Blood Shot

V. I. Warshawski

ISBN: 0-55690-899-7 Order from: Recorded Books

An overly gritty, blue-collar Chicago mystery with a tough female detective, frivolously (and sometimes bitterly) eccentric characters, a slightly improbable evil plot and rather overly long in the middle.

Reviewed by David on June 16, 1999

Genre: Mystery (Private Investigator)

Synopsis: This is the unabridged recording of Blood Shot. Victoria (V. I.) Warshawski is a private detective working mostly on corporate cases. She is reluctant to return to her blue-collar South Chicago roots, despite her close friend's appeal to help her in a personal quest.

However, when one of Vic's former schoolmates is murdered, Warshawski starts investigating in earnest. What starts as a family research turns into a struggle with a shadowy conspiracy, with puzzling involvement of crooked politicians, industry tycoons, suspected mobsters and mysterious medical histories.

Full Review: This book, while engrossing in places, suffers from depressing tedium through many of the middle chapters. The investigation takes too much time driving through the old neighborhoods, talking to difficult people, describing the material and moral tawdriness of the life in South Chicago. Many of the characters seem overdone, especially Carolyne, Warshawski's childhood friend and the instigator of the investigation.

The villains seem a bit stereotypical, and the their plot is improbably devious. The excitement picks up near the end of the book, with a tense and realistic confrontation.

Despite a well-done grittily realistic tone, this mystery is only mildly satisfying. The lack of sympathetic character interaction, and the meandering narration of the early clue-gathering phase detract from the entertainment value of this novel.

Overall: 5.5; Plot: 5.5; Characters: 5; Style: 5.5; World-building: 6; Originality: 5;

ISBN: 0-55690-899-7 Order from: Recorded Books