Blood Shot

V.I. Warshawski, Book 5

By: Sara Paretsky

Narrated by: Susan Ericksen

V.I. Warshawski isn't crazy about going back to her old south Chicago neighborhood, but a promise is something she always keeps. Caroline, a childhood friend, has a dying mother and a problem - after 25 years she wants V.I. to find the father she never knew. But when V.I. starts probing into the past, she not only finds out where all the bodies are buried - she stumbles onto a very new corpse.

Now she's stirring up a deadly mix of big business and chemical corruption that may become a toxic shock to a snooper who knows too much.

©2009 Sara Paretsky (P)2012 Brilliance Audio, Inc.

Great read

A great read written in a good snd wonderful series. Live the characters in all

Good story, holds up well, narrator not my style

As a fan of the VI Warshowski series in print, i did enjoy the story overall. There were a couple of instances of lazy research, such as a scene in which the main character feeds grapes to her dog (well known that they cause kidney failure in canines), that just struck me as cheating, but I'm a harsh editor, I suppose.

The narrator, however, was very harsh and brusque in her delivery and everyone sounded angry all the time. Would have preferred more variation in tone and cadence to even our the rough edges.

exciting action

Blood shot is book five in the Sara Paretsky’s V. I. Warshawski series. V.I. is an attorney turned private investigator in Chicago. In this book Paretsky gives us a tour of Chicago with all the sights, sounds, smells and history of Chicago’s South side. This book was written in 1989 when computers were just starting to be common place but cell phones were rare and expensive. V.I. is hunting for phone booths while searching for change and is using a word processor in her office. Vic returns to the South side to her high school basketball team’s 20th re-union of winning the championship as the current team is on the brink of winning. Carolyn who had lived next door to Vic wants her to find out who her father was. Carolyn’s mother is dying of kidney cancer. She had worked all her life at the local Xerxine plant. In hunting for men her mother knew from work Vic finds many have died of kidney or liver cancer and discovers how toxic Xerxine is. The author juggles wisecracks, tenderness, and grit in a fast pace action filled story. Paretsky always has created great characters and this book is no exception. The book has a great plot and numerous sub plots that keep the readers on their toes. Susan Ericksen does an excellent job narrating the book.

What I like about Paretsky is at its best

Each character, the growing and changing relationships of VI, how VI came to be who she is, and how other significant characters came to be who they are, are all the fodder of this novel. I can't imagine it being better.Sadly, I think I have listened to all of her books. I love the audio performances, and what I love most is the most evident in this one. Perhaps it is a bit over the top in its final action scene, but I didn't care, because I can listen to this performance of this particular book and be completely and totally captivated.

If only there were more of these.

Narrator

Susan Erickson brings the story to Life!
Love her interpretations of the characters in this series.

Great!

I really enjoyed this one! Caroline got my blood boiling. Not even gonna lie, but it’s a great listen!

Long, so painfully long!!!

Would you consider the audio edition of Blood Shot to be better than the print version?

Any Audio is better than having to read.

If you’ve listened to books by Sara Paretsky before, how does this one compare?

Haven't, so I don't know.

Have you listened to any of Susan Ericksen’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Haven't, so I don't know.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Made me bored. There is so much filler that the story takes ten times as long as it needs to. It was not a bad story if the filler was the main volume.

Any additional comments?

The audio is so slow and the book is filled with filler.

Satisfying listen on Audible

What I like most about this author is her characters - strong, vulnerable, flawed. The action and dialogue do get over the top on melodrama. So, the stories require some indulgence. Mostly, it's satisfying to see justice prevail, as usual, against almost impossible with the help of the intrepid lady PI.

VI Warshawski

As always, an excellent book! On to the next in the series. Absolutely love the stories.

Who's Your Daddy??

Where does Blood Shot rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Well considering Jance, Robb, Patterson, Cornwell, Stout, and so many other great writers, this book's rank from excellent #10 to poor #1.....#3

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

Sometimes too many words ruin a good story. Too many unimportant details that distract from the story.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Knowing where you came from is very important. If not emotionally genetically. This is a right that is taken away from so many.