Deadlock

A V.I. Warshawski Mystery, Book 2

By: Sara Paretsky

Narrated by: Susan Ericksen

Deadlock, V. I. Warshawski’s second case, involves the huge Great Lakes shipping industry. Once again the subject is murder - this time the “accidental death” of Boom-Boom Warshawski, an ex-hockey star and V. I.’s beloved cousin, who fell - or was pushed - off a rain-slicked pier on Chicago’s busy waterfront.

Convinced that Boom-Boom was in fact killed because of information he had uncovered about criminal doings on the shipping lines, V. I. begins a long and frustrating search for her cousin’s murderer. In the course of an investigation that takes her to a remote Canadian port city and a calamitous trip on a sabotaged freighter, V. I. finds all too many possible candidates for the killer, including a grain company executive involved in extortion; and rival heads of two shippers, one of whom is being blackmailed for his criminal past; a hockey player whose specialty is graft; and Boom-Boom’s lover, an icily beautiful dancer with expensive tastes in men and merchandise.

©2011 Sara Paretsky (P)2012 Brilliance Audio, Inc.

Solved but Unresolved

This is an interesting story with lots of details about shipping to help understand the motivations. I was a little disappointed that it was solved but unresolved.

Good story narrated well

Ms Paretsky’s books are always good, and Ms Ericksen’s narration adds a nice shine to them.

Boom Boom ... VI

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

Never read the book so that would be difficult to say. The story line did keep me interested.

What did you like best about this story?

The mental visual was great. Many of the lines did make you see the locks, the ship, the piers. That was nice. Too many books don't "bring you there".

What about Susan Ericksen’s performance did you like?

True to each character. Never had to worry about who is this now?

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No, due to length and due to going back to re-listen.

Love listening to Susan Ericksen

Would you listen to Deadlock again? Why?

I would listen to Deadlock again because it is a well written mystery, but mostly because it is narrated by Susan Ericksen.

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

It was a very well developed plot.

Which scene was your favorite?

The resolution was my favorite part of the book

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No, I like to make my audio enjoyment last.

HUGE Boo-boo Mars an Otherwise Excellent Book

Susan Ericksen is an excellent audiobook performer. In this performance, however, she makes a HUGE mistake. It's one that the session engineer, together with any overseers, REALLY should have caught BEFORE the recording was finalized. What's the HUGE mistake? One of the characters in this book is a French-Canadian (Quebecois, to be specific) hockey player. When Ms. Ericksen voices that character, she uses a quite good FRANCE accent. (I think it's Parisian.) A France-French accent when speaking English is NOTHING like a Canadian-French accent when speaking English, and is ESPECIALLY NOT like a Quebecois accent. Each time that Ms. Ericksen voices the French-Canadian hockey player, her mistake is so jarring, that I am immediately transported OUT OF the world of the story, and into reality. This is really too bad, because Ms. Ericksen does a great job of performing the rest of Deadlock, and so she really immerses the reader into the story. However, her performance of a VERY incorrect accent wrenches out of the world of Deadlock any listener who can tell that the accent is incredibly incorrect. (It is so incorrect that it provokes a laughter response in me, and likely in many others. This REALLY pulls one back to reality.)

When the Quebecois hockey player is not in a scene, the listener is, thankfully, re-immersed in Deadlock's world.

Sara Paretsky is an excellent author, and this book is no exception. It's a pleasure to "read" a novel with a strong, independent, sexual, realistic woman at its core. Ms. Paretsky's description of the sexism endemic to office workplaces in the early 1980s (and still there in the present time) is very accurate. (Even the life-choice doubts which the main character, V.I. Warshawski, has ring true, and are both realistic for the early 1980s and applicable to today.) It's just really too bad that the HUGE boo-boo in performance wrenches a lot of listeners out of the world of Ms. Paretsky's excellent story.

Very interesting

Enjoyed the process of the investigation, odd about the girl friend going to London with the insurance expert, but then again maybe not if she was willing with two why not three for money.

Deadlock

The settings of her books are set near the Great Lakes and I enjoy that.

Well Worth the Listen!

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

Very well worth the time. Nice story, interesting characters, and wonderful descriptions on Chicago.

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

Somewhat better than the 1st book.

What about Susan Ericksen’s performance did you like?

She brings a skill and talent to her storytelling which is most pleasing. She has become the voice of VI Warshawski to me.

Could you see Deadlock being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?

Don't know.

great read

An excellent story, well planned with an excellent narration. I enjoyed it very much and read more in the series

Not Great

This was not a dynamic storyline for a full length novel. better suited for a short story. Narrator had a pleasant voice.