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*Starred Review* In an unlikely moment of sentimentality, Chicago private investigator V. I. Warshawski grudgingly agrees to spend a few hours investigating the possibility that her old friend Frank Guzzo's mother, Stella, was wrongfully convicted of murdering her daughter, Annie, 25 years ago. Stella, a nasty piece of work known for battering her children and slandering V. I.'s mother at every opportunity, punches V. I. at their first meeting, and Vic resolves to dump the case. But, then, Stella makes public claims that Annie's long-lost diary implicates V. I.'s beloved hockey-star cousin, Boom Boom Warshawski, in her murder. No way is V. I. going to let those accusations stand, and she's off fishing for new evidence from those involved in Annie's case. As intrepid and tenacious as she was in the series' first novels, V. I. battles the circled wagons of the tight-knit South Side Chicago neighborhood in which she grew up, which ultimately reveals a satisfyingly complex story of decades-old murder, family loyalties, dirty politics, and gangsters. A certain summer hit, this robust series entry harkens back to the outstanding Fire Sale (2005), which also returned V. I. to her roots. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: V. I. Warshawski remains one of the most-loved characters in crime fiction, and this episode, drawing as it does on Warshawski's personal history, will be of particular interest to fans looking for backstory.--Tran, Christine Copyright 2015 Booklist

Chicago PI V.I. "Vic" Warshawski's 18th anticrime foray takes her back to her old neighborhood and her second recorded case, the murder of her beloved cousin, hockey great Boom-Boom Warshawski (the basis for the plot of 1984's Deadlock). Frank Guzzo, her flame, approaches Vic with a sensitive issue: his mother, Stella, just finished 25 years in prison for murdering Frank's younger sister, Annie, and she's now proclaiming her innocence. Vic agrees to look into the matter, but is floored when Stella accuses the detective's beloved late cousin of having a hand in Annie's murder. Actress Peakes, assuming reading duty from Susan Ericksen, has the narrator-sleuth sounding a little younger and speaking a little faster, with the angry edge that was previously part of the characterization now reserved for the times when Vic really is angry. As for the other players, Peakes smoothly adds to Frank's weakness under pressure with stammering and halted speech, manages a bit of gravitas when limning the lawyers and rabbis on Vic's info-gathering list, and does a fair imitation of the Windy City Irish accent during her visits to the old neighborhood. A Putnam hardcover. (July) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

Paretsky's latest V.I. Warshawski novel (after Critical Mass) finds our intrepid Chicago private investigator doing a favor for old high school boyfriend Frank Guzzo. Back in the South Side neighborhood, the Warshawski clan and the Guzzos have a long-standing and seemingly inexplicable feud, but V.I. reluctantly agrees to look into an unlikely claim that Stella, Frank's mother, was framed for the bludgeoning death of her daughter Annie 25 years ago. But Stella's tactics turn on the Warshawski family, and V.I.'s famous cousin, Boom Boom, is implicated in the case on the word of a volatile and still violent 80-year-old woman. Against her better judgment, V.I. pursues the case, raising the hackles of her lawyer, her reporter friend who relies on her tips, and an assortment of friends and family readers have come to know. VERDICT Paretsky's novels are never boring, but this one is particularly well executed, combining family and city history with local political intrigue and a jaunt into the tunnels under Wrigley Field. The author's many fans won't be let down, while readers new to the series will be able to follow the story line without difficulty. [See Prepub Alert, 2/23/15.]-Julie Kane, Sweet Briar Coll. Lib., VA © Copyright 2015. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

V.I. Warshawski (Critical Mass, 2013, etc.) takes on the most thankless task of her career: reopening a 25-year-old murder case on behalf of a convicted defendant who hates the sight of her. When trucker Frank Guzzo, who was once V.I.'s high school boyfriend, tells her that his mother, Stella, claims she was framed now that she's been released after doing a quarter-century for beating Frank's sister, Annie, to death, V.I.'s main reaction is skepticism. Who knows if Annie was really still alive when Stella left her to play bingo? In the end, though, she agrees to ask around, and the first person she questions is Stella. She quickly learns that Stella still blames V.I.'s mother, Gabriella, Annie's piano teacher, for turning her daughter against her, and V.I.'s late cousin, hockey star Boom-Boom Warshawski, for ruining Frank's chances of playing with the Cubs. She also learns that Stella swings one mean fist. Clearly this isn't a client she can work with. But every attempt she makes to extricate herself from this sticky case enmeshes her more closely with all Paretsky's trademark complicationsbullying cops, crooked politicians, long-simmering resentments, buried secrets avid to spring back to murderous lifeand she's haunted by Stella's contemptuous charge that "you want this to be about my family, but you won't admit that it's really about yours." A healthy dose of present-day murder drives home the urgency of V.I.'s quest. Tension spikes when Boom-Boom's goddaughter, hockey player Bernadine Fouchard, who's been staying with V.I., goes missing. Paretsky, who plots more conscientiously than anyone else in the field, digs deep, then deeper, into past and present until all is revealed. The results will be especially appealing to baseball fans, who'll appreciate the punning chapter titles and learn more than they ever imagined about Wrigley Field. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

