Indemnity Only
Continuing my revisit of the VI Warshawski series via audiobook. Indemnity Only is the first book: written by Sara Paretsky, read by Susan Ericksen.
VI is hired to find a missing young woman, and finds the murdered boyfriend instead. She digs into shady secrets at the insurance company he worked for, crossing paths with union leaders, banking executives, and crime bosses. The more she learns, the more she suspects the missing woman is in danger of her life. Only by uncovering the truth can VI ensure her safety.
Some observations:
* This was published in 1982. It's been at least twenty years since I read it, so I didn't remember much of the plot, only that her books grew in depth and complexity as she went on. But I was surprised that there was already a lot packed into the first book. All of VI's backstory with her loving parents, Gabriella the opera singer and Tony the police officer, and her brief disastrous marriage to corporate lawyer Richard Yarborough. Plus lots of familiar faces from the series, that we meet for the first time: detective Bobby Mallory, doctor Lotty Herschel, reporter Murray Ryerson, and owner of the Golden Glow bar Sal Barthele. (Yay for friends and allies!) Just as well that the plot isn't complicated and elaborate. It's solid and satisfying.
* I think VI is in her early 30s at this stage? Younger!VI is so brash and reckless! She's a wiseass to the cops, baits her opponents, mixes it up in a physical fight with thugs, and thinks about punching annoying people a lot. She fiercely asserts her independence, and won't accept coddling or condescension. She's occasionally wistful about giving up kids for her career - but she's good at what she does, and she likes doing it. Older!VI is more restrained and careful, though she still doesn't suffer fools gladly, or hesitate to risk herself to save others.
* Paretsky says in her website FAQs: "I loved detective fiction, but I was troubled by the way women were traditionally portrayed in that genre - they always seemed to be either evil or powerless. I thought it was time for a tough, smart, likable female private investigator, and that's how VI came to life." The cool thing is, VI is never "Not Like Other Girls" - there are lots of other women characters in this book, living their lives, with their own dreams and ambitions.
* I love that VI mentors Jill, teenage sister of the murdered boyfriend, and rescues her from her dysfunctional family. Though it's weird no one blinks an eye when Jill waltzes off with a near stranger.
* VI dates a witness. (Nooo. He could be a suspect!) Though his main purpose seems to be to lecture her against getting into danger, and to show how VI refuses to fit into a box.
* Her mother's precious Venetian glasses make their first appearance! A set of eight that she brought over from Europe to America when escaping World War II, I remembered the sense of tragedy each time one suffered harm. Alas, one of them becomes a casualty this book.
Crossposted from Dreamwidth, where there are
comments. Comment here or there.
VI is hired to find a missing young woman, and finds the murdered boyfriend instead. She digs into shady secrets at the insurance company he worked for, crossing paths with union leaders, banking executives, and crime bosses. The more she learns, the more she suspects the missing woman is in danger of her life. Only by uncovering the truth can VI ensure her safety.
Some observations:
* This was published in 1982. It's been at least twenty years since I read it, so I didn't remember much of the plot, only that her books grew in depth and complexity as she went on. But I was surprised that there was already a lot packed into the first book. All of VI's backstory with her loving parents, Gabriella the opera singer and Tony the police officer, and her brief disastrous marriage to corporate lawyer Richard Yarborough. Plus lots of familiar faces from the series, that we meet for the first time: detective Bobby Mallory, doctor Lotty Herschel, reporter Murray Ryerson, and owner of the Golden Glow bar Sal Barthele. (Yay for friends and allies!) Just as well that the plot isn't complicated and elaborate. It's solid and satisfying.
* I think VI is in her early 30s at this stage? Younger!VI is so brash and reckless! She's a wiseass to the cops, baits her opponents, mixes it up in a physical fight with thugs, and thinks about punching annoying people a lot. She fiercely asserts her independence, and won't accept coddling or condescension. She's occasionally wistful about giving up kids for her career - but she's good at what she does, and she likes doing it. Older!VI is more restrained and careful, though she still doesn't suffer fools gladly, or hesitate to risk herself to save others.
* Paretsky says in her website FAQs: "I loved detective fiction, but I was troubled by the way women were traditionally portrayed in that genre - they always seemed to be either evil or powerless. I thought it was time for a tough, smart, likable female private investigator, and that's how VI came to life." The cool thing is, VI is never "Not Like Other Girls" - there are lots of other women characters in this book, living their lives, with their own dreams and ambitions.
* I love that VI mentors Jill, teenage sister of the murdered boyfriend, and rescues her from her dysfunctional family. Though it's weird no one blinks an eye when Jill waltzes off with a near stranger.
* VI dates a witness. (Nooo. He could be a suspect!) Though his main purpose seems to be to lecture her against getting into danger, and to show how VI refuses to fit into a box.
* Her mother's precious Venetian glasses make their first appearance! A set of eight that she brought over from Europe to America when escaping World War II, I remembered the sense of tragedy each time one suffered harm. Alas, one of them becomes a casualty this book.
Crossposted from Dreamwidth, where there are
comments. Comment here or there.