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A review by ncrabb
Burn Marks by Sara Paretsky
3.0
It’s best if you start this series with the first book; I didn’t, and it turned out ok because Paretsky gives you just enough information that you’re not feeling lost, but not so much that you’re bored if you’ve read books prior to this one.
Some Chicago officials are on the take, (no news there), and the scam involves old buildings. V. I. Warshawski, a tough female detective who insists on embracing the city, grittiness and all, gets involved when her booze-saturated aunt shows up at her door one early morning, having been burned out of her shabby residential hotel.
Why are buildings burning in the city? And why don’t the politicians and even the cops want Warshawski involved?
Tension grows as Warshawski discovers the body of a drug addict friend of her aunt’s in a burned-out construction site. It’s up to her to figure out who’s on the take to such a degree that committing murder makes sense.
As is true with all of these books, you get such a vivid portrait of Chicago in the 1980s and 1990s. I always expect Mike Royko to make a cameo appearance in these books so vivid is her description of the city. He never does, of course, but if he did, you wouldn’t be surprised or wonder why he’s in the book.
Some Chicago officials are on the take, (no news there), and the scam involves old buildings. V. I. Warshawski, a tough female detective who insists on embracing the city, grittiness and all, gets involved when her booze-saturated aunt shows up at her door one early morning, having been burned out of her shabby residential hotel.
Why are buildings burning in the city? And why don’t the politicians and even the cops want Warshawski involved?
Tension grows as Warshawski discovers the body of a drug addict friend of her aunt’s in a burned-out construction site. It’s up to her to figure out who’s on the take to such a degree that committing murder makes sense.
As is true with all of these books, you get such a vivid portrait of Chicago in the 1980s and 1990s. I always expect Mike Royko to make a cameo appearance in these books so vivid is her description of the city. He never does, of course, but if he did, you wouldn’t be surprised or wonder why he’s in the book.