" me to stay up past my bedtime to get 'er done. Now that I did, I must say thanks to the publisher, via NetGalley, for the opportunity to read and review a pre-release copy. Well done!
But Victoria still has it, although maybe not quite together at this point. main squeeze, archeologist Peter, has dropped off the face of her earth following a particularly traumatic event - maybe never to return. Vic herself was psychologically impacted by said event and is still struggling to get her own head back on straight while dealing with Peter's disappearance from her life. When the roommate of one of Vic's college basketball "stars" goes missing, she agrees (albeit reluctantly) to hang around and track her down. Vic finds her - in what appears to be some kind of party house where drugs are the main attraction - and the girl's mother freaks out and suspects Vic of aiding, abetting and lying. The local police and FBI seem to be of the same opinion - with possible murderer thrown in, and they put up roadblocks to her investigation in the fervent hope that she'll go back where she came from (which, for the record, is Chicago).
Things go from bad to worse when Vic discovers the dead body of another young woman in the same house - but now Vic is determined to see it through. Complicating matters is the potential start-up of a nearby coal-fired power plant at the very historical site of a proposed resort that raises all kinds of questions - most notably, why would a resort need that much power? Even more to the point, why would someone put so much effort into keeping Vic from looking for the answers?
From that point on, it's pretty much nonstop action all the way to the end. If I have a criticism, it's that my aging brain struggled to keep the plethora of characters - some from long-ago days - straight in my head. But the plot won out, "forcing" me to stay up past my bedtime to get 'er done. Now that I did, I must say thanks to the publisher, via NetGalley, for the opportunity to read and review a pre-release copy. Well done!
May 4, 2024
This is Pretsky's worst book! I have always really enjoyed her writing and V.I.W's escapades but not this. I barely could keep track of all the characters...the heroine acted ridiculously and not at all like the woman portrayed in previous novels. If Paretsky wanted to make a statement about the plight of slaves in former days she should have veered off from V.I. and wrote a separate book. It didn't mesh and I forced myself to the end as I had purchased this hard copy! UGH so disappointed .
June 20, 2024
3.25 / 5.0
I am not a historical reader or fan of history and this book was everything historical. I must say it took alot of energy to get through this book. The first half is pretty solid which I thoroughly enjoyed but halfway through, VI started exploring the past and the history which essentially flew over my head. It goes from VI solving a missing women's case to solving a mystery behind a death of a women located at the basement of a drug house.
Overall its ok, if you like history this will be your cup of tea. But unfortunately it didn't do it for me.
I am not a historical reader or fan of history and this book was everything historical. I must say it took alot of energy to get through this book. The first half is pretty solid which I thoroughly enjoyed but halfway through, VI started exploring the past and the history which essentially flew over my head. It goes from VI solving a missing women's case to solving a mystery behind a death of a women located at the basement of a drug house.
Overall its ok, if you like history this will be your cup of tea. But unfortunately it didn't do it for me.
May 3, 2024
Slow burn mystery combined with historical fiction.
Intriguing.
Recommend.
Intriguing.
Recommend.
April 20, 2024
3 but really a 2.5 for me. V. I. is tired and worn out and I'm tired of reading about her woes. The plot was good but the character development is lacking for me. Probably good that the author is going to explore something new for awhile.
July 7, 2024
It’s a depleted, badly shaken V.I. Warshawski we meet at the beginning of Pay Dirt, Sara Paretsky’s latest in her long running series. She witnessed the murder of her boyfriend Peter’s student while with Peter who then fled Chicago and hasn’t been in touch since.
V.I. is “convinced” to travel to Lawrence, Kansas to watch her honorary niece Bernie play in a college game though she’d rather stay in her apartment in Chicago. But the game is just the start of the trip for V.I. When it’s time for the college girls to return home, one of the group is missing and, of course, Bernie knows V.I. can and will find her.
Thus begins a complicated tale of crime and misdeeds, both new and old, some dating back to the dangerous days of the 1860s in war torn Kansas and the present day tainted by both modern crime and those issues from the past. As in past novels, Paretsky has woven elements of area and national history into her story which enriches the experience.
A lot happens to V.I. in this story, sort of a rite of passage through a painful, dangerous landscape.
V.I. is “convinced” to travel to Lawrence, Kansas to watch her honorary niece Bernie play in a college game though she’d rather stay in her apartment in Chicago. But the game is just the start of the trip for V.I. When it’s time for the college girls to return home, one of the group is missing and, of course, Bernie knows V.I. can and will find her.
