Shell Game audiobook

This was another great outing with Sara Paretsky and her almost, but too human to be, wonder woman, V.I.Warshawski. Set in her familiar surroundings of Chicago, it is very current, featuring the more recent predations of ICE on even legal immigrants, the ways the lives of the extremely wealthy can intersect with people much lower on the socioeconomic ladder and how V.I. manages to interact with both while doing favors for “almost” family members who she cares about deeply.The action level is high. Occasional coincidences are well explained through the plot. V.I. both takes and gives lumps while also meeting some interesting new people. All in all, another book that any follower of the series definitely should read. Anyone not reading this series really should seriously consider it. The plots are well constructed, the characters well developed and the writing is excellent. The stories frequently tie in a contemporaneous event or social or political issue which broadens their scope. This may be local to Chicago or national or possibly more far-reaching. Highly recommended. 4.5* rounded to 5

Always good to catch up with V.I. Warshawski. Definitely one of my favourite series. This one had some good contemporary political themes running through the plot. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an opportunity to read an advance copy.

V. I. Warshawski is back for her 19th adventure. A Private Investigator with a license to practice law, she's been asked by her best friend and mentor to help keep her nephew out of jail. A man found murdered had the nephew's name and address on his person. But Felix swears he has never seen the man, and the police don' quite believe his story.While trying to help Felix, and knowing that he's keeping something secret, V.I. also gets involved in a missing person case .. a young woman who just happens to be her ex-husband's niece.As V. I. gets entangled in these cases, she has to deal with possible terrorist groups, the Russian mob, stock scams and stolen works of art.It seems like everyone is keeping secrets .. some of which could be the end of V.I..This is easily read as a stand alone. There's lots of suspense, plenty of suspects to keep the reader engaged, and a volatile ending.Many thanks to the author / HarperCollins - William Morrow / Edelweiss for the advanced digital copy of this crime fiction. Opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.

Sara Paretsky is one of my long-time literary crushes. I've been reading her V.I. Warshawski novels since almost their beginning back in the 1980s. She has never let me down. Oh, sure, I have enjoyed some of the books more than others, but there is not a stinker among them.One of the things that I enjoy about V.I. is that she has been allowed to age, more or less in real time. By now (and the present book takes place in the present time - the Trump era) she's getting a bit long in the tooth, not unlike many of us, but her passion for justice and for serving her clients with honor remains undimmed.Her latest case involves a heady mix of stock scams and painstakingly detailed insurance fraud by high rollers, the scapegoating and demonizing of immigrants (particularly Middle Eastern immigrants), an out-of-control ICE, theft of archaeological treasures, Russian mobsters, kidnapping and sexual abuse of young girls, and, of course, murder.It's the murder that initially gets V.I. involved in all the rest of this muck. The body of a murdered man with no identification on him has been found in a nature preserve area outside of Chicago. The Cook County Sheriff's Office has jurisdiction over the investigation. The only clue they find on the body is a scrap of paper bearing the name and phone number of Felix Herschel. Felix is the grand-nephew of Lotty Herschel, V.I.'s friend, doctor, and mother-figure. Sheriff's deputies take Felix to look at the body to see if he can identify it and Lotty contacts V.I. to go along.Felix denies knowing the dead person, but he seems to be hiding something and V.I. follows him and sees him meet a young woman of Middle Eastern appearance. She turns out to be Syrian, a recent refugee from the civil war there and she is the daughter of an honored poet who is in the country illegally. Felix seems to be trying to protect them.The dead man is eventually identified as Leroy (or Lawrence) Fausson, an archaeology student who had worked at digs in the Middle East and was captivated by the culture of that area. He often dressed as an Arab and wanted to be called Lawrence, or Elorenze, as in Lawrence of Arabia. It develops that he had probably stolen a priceless antiquity.Meantime, in a parallel plot, V.I. is contacted by Harmony Seale, whose late mother was the sister of Warshawski's long-ago husband, Richard Yarborough. V.I. had not seen the girl since she was 5 or 6 years old, but now she is grown up and needs help. Her older sister, Reno, had recently moved to Chicago from Portland and found a job, but now she has disappeared. Harmony refuses to go to the police because she doesn't trust them. She wants V.I. to find her.V.I. looks for clues and tries to work both the cases and at some point they begin to grow together in an intricately woven pattern. She has a problem following or developing the clues that she finds because she keeps getting attacked by two monstrously large and implacable Slavic thugs. Of course, V.I. is pretty implacable herself and we know she's not going to give up.It's fairly obvious pretty early on who the prime villain is here, but that knowledge does not in any way detract from the pleasure of reading this story. The plot is meticulously worked out in the most minute detail including a lot of information about insurance and stocks that frankly goes over my head, but I'm able to follow along and get the gist and, as usual, it is the characters and their relationships that keep me turning the pages. Particularly the new and intriguing relationship between V.I. and a certain archaeologist from the Oriental Institute.What can I say? V.I. just gets better and better. This one was definitely one of my favorites in the series.

