- Mass Market Paperback: 480 pages
- Publisher: Signet; Reprint edition (Aug 30 2004)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0451209699
- ISBN-13: 978-0451209696
- Product Dimensions: 17.4 x 10.6 x 3.2 cm
- Shipping Weight: 272 g
- Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (39 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #139,579 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Amazon
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 --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Inside This Book
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The clouds across the face of the moon made it hard for me to find my way. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
The clouds across the face of the moon made it hard for me to find my way. Read the first page
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Most helpful customer reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
Well-written mystery,
By
This review is from: Blacklist (Hardcover)
V.I. Warshawski is back at it as she is asked to investigate some mysterious activity in a deserted mansion. Her investigation leads to the discovery of a dead black journalist and suddenly she is thrown into the past histories of some of Chicago's wealthiest families. She discovers secrets long-hidden by prominent people and delves into the Communist "witch hunts" of the McCarthy era and the current crackdown on immigrants from the Middle East. Paretsky's political opinions, as voiced by her leading character, are all too apparent, but she does spin a multi-layered mystery with well-drawn characters. Paretsky's many fans should enjoy this one.
3.0 out of 5 stars
Better luck next time,
By
This review is from: Blacklist (Hardcover)
The writing quality itself is Paretsky's usual good stuff; however, I'm subtracting two stars: one because the politics got in the way of the story and one for the confusing cast of characters. Available blurbs cover the plot structure fairly comprehensively, but I'll try not to give away any "secrets".By the time the Egyptian kid enters the story directly, fairly far along in the book, I've forgotten exactly what he had "done" to deserve such attention from the Feds - aside from attending a suspect mosque on a regular basis. That aspect of the plot was handled in such an exaggerated manner that I had trouble suspending disbelief. The author might rebut that such a scenario "might be possible" under this draconian law. I'm not willing to agree. Frankly I'm surprised Paretsky was able to get away with so many supporting characters speaking with, basically, two voices among them: "privileged Caucasian person" and "well educated African-American". The members of each group were, for the most part, indistinguishable from each other after a while. Further confusing the reader in this long novel, the shadows of several deceased individuals are present. A scorecard was sorely needed; I checked to see if I'd missed a family tree chart at the beginning that might have helped me with this story. In summary: this would have worked better as two (briefer!) stories - one on the Patriot Act and one on buried secrets from the past. As others have said, the link between the 50's and today doesn't work well enough to hold the two plots together.
5.0 out of 5 stars
I enjoy this writer a lot,,
By Peg Dubeck (Cincinnati, Ohio, USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Blacklist (Hardcover)
I am a huge fan of this fun series. I enjoy this genre and think that anyone who likes getting lost in a good book will also like it. Give it a try.
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