*Starred Review* In an unlikely moment of sentimentality, Chicago private investigator V. I. Warshawski grudgingly agrees to spend a few hours investigating the possibility that her old friend Frank Guzzo's mother, Stella, was wrongfully convicted of murdering her daughter, Annie, 25 years ago. Stella, a nasty piece of work known for battering her children and slandering V. I.'s mother at every opportunity, punches V. I. at their first meeting, and Vic resolves to dump the case. But, then, Stella makes public claims that Annie's long-lost diary implicates V. I.'s beloved hockey-star cousin, Boom Boom Warshawski, in her murder. No way is V. I. going to let those accusations stand, and she's off fishing for new evidence from those involved in Annie's case. As intrepid and tenacious as she was in the series' first novels, V. I. battles the circled wagons of the tight-knit South Side Chicago neighborhood in which she grew up, which ultimately reveals a satisfyingly complex story of decades-old murder, family loyalties, dirty politics, and gangsters. A certain summer hit, this robust series entry harkens back to the outstanding Fire Sale (2005), which also returned V. I. to her roots. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: V. I. Warshawski remains one of the most-loved characters in crime fiction, and this episode, drawing as it does on Warshawski's personal history, will be of particular interest to fans looking for backstory. Copyright 2014 Booklist Reviews.

Mystery Writers of America Grand Master Paretsky follows up 2013's Critical Mass by having V.I. Warshawski help out old high school flame Frank Guzzo, whose mother is seeking exoneration after serving a 25-year prison term for bludgeoning Frank's little sister to death. Alas, her meddling leads V.I. into the messiness of Illinois politics and a bludgeoning of her own.

Paretsky's latest V.I. Warshawski novel (after Critical Mass) finds our intrepid Chicago private investigator doing a favor for old high school boyfriend Frank Guzzo. Back in the South Side neighborhood, the Warshawski clan and the Guzzos have a long-standing and seemingly inexplicable feud, but V.I. reluctantly agrees to look into an unlikely claim that Stella, Frank's mother, was framed for the bludgeoning death of her daughter Annie 25 years ago. But Stella's tactics turn on the Warshawski family, and V.I.'s famous cousin, Boom Boom, is implicated in the case on the word of a volatile and still violent 80-year-old woman. Against her better judgment, V.I. pursues the case, raising the hackles of her lawyer, her reporter friend who relies on her tips, and an assortment of friends and family readers have come to know. VERDICT Paretsky's novels are never boring, but this one is particularly well executed, combining family and city history with local political intrigue and a jaunt into the tunnels under Wrigley Field. The author's many fans won't be let down, while readers new to the series will be able to follow the story line without difficulty. [See Prepub Alert, 2/23/15.]—Julie Kane, Sweet Briar Coll. Lib., VA

South Chicago provides the setting for MWA Grand Master Paretsky's electrifying 18th novel featuring PI V.I. "Vic" Warshawski (after 2013's Critical Mass). Vic thought she had left her old neighborhood—and her former teenage flame, Frank Guzzo—years ago, until he approaches her with a sensitive issue: his mother, Stella, just finished 25 years in prison for murdering Frank's younger sister, Annie, and she's now proclaiming her innocence. Reluctant to get involved—Stella always hated the Warshawski family—Vic agrees to look into the matter, but is floored when Stella accuses the detective's beloved late cousin and Chicago hockey legend Boom-Boom (who was murdered in 1984's Deadlock) of having a hand in Annie's murder. Determined to clear Boom-Boom's name, Vic throws herself into the investigation, which takes her into the murky political waters of her former stomping ground, with its back channels leading to the state's highest echelons of power. Paretsky never shies from tackling social issues, and in this installment she targets political corruption without ever losing sight of her dogged sleuth's very personal stake in the story. Author tour. Agent: Dominick Abel, Dominick Abel Agency. (July)