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Hard Time (Paperback)

by Sara Paretsky (Author) "LACEY DOWELL CLUTCHED her crucifix, milky breasts thrust forward, as she backed away from her unseen assailant ..." (more)
4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)

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Product details

  • Paperback: 432 pages
  • Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd (1 Jun 2000)
  • ISBN-10: 0140292780
  • ISBN-13: 978-0140292787
  • Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 2,751,504 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Product Description

Amazon.co.uk Review

V.I. Warshawski, Sara Paretsky's tough-talking, dog-loving, justice-seeking private investigator, has been missing in action since 1994, when she ratted out a big city political scandal on the streets of Chicago in Tunnel Vision. But now our Vic is back for her ninth adventure--a wee bit older, a tad more jaded and as broke as ever. It all begins when Warshawski weasels an invitation to the hottest event in town, a glitzy party celebrating television's brightest new star, Lacey Dowell, or, as she's better known, the Mad Virgin. Vic's old pal (and one-time fling) Murray Ryerson now works for Global Enterprises, the corporate giant behind the Lacey sensation. On the way back from the party Vic almost runs over a woman lying in the middle of the road, her Mad Virgin t-shirt soaked in blood from an earlier beating. The victim, Nicola Aguinaldo, dies in hospital, and Vic quickly realises that a particularly nasty cop, Detective Lemour, intends to frame her for vehicular homicide. Her anger at these absurd charges hits boiling point when Nicola's body disappears from the morgue before an autopsy can be carried out. Why was this woman, an escapee from the local Coolis prison, so important to Lemour? And why does the whole Mad Virgin phenomenon smell so rotten? "I didn't want to dive into Nicola Aguinaldo's wreck," V.I. grouses, "but it felt as though someone had climbed up behind me on the high board to give me a shove." In her search for answers, Warshawski runs afoul of Global Enterprises magnate Edmund Trant and Robert Baladine, the head honcho of the nation's biggest security firm. They have enough clout to have V.I. thrown into Coolis for another crime she did not commit. But incarceration gives the resourceful Vic a perfect opportunity to snoop into Nicola's last days there--and uncover a sensational scandal.

As she has done throughout the series, Paretsky brilliantly juxtaposes strikingly different environments. Here she contrasts the dilapidated environs of the jail with the exorbitant homes of Chicago's filthy rich. In fact, readers who have anxiously awaited V.I. Warshawski's return will be glad to find that little has changed in her world. Mitch and Peppy the wonder dogs are as endearing as ever, her landlord, Mr. Contreras is his normal fearless self, and V.I. is victorious. It really is like returning home. --Naomi Gesinger --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Customer Reviews

13 Reviews
5 star:
 (8)
4 star:
 (1)
3 star:
 (3)
2 star:
 (1)
1 star:    (0)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.2 out of 5 stars (13 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Taut Suspense Throughout, 28 May 2004
By Professor Donald Mitchell "Jesus Makes Me a P... (Boston) - See all my reviews
(TOP 10 REVIEWER)      
This review is from: Hard Time (Hardcover)
V.I. is not a detective out of the English drawing room style. She is an original, and as such will be appreciated or rejected by the degree that you look for originality in your mysteries.

The plot is deliciously complicated, hard to anticipate, and moves along nicely. Although some will quibble that the whole thing is improbable, it could be made very probable with one small change in the motives of the killers.

As such, I'd have to say this is by far the most sophisticated and exciting of the books in the series. V.I. is a lot like Robert Parker's Spenser: Principle is the thing. In an age when many unthinkingly take the easy way out, it is valuable to explore what a modern Dona Quixote would do. V.I. fills the bill perfectly in this fine novel which rises above the detective genre into regular fiction.

Keep up the good work!

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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Possibly the best VI novel yet?, 14 Nov 2001
By A Customer
This review is from: Hard Time (Paperback)
I found this to be the most compelling of all the VI novels. Admittedly I was reading it while I was on holiday when I had little else to think about, but I found I couldn't put it down - I just had to know what was going to happen next! In her earlier books, VI is an unlikeable character but she seems to be mellowing with age making her easier to sympathise with. It's nice to come back to a cast of familiar characters after all this time without VI, and I'd definitely recommend it to anyone who's read the previous stories. However, it also manages not to alienate the new reader by requiring previous knowledge of the characters. An excellent comeback.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Worth waiting for - Paretsky returns in brilliant form, 20 Jan 2001
By H. J. Ratnasabapathy "Hillary" (London, England) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This review is from: Hard Time (Paperback)
I could not improve on Samantha Pope's review, but want to add that the maturing V.I. is evenmore intersting than she was in the earlier novels and the plot, characters and action are first rate. I was breathless with suspense at the denouement in the the church. A delight for those of us who love smart, sassy women detectives.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars Paranoia
I did finish the novel as it moves along at a good pace. What bothers me is that V.I. seems to be at the centre of the universe (even though this may not much spread beyond... Read more
Published on 18 Sep 2007 by C. Hackwith

3.0 out of 5 stars Rattling good yarn
Sarah Paretsky pulls out all the stops in this quick paced crime novel. While it's an effective indictment of the worst aspects of the US criminal justice system, and of the... Read more
Published on 31 Mar 2005 by al130

2.0 out of 5 stars How many unbelievable lives can one person have?
I've read a number of her books, but this one goes way over the top. Warshawski is becoming more and more caricatured, getting sillier by the page; but of course, no matter how... Read more
Published on 14 Jun 2001

5.0 out of 5 stars PLAIN GREAT!
When you start reading it's impossible to stop. Great crime story, wonderful narrative, just good literature.
Published on 6 April 2001

4.0 out of 5 stars Great reading
Having read and enjoyed Sara Paretsky's books many years ago, I approached Hard Time with some trepidation. I needn't have worried. Read more
Published on 4 Dec 2000

3.0 out of 5 stars Is it just me or is V.I. a little dated
Maybe the formula of the books worked in the 80s - when I first read Sara Paretsky - but the genre has moved on. Just try going back and rereading the early books. Read more
Published on 24 Sep 2000

5.0 out of 5 stars Great pacy read, highly reccomended
I enjoy all of Sara Paretsky's books, this is the best by far, tense, can't put it down, with a really intelligent human heroine who occasionally get's things wrong. Read more
Published on 16 Sep 2000 by victoriacorby

5.0 out of 5 stars A brilliant return for the heroine of women sleuths.
Sara Paretsky kept fans waiting in suspense for VI Warshawski's latest case while she experimented with Ghost Country, a break away from blue-collar crime fiction. Read more
Published on 7 Sep 2000 by S. Pope

5.0 out of 5 stars A welcome return
The writing in this book was a huge improvement over Tunnel Vision, with the dropping of all that relentlessly tiresome simile, which wasn't a feature of previous titles, and the... Read more
Published on 28 Jan 2000

5.0 out of 5 stars Warshawski at her best
After celebrating her friend landing a prestigious television job, V.I. Warshawski heads home. However, her drive proves very eventful as V.I. Read more
Published on 1 Sep 1999

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