** spoiler alert ** I like everything about this book that I like about Paretsky's previous books: the main character's fearlessness, drive, and -yes, attention to running her business--her willingness to challenge anyone and everyone in seeking answers. The plotting is terrific and the settings in Chicago, including UChicago's Oriental Institute are spot-on.However, Paretsky has a political point to make about immigration/open borders/ICE, and some readers may feel, as I did, hit over the head as hard as by one of the book's Russian thugs, without any chance to respond.Honestly, I would challenge Paretsky to spend a year in Laredo or McAllen or Tucson where, for instance, journalists who report the truth about the drug trade are routinely murdered or, like Alfredo Corchado "merely" live in fear of being murdered. After such an experience Paretsky would ideally revisit the issue of illegal immigration from a southern border perspective.I can unfortunately only recommend this book in Paretsky's mystery series to those who are already fully on board with her immigration politics because everything else is secondary to the point she wishes to make. This is a shame since the writing, plot, and characterization are great.

I have been doing a fairly good job of reading the current Paretsky books. I keep telling myself to read some of the older ones but somehow a new book is out before I can do it.I enjoy the tough smart mouthed V. I Warshawski, attorney turned private investigator. Paretsky usually provides a great sight seeing trip around Chicago also. Each book is an action-packed story with lots of humor and a social issue that leads to a suspenseful story. In this story Paretsky adds current affairs as V. I. deals with Middle East immigrates. V. I. has several cases going at the same time so the story weaves back and forth between the cases. I thoroughly enjoyed the nail-biting story.I read this as an audiobook downloaded from Audible. The book is fifteen hours and 2 minutes. Susan Ericksen does an excellent job narrating the book. Ericksen is an actress and has won all the awards available for an audiobook narrator. Ericksen has narrated nine of the nineteen books in the series.

This review was originally posted on Books of My Heart   Read It, Rate It and Record    A short review to update challenges  I have read and loved the V.I. Warshawski  series for a looooong time, since it started in 1982!  I've read and loved them all and Shell Game is number 19.  I was happy to get this on audio from the library.The social issues were on display in this complex, layered mystery. Vic ends up in two personal, i.e. non-paying cases, which show the utter lack of compassion and total greed of the wealthy.   Characters, including Vic herself, are not all black and white. There are rich, old men using women, without consent.  There are also racists happy to abuse those from other cultures. Of course, there are the greedy who will use anyone for their own profit.Vic is hunting for her niece who is missing. She is also working on finding out who killed an Arabic-speaking young man, to prevent Lotty's nephew from being charged with his murder due to circumstantial evidence.  There are some times Vic really puts herself into too much danger.As per usual, after a few injuries Vic brings the wrongdoers to light, to their dismay and downfall. lucky for her Lotty is always there to patch her up.   She also has a bit of unbelievable help sometimes from rich clients.  It's a fun series encompassing current topics.  I recommend it. Narration: Susan Ericksen is the voice of the series for me.  It is a stream of consciousness in Shell Game particularly.  I felt it was more Vic with her inner thoughts and feelings and very few voices of any others. I was able to listen at 1.5x speed and enjoyed the performance.Listen to a clip:https://soundcloud.com/harperaudio_us... 

I thought Shell Game was very good. I enjoyed Sara Paretsky’s early books but I haven’t read one for many years. I’m pleased to say that she’s still as good as ever.Here, Vic is drawn into two apparently separate investigations involving friends and family as a young great-nephew of a close friend is suspected of murder while a niece (sort of – it’s complicated) comes to her because her sister has vanished. A complex plot develops involving stolen Middle Eastern artefacts, corporate malfeasance, Russian mobsters, Vic getting knocked about...well, it’s classic Paretsky. There is a monumental coincidence at its heart, but it hangs together well and makes an exciting and involving read.Paretsky uses her very well-drawn characters to cast light on the present-day USA, with a convincing picture of the increasing, mindless conflation of “muslim” and even “immigrant” with “terroroist,” and some sharp stabs at the current political situation in general. Some are a little crude, but for the most part she gives an intelligent critique and creates a very convincing atmosphere. Shell Game shows that Sara Paretsky deserves her place in the pantheon of great contemporary crime writers and that she is writing as well as ever. I enjoyed it very much and I can recommend it warmly.(My thanks to Hodder & Stoughton for an ARC via NetGalley.)