Thus begins a complicated tale of crime and misdeeds, both new and old, some dating back to the dangerous days of the 1860s in war torn Kansas and the present day tainted by both modern crime and those issues from the past. As in past novels, Paretsky has woven elements of area and national history into her story which enriches the experience.
A lot happens to V.I. in this story, sort of a rite of passage through a painful, dangerous landscape.
August 21, 2024
A different V.I. book…Outside Chicago and away from her usual comrades. A bit too political, too woke, for my taste. And convoluted. I needed to take notes to keep everyone straight. I read for entertainment/escape. I don’t need to read about what is on the news.
April 15, 2024
She’s in the wrong place at the right time.
V. I. Warshawski is a Chicago private investigator who is smart, experienced, and doggedly persistent. She has always been a strong support for her clients and for those in her personal life, but right now V. I. Is struggling. The violent death of one of her college professor boyfriend’s students, for which she feels somewhat complicit, has shaken her to the core. Her boyfriend has left the continent to deal with the emotional fallout in his own way, leaving V. I. to cope by herself. The always calm and competent P.I Isn’t sleeping or eating well, is having nightmares on the regular can barely do work, and isn’t sure if she can continue in the profession which has defined her for so long. When her goddaughter Bernie invites her to come to a women’s college basketball game in the neighboring state of Kansas where Bernie’s roommate Angela is playing, V. I. reluctantly agrees. No good deed goes unpunished, and soon she is caught up in the disappearance of another of the young women’s roommates after the game and later the death of Clarina Coffin a history buff who has been annoying the residents of the area with her claims to know long-buried secrets. V. I.’s instinct is to get out of town, but she succumbs to the pleas of first Bernie and Angela and then the mother of the missing girl Sabrina to do a little poking around . She soon finds herself one of the chief suspects in Sabrina’s disappearance and the murder of Clarina, is told not to leave town, and has to summon whatever internal strength she can find…because if she can’t figure out was is actually behind these events, she may just find herself convicted of murder or worse.
V. I. is one of the OG female private eyes, and has long been a personal favorite. She is savvy and compassionate, has worked hard to build a business in an industry that did not always respect female practitioners, and has always displayed both a strong moral code and a willingness to fight long and hard against seemingly insurmountable odds. As Pay Dirt kicks off, she is not at her best, and doubts that she is up to the task at hand. But she’s a fighter, and even when its her own demons that she’s fighting she won’t give up easily. Away from her usual stomping grounds, she doesn���t have all of the contacts with whom she works back in Chicago, but she finds a few allies (and makes more than a few enemies) as she digs into matters. As always, the pacing of the story is outstanding, the characters well developed and the plot full of unforeseen twists and complications. What keeps this from being a full five stars is what I found to be a distraction, the apparently random insertion of sentences throughout the book that are not particularly related to the story at hand and that seemed political in nature. In these times of highly divisive political views, I neither expected nor wanted to read about the virtues of mask-wearing, the intolerance of parents protesting critical race theory, the evils of book bans, etc., especially not as a one or two line phrase thrown in for no particular reason. I found that it detracted from the flow of the story. Still, a slightly flawed Warshawski outing is still a pleasure overall, and I would recommend it to fans of Sara Paretsky (of course), but also of Sue Grafton, Linda Barnes, and PI enthusiasts of all stripes. Many thanks to NetGalley and William Morrow for allowing me access to an early copy of the latest novels by one of the best crime novelists out there.
V. I. Warshawski is a Chicago private investigator who is smart, experienced, and doggedly persistent. She has always been a strong support for her clients and for those in her personal life, but right now V. I. Is struggling. The violent death of one of her college professor boyfriend’s students, for which she feels somewhat complicit, has shaken her to the core. Her boyfriend has left the continent to deal with the emotional fallout in his own way, leaving V. I. to cope by herself. The always calm and competent P.I Isn’t sleeping or eating well, is having nightmares on the regular can barely do work, and isn’t sure if she can continue in the profession which has defined her for so long. When her goddaughter Bernie invites her to come to a women’s college basketball game in the neighboring state of Kansas where Bernie’s roommate Angela is playing, V. I. reluctantly agrees. No good deed goes unpunished, and soon she is caught up in the disappearance of another of the young women’s roommates after the game and later the death of Clarina Coffin a history buff who has been annoying the residents of the area with her claims to know long-buried secrets. V. I.’s instinct is to get out of town, but she succumbs to the pleas of first Bernie and Angela and then the mother of the missing girl Sabrina to do a little poking around . She soon finds herself one of the chief suspects in Sabrina’s disappearance and the murder of Clarina, is told not to leave town, and has to summon whatever internal strength she can find…because if she can’t figure out was is actually behind these events, she may just find herself convicted of murder or worse.
