Reviews for Windy City blues

The average rating for Windy City blues based on 2 reviews is 3 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2017-08-22 00:00:00 Scott Humphress Sara Paretsky's famous private eye V.I. Warshawski has been my go to detective from the time I was in high school. Bleeding Chicago blue and loving the city and the Cubs as much as I do, I have read each of V.I.'s cases with enthusiasm. Needing a book of detective short stories as part of a mystery challenge, I came across Paretsky's Windy City Blues on a friend's feed last week. With nine stories featuring V.I. and friends, Windy City Blues adds depth to the detective's character in an early book in the series. It is the mid 1990s. There is no internet or social media, and people get the majority of their news from newspapers, television, and radio, detectives included. What I enjoy about the early books in this series is that V.I. really has to detect and snoop, worming her way into situations usually barred to all but the police. Murray Ryerson, V.I.'s contact at the Globe plays a key role in providing her with news tips in exchange for her own information. The two enjoy an interesting to say the least relationship, usually providing me with a few laughs. Additionally, with her father, beat cop Tony Warshawski, only deceased fifteen years at this point, Vic still has friends on the force. While at times the cops resent her presence as getting in their way and at other times do not want to see Tony's daughter in harms way, an early Vic enjoyed a cordial working relationship with Chicago's finest. Sergeant John McGonnigal appears in each of the cases here as does Captain Bobby Mallory, her father's closest friend on the force. Both give her the benefit of the doubt on dubious cases, allowing V.I. to wrap up loose ends quickly. Surgeon Lotty Herschel, downstairs neighbor, the venerable Mr. Contreras, and Golden Glow bar owner Sal Barthele also make appearances in these stories, as do the dogs Mitch and Peppy. Both attempt without much success to play the role of Vic's parents, urging her to be careful and to stay out of harms way. Lotty does not have to do much patching up here as most of these cases wrap up quickly or involve thinking rather than solving, yet she has reminded Vic of the numerous times that she has saved her life. Meanwhile Mr. Contreras would love a shot at any intruders and gives possible lovers the ninth degree, while Sal provides morale support and dry humor at the end of long working days. This cast of characters who I have come to know so well over the years makes for easy reading, suspense, and a few laughs. While the stories were predictable, a few stand out. In Grace Notes, a long lost cousin makes an appearance claiming that Vic's mother owned rare musical compositions and would kill to obtain them. The denouement of this story was predictable but gave insight into Vic's mother's family and also made her question her parentage. The Pietro Andromache features white collar crime while also offering a look into Lotty's past. Her role as a Holocaust survivor and her difficulties in facing the past play a recurring prominent role in the series. Other stand out stories include Strung Out in which a tennis prodigy is accused of murdering her father and Skin Deep where Sal's sister is said to have killed a client at the beauty salon where she works. In each instance, V.I. detects and solves the case, sometimes with the help of Murray and the cops and sometimes solo, all providing for easy reading whodunits. I was not thrilled with Paretsky's latest V.I. installment Fallout because the action takes place largely away from Chicago, without her usual cast of characters, so I found it fun to revisit an earlier episode in the series. Even though the cases here were largely predictable, I found my time with V.I. to be fun as I returned to early days when she was the premier private eye in Chicago. With no internet or computer, V.I. really had to detect here, and I enjoyed seeing her and her friends in action. Hopefully, Paretsky's next case will have Vic back in Chicago where she belongs, but if not, I can always return to the early cases where V.I. Warshawski is in her heyday. 3.5 fun stars.

Review # 2 was written on 2012-01-07 00:00:00 Patrick Lyon Book Review 3 out of 5 stars to Windy City Blues, a collection of short stories written in 1995 by Sara Paretsky. In the mid-1990s. Paretsky took a short break from writing the lengthy VI Warshawski mystery novels and worked on a few non-VI novels; however, knowing fans would miss their favorite detective, she published this short story collection, focusing entirely on VI Warshawski, her friends and her family. You learn a little more about her personal life, family and friends, and where she comes from. Although it doesn't fit or match the timeline of the rest of the books, there's no worry about when you read this one, as it doesn't really connect to the plots and main characters in the regular series. The first mystery is a bit longer than a short story, having a good amount of meat to it. The rest are a tad too short. It feels more like a person's diary entry rather than more mystery action with a detective we love. That said, there are a few good ones which make it worth pick up to read from time to time. About Me For those new to me or my reviews... here's the scoop: I read A LOT. I write A LOT. And now I blog A LOT. First the book review goes on Goodreads, and then I send it on over to my WordPress blog at , where you'll also find TV & Film reviews, the revealing and introspective 365 Daily Challenge and lots of blogging about places I've visited all over the world. And you can find all my social media profiles to get the details on the who/what/when/where and my pictures. Leave a comment and let me know what you think. Vote in the poll and ratings. Thanks for stopping by.