Ghost Country

By: Sara Paretsky

Narrated by: Teri Schnaubelt

Sara Paretsky's genius made Chicago private eye V.I. Warshawski a household name. Now the New York Times bestselling author explores an unseen corner of the city she loves. In Ghost Country she has written a parable for the millennium, a powerful, haunting novel of magic and miracles, of four troubled people who meet beneath Chicago's shadowy streets - and of the woman whose mysterious appearance changes all of their lives forever.

They come from different worlds and meet at a time of crisis for all of them. Luisa, a drunken diva fallen on hard times, discovers on Chicago's streets a drama greater than any she has experienced onstage. Madeleine, a homeless woman, sees the Virgin Mary's blood seeping through a concrete wall beneath a luxury hotel. Mara, a rebellious adolescent cast out by her wealthy grandfather, becomes the catalyst for a war between the haves and have-nots as she searches among society's castoffs for the mother she never knew.

As the three women fight for their right to live and worship beneath the hotel, they find an ally in Hector Tammuz, an idealistic young psychiatrist risking his career to treat the homeless regardless of the cost. Tensions in the city are escalating when a mysterious woman appears during a violent storm. Erotic to some, repellent to others, she never speaks; the street people call her Starr. And as she slowly transforms their lives, miracles begin to happen in a city completely unprepared for the outcome.

In this extraordinary novel, Sara Paretsky gives voice to the dispossessed, to men and women struggling to bury the ghosts of the past, fighting for their lives in a world hungry for miracles, terrified of change. A magical, unforgettable story of myth and madness, hope and revelation, Ghost Country is Sara Paretsky's most eloquent and ambitious work yet.

©1998 Sara Paretsky (P)2017 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.

A Good Character Study

Maybe I got to personally involved with the characters rather than with the overall plot but this was a rather depressing tale of too many unfortunate people with too many problems and very few compassionate ways of solving them. However it did have a good ending for the characters who deserved a respite from the suffering inflicted on them by their relatives and various townspeople. I prefer Ms. Paretsky's detective series to her wandering out into the horrid world of warring relatives and murderous neighbors.

Who's your Daddy!

This is an interesting story of the haves and have nots of the world. People who bring them together in their time of need. This author knows Chicago well and it was refreshing to read about places you have been and seen. Lower Wacker Drive where the sun never shines. How people live there and try to survive. It truly is a ghost country. The characters in this book are richly portrayed. Read this book. Teri Schnaubelt gives an Excellent performance in this book.