V. I. is one of the OG female private eyes, and has long been a personal favorite. She is savvy and compassionate, has worked hard to build a business in an industry that did not always respect female practitioners, and has always displayed both a strong moral code and a willingness to fight long and hard against seemingly insurmountable odds. As Pay Dirt kicks off, she is not at her best, and doubts that she is up to the task at hand. But she’s a fighter, and even when its her own demons that she’s fighting she won’t give up easily. Away from her usual stomping grounds, she doesn���t have all of the contacts with whom she works back in Chicago, but she finds a few allies (and makes more than a few enemies) as she digs into matters. As always, the pacing of the story is outstanding, the characters well developed and the plot full of unforeseen twists and complications. What keeps this from being a full five stars is what I found to be a distraction, the apparently random insertion of sentences throughout the book that are not particularly related to the story at hand and that seemed political in nature. In these times of highly divisive political views, I neither expected nor wanted to read about the virtues of mask-wearing, the intolerance of parents protesting critical race theory, the evils of book bans, etc., especially not as a one or two line phrase thrown in for no particular reason. I found that it detracted from the flow of the story. Still, a slightly flawed Warshawski outing is still a pleasure overall, and I would recommend it to fans of Sara Paretsky (of course), but also of Sue Grafton, Linda Barnes, and PI enthusiasts of all stripes. Many thanks to NetGalley and William Morrow for allowing me access to an early copy of the latest novels by one of the best crime novelists out there.
April 26, 2024
So disappointing! I always look forward to the next VI Warshawski novel but this book was so tedious! As others pointed out it does not take place in Vic’s normal Chicago area so we don’t get to see all the regular side characters (except Peter, who I never bought as a good partner for Vic).
I’ll read the next book if it brings Vic back home, but this was a huge disappointment.
I’ll read the next book if it brings Vic back home, but this was a huge disappointment.
April 15, 2024
I’ve been a big fan of V. I Warshawski since the very beginning- I don’t believe I’ve missed one book in the series. It was wonderful to have a female private eye who could do all the things that men did, who chased after the bad guys and was not merely a victim or a pretty face. VI was an excellent lead character.
I’ve enjoyed all her books including the last one, Overboard, relishing our heroine’s sense of humour and turn of phrase. However, “Pay Dirt” did not really have the same impact on me and I’m not sure why. Perhaps there were too many characters I did not really care about. Perhaps it was the complicated plot- Vi was searching for a missing student, not in her native Chicago but in Lawrence, a small town in Kansas . The lack of the normal milieu and characters certainly did not help.
The fact that the author was making the book more political rather than the normal fast paced mystery I would expect was also a problem.
I was also confused about VI’s depressed state after an unfortunate happening - did I miss something in the previous book?
When the perpetrator was revealed I could barely remember who the person was.
This was definitely a mediocre outing for me and although I finished it , Pay Dirt was not on my list of favourites by Sara Paretsky.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my advanced copy.
I’ve enjoyed all her books including the last one, Overboard, relishing our heroine’s sense of humour and turn of phrase. However, “Pay Dirt” did not really have the same impact on me and I’m not sure why. Perhaps there were too many characters I did not really care about. Perhaps it was the complicated plot- Vi was searching for a missing student, not in her native Chicago but in Lawrence, a small town in Kansas . The lack of the normal milieu and characters certainly did not help.
The fact that the author was making the book more political rather than the normal fast paced mystery I would expect was also a problem.
I was also confused about VI’s depressed state after an unfortunate happening - did I miss something in the previous book?
When the perpetrator was revealed I could barely remember who the person was.
This was definitely a mediocre outing for me and although I finished it , Pay Dirt was not on my list of favourites by Sara Paretsky.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my advanced copy.
June 27, 2024
A fictionalized-grittier Lawrence, Kansas is literally a character in this tightly woven new episode of the riveting noir V.I. Warshawski private eye series. And Lawrence Public Library is highlighted in our best likeness! V.I. gets drawn into an investigation involving murder, fentanyl drug abuse, and deceitful land development plans. In spite of suffering post-traumatic stress, feeling extremely weary, and in great need of rest, our heroine endures; she’s as wry and intrepid as ever!
