Pages: 448
Genres: Mystery
Setting: Chicago, IL
Source: ARC, Edelweiss
Goodreads
Reading Challenges: Cloak and Dagger/Medical Examiner Challenge
From New York Times bestselling author Sara Paretsky, a collection of thrilling crime and detective short stories, many featuring legendary detective V.I. Warshawski—including a brand-new V.I. story.
New York Times bestselling author Sara Paretsky is the master of twisting suspense and propulsive plot. She has been hailed by the crime community as "a legend" (Harlan Coben) and "one of the all-time greats" (Karin Slaughter). Her acclaimed novels featuring detective V.I. Warshawski rank among the most celebrated crime series in modern fiction. Now in this spellbinding collection, Paretsky showcases her extraordinary talents with fourteen short stories, eight of which feature the indomitable detective—and a new V.I. story.
For longtime fans of V.I. Warshawski, new readers discovering her for the first time, or any lover of crime and bone-chilling suspense, Love and Other Crimes is a celebration of Paretsky’s exceptional storytelling skill and a searing exploration of the dark conspiracies and desperate human acts hiding in plain sight.
Love and Other Crimes is a collection of shorts all written by Sara Paretsky. Now, I have never read her before, but this really appealed to me because sometimes, quick reads are necessary. During this time of lockdown and quarantine, I have found that I don’t always have the desire to jump into a long book, but I want to read. Love and Other Crimes fit the bill perfectly!
Several of the stories feature a long running character Paretsky has written for years, Warshawski, who used to be a lawyer, but now she is a PI of sorts. Regardless, it didn’t really hamper my enjoyment! You can jump right in to these quick reads and not miss a beat. I enjoyed Paretsky’s writing style-she doesn’t make things too dark, but she also doesn’t try to make things humorous when its not necessary. That is a tough balance to strike, and I appreciate that she was able to do so in a short story.
If you are needing something brief to take your mind off of life, these stories are perfect. They are short enough to read in an hour or less, interesting enough to hold your attention, and satisfying. While I don’t know that I would dive into the the world of Warshawski, I did enjoy her in the few stories in this collection. There were moments when it was like reading a less over the top Stephanie Plum novel. You have the small town feel but in a big city-they know each other from growing up on the same block. You have a client needing help solving a mystery or getting a family member exonerated. But, where the Plum books are filled with ridiculous characters and zany antics, Warshawski plays more straight. She doesn’t just happen to luck into figuring out the mystery like Stephanie does frequently.
Authors like Sue Grafton, Linda Barnes, and others who write about female crime solving badasses…then you will probably like Love and Other Crimes!
I love this author and series. I didn’t know about this one – I’ll have to track it down. Great review!
Ooh, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a short story crime collection. I bet it was a good way to get to feel the author’s writing too.
I read some Sara Paretsky books years ago now, I remember borrowing them off of my mom because she is a huge fan crime/detective stories and I remember them being good. Glad you enjoyed this short stories from her and even though you weren’t familiar with that one character seems it was still good.