August 6, 2024
Library Loan
May 22, 2024
An intriguing premise and a gripping mystery that keeps you on the edge of your seat! While a tad wordy, it's still an enjoyable read overall.
A special thanks to TLC Book Tours and author for the gifted copy.
A special thanks to TLC Book Tours and author for the gifted copy.
April 25, 2024
This one was hard to read. It got better towards the end. But it was hard to see V.I. so down and out. And the plot was a bit farfetched. I usually love mysteries with genealogy themes, but this one didn't do it for me. Maybe I just don't want to believe that people in power can be so corrupt. But obviously they can. All of that said, I will read anything Sara writes!
May 6, 2024
Another brilliant addition to the V.I.Warshawski canon. At the beginning she was a character like we had rarely seen before. A smart tough ex- lawyer turned private investigator who wouldn't back down. Now in book 18, she is still all those things, but her last case decimated her will driving her into depression. Responding to a plea from her goddaughter, she agrees to look for a missing athlete in Lawrence, Kansas. After rescuing the girl who was close to death, she is drawn into a larger more insidious investigation. One where attempts are made to blame her for another body she ends up discovering. Complex in details and emotional resonance, this book will grab you. Be sure to read all of the author's notes at the conclusion.
May 13, 2024
Good story line- but Paretsky has gone full woke in her writing- probably last book of hers I’ll read
May 1, 2024
would like to thank netgalley and the publisher for letting me read this awesome book
its always great to be back in Warshawski's world and with this book we find Warshawski struggling with ptsd from a previous case that went badly wrong through no fault of her own
but this particular weekend she is off watching college basketball with one of her proteges angela.... but its whilst there angelas roommate disappears
Warshawski doesnt want to look into it as she is very much off her game but with angelas pleading she does start to look around but with no help coming from anywhere she doesnt expect to find much out
what she wasnt expecting was the amount of trouble heading her way....
what a read the hits just kept coming with this one and with honour and respectability behind it all Warshawski has to keep her wits about her at all times... wow just wow couldnt put this one down
really looking forward to the next book in this brilliant series
its always great to be back in Warshawski's world and with this book we find Warshawski struggling with ptsd from a previous case that went badly wrong through no fault of her own
but this particular weekend she is off watching college basketball with one of her proteges angela.... but its whilst there angelas roommate disappears
Warshawski doesnt want to look into it as she is very much off her game but with angelas pleading she does start to look around but with no help coming from anywhere she doesnt expect to find much out
what she wasnt expecting was the amount of trouble heading her way....
what a read the hits just kept coming with this one and with honour and respectability behind it all Warshawski has to keep her wits about her at all times... wow just wow couldnt put this one down
really looking forward to the next book in this brilliant series
May 6, 2024
V.I. travels to see a basketball game in Kansas and ends up finding a missing girl and then a murdered woman all in a drug house outside of the small town. V.I. is still recovering from a previous case of a man murdering his estranged son and having lost her boyfriend and a client all at the same time.
V.I. ends up "having" to solve the case because the local cops and indeed many of the residents of this small town seem to want to pin the murder on her...after all, she's NOT local, she's an uppity big City Superdick, so it stands to reason that this murder of a woman who just arrived in town not long ago must have been followed by another "outsider", right?
Corruption at the highest levels, attempts on V.I.'s life, the cops hassling her, yet V.I. does what she does so well...investigate and SOLVE the case.
V.I. ends up "having" to solve the case because the local cops and indeed many of the residents of this small town seem to want to pin the murder on her...after all, she's NOT local, she's an uppity big City Superdick, so it stands to reason that this murder of a woman who just arrived in town not long ago must have been followed by another "outsider", right?
Corruption at the highest levels, attempts on V.I.'s life, the cops hassling her, yet V.I. does what she does so well...investigate and SOLVE the case.
November 24, 2023
There is nothing better than celebrating Thanksgiving with my family and V. I. Warshowski. This is a really great adventure for Vic, who innocently goes to Kansas to see her beloved goddaughter Bernie play, and winds up in the middle of a really ugly murder. Sadly, she becomes a suspect dogged by law enforcement and the goons of a wealthy family, believing that she has secret papers that could stop their nefarious plans.
As someone who has read every Paretsky book, this brought back many beloved characters, both human and canine, but I think it might be difficult as a stand-alone. Because I am so familiar with all the players, I loved seeing them, but generally a novel with this many characters can seem daunting.
As always, Vic’s strength both physical and mental allow her to solve the case. Warshowski is such a superstar that I had nothing but confidence in her ability to get it all right. I really enjoyed this and thank Netgalley for allowing me to read and review this novel about my favorite female detective. Keep ‘em coming!
As someone who has read every Paretsky book, this brought back many beloved characters, both human and canine, but I think it might be difficult as a stand-alone. Because I am so familiar with all the players, I loved seeing them, but generally a novel with this many characters can seem daunting.
As always, Vic’s strength both physical and mental allow her to solve the case. Warshowski is such a superstar that I had nothing but confidence in her ability to get it all right. I really enjoyed this and thank Netgalley for allowing me to read and review this novel about my favorite female detective. Keep ‘em coming!
April 30, 2024
I've always loved the Sara Paretsky, V.I. Warshawski novels since being introduce some thirty-odd years ago by my librarian mother...I loved the use of the city of Chicago, almost as an additional character in the mysteries...So many recognizable areas and characters were included...in "Pay Dirt," Vic has the handicap of an away game, with most of the action, in and around the university town of Lawrence, Kansas, and she's not at 100 percent, recovering emotionally and physically from traumas of an earlier case...She travels to Kansas with her God daughter's roommates, all Northwestern athletes, to experience a women's basketball game that showcases one of the girls...From that night on and for nearly a month after, Vic is wrapped up in solving murders and unraveling a 160-year-old Bleeding Kansas mystery as she recovers her Mojo...Good Stuff!!!
April 23, 2024
V.I. Returns!
V. I.’s travails are exhausting and exhilarating!
Trying to recover from a horrendous case, she is still not herself. She travels to Kansas at the encouragement of her college hockey playing God daughter to attend one event. Weeks later, she is wrapped up in solving murders and unraveling 160 year old mysteries. But the biggest mystery is whether V. I. can find herself.
Sara Paretsky once again crafts a novel well-written, historically interesting and, sadly, relevant to the current era.
V. I.’s travails are exhausting and exhilarating!
Trying to recover from a horrendous case, she is still not herself. She travels to Kansas at the encouragement of her college hockey playing God daughter to attend one event. Weeks later, she is wrapped up in solving murders and unraveling 160 year old mysteries. But the biggest mystery is whether V. I. can find herself.
Sara Paretsky once again crafts a novel well-written, historically interesting and, sadly, relevant to the current era.
June 8, 2024
Paretsky’s mysteries are always entertaining. I enjoyed this but not one of my favorites. The Kansas setting is not as interesting to me as her Chicago stories. But good characters, complex plot and her usual adventures.
July 1, 2024
It was like being in touch with an old friend whom I haven’t seen in a long time. I love the VI Warshawski novels by Sara Paretsky.
August 11, 2024
Thank you to TLC Book Tours and William Morrow Books for the finished copy to review.
I am coming into this series at book 22 (!) and while I won’t be going back and reading the others, I really enjoyed this one and would definitely read any new books in the series going forward. I love procedurals and thought Pay Dirt was great, especially with the historical element worked in.
I am coming into this series at book 22 (!) and while I won’t be going back and reading the others, I really enjoyed this one and would definitely read any new books in the series going forward. I love procedurals and thought Pay Dirt was great, especially with the historical element worked in.
November 27, 2023
This is one of the series that helped create the reader that I am. VI Warshawski might be my favorite character of all time. What I love most about the series and this book is that, years later, Paretsky has kept up the momentum of the first books. Pay Dirt continues the excellence. If you read this series, this is a must-read. If this series is new to you, start at the beginning! It's worth it.
April 17, 2024
First, new Sara Paretsky is always good Sara Paretsky.
But second, I always prefer VI-with-ensemble-in-Chicago to VI-isolated-solving-mysteries-alone, so 4.5 stars rounded down instead of up. I know Paretsky loves Lawrence and likes setting the occasional story there, but I started reading her for Chicago, and I want Paretsky's loving Chicago-as-a-character setting whenver I can get it.
But second, I always prefer VI-with-ensemble-in-Chicago to VI-isolated-solving-mysteries-alone, so 4.5 stars rounded down instead of up. I know Paretsky loves Lawrence and likes setting the occasional story there, but I started reading her for Chicago, and I want Paretsky's loving Chicago-as-a-character setting whenver I can get it.
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