I would like to thank Netgalley and Hodder and Stoughton for an advance copy of Shell Game, the nineteenth novel to feature Chicago based PI V.I. Warshawski.Vic's friend, Lottie Herschel, asks her to accompany her great nephew, Felix, to identify a dead body whom the police are certain he will know. Felix doesn't recognise the body but is so secretive the police line him up as the prime suspect. Preoccupied as she is with Felix and his problems she can't help but say yes when Harmony, her niece by marriage asks for help in finding her sister, Reno, who has disappeared. Both cases eventually end up intertwined.I thoroughly enjoyed Shell Game. It is a while since I spent time with Vic (after so many novels she's like a friend and that's what friends call her) but she seems undimmed. With a straightforward first person narrative it is easy to get to know her as she is free with her thoughts, deductions and emotions. She's not always likeable, being self righteous at times and very sure of herself, but she's honest, principled and unafraid to put herself in danger if the cause is just. Would that we could all measure up to her standards. Nevertheless she is a hero for our times.The plot is excellent and I couldn't read fast enough to see what was coming next. It is quite complicated in parts and I freely admit that some of the financial fraud detail went right over my head, but the gist is clear and while it's shocking to see it laid bare it's actually unsurprising as it seems a way of life in some circles. Ms Paretsky is never one to shy away from current social problems so immigration, financial fraud, payday loans and artefact smuggling all get a reference. Again, her bald delivery makes it shocking but unsurprising reading. While these issues are at the root of the novel they are not the be all and end all as there is a great story in there as well. There is action, danger, thrills, betrayal, lies and tension as Vic navigates her way towards the truth. Shell Game is a great read which I have no hesitation in recommending.

Another amazing thriller from Sara Parestsky who just keeps getting better. Immersed in today's critical social issues of immigration, social equality, offshore companies, a wealthy upper class that has lost its understanding the poor are flesh and blood people with rights and the looting of historical treasures, Paretsky manages to illuminate the issues while telling a crackling good and page-turning tale. Her friend Lotty's nephew and ex-husband's nieces are the fulcrum of the story and protecting them is tantamount. Well researched and full of adrenaline and humanity. Can't recommend highly enough!

Sara Paretsky knocks another one out of the park in her latest novel, Shell Game. She takes on ICE, art fraud, and missing persons. At first the two people missing seem unrelated to each other. V I Warshawski has been implored by her tried and true friend Dr Lottie Hershel to find her missing nephew. The young Canadian archeologist, working at a Chicago museum, is a main suspect in a murder case. Meanwhile his girlfriend has been rounded up and put into detention by ICE for being an illegal alien. Within a day V I gets a desperate call from her own young niece who has come to Chicago looking for her missing twin sister. The twins are V I's nieces by marriage, being the daughters of her ex-husband's deceased sister.As is usual in a Sara Paretsky book, the tale is twisted, full of old axes to grind and as confusing to V I Warshawski as it is to the reader. I have read all of her books so I am used to this state of affairs and have complete faith in the author and her intrepid P I.Eventually the twin plots become entwined. Everyone gets what they deserve but only after V I goes through her share of harrowing danger. Lee Child has a blurb on the front cover: "Sara Paretsky is a genius." She must be. How else does she remain sane while constructing such intricate plots and delving in to so much evil?Also, in another case of reading synchronicity, Russian poets Anna Akmatova and Marina Tsvetaeva, whom I read just the other day, are mentioned by one of the characters!

V. I Warshawski gets a phone call from Felix, the nephew of her long-time friend, Lotty. He had been called in to identify a murder victim and is now the main suspect. Felix is a Canadian studying engineering in the US and his girlfriend is from the Middle East and both of them are on an ICE watch list. And it all seems to be linked to the theft of an important ancient and invaluable Sumerian artifact. After checking out the murder scene, Vic returns home to find her own niece, Harmony, waiting for her. Her sister, Reno, has disappeared and she asks Vic to find her. The sisters had had a very troubled past but Reno had been trying to turn her life around and had got a job at a money-lending corporation thanks to Vic's ex. Although the two incidents seem to have nothing in common, the more she investigates, the more Vic begins to suspect they are somehow linked and the more danger she finds herself and Harmony in. Sara Paretsky is one of the true masters of the intelligent thriller and her latest, Shell Game, is no exception to this. Like many of her other books, underneath the murders and the disappearances is a financial scam and, at times, this slowed the story down as Warshawski explains eg. the risk and often downright fraud of 'pink' or penny stocks. The story revolves less around action until near the end and more about following the money trail. That Paretsky manages to keep the reader's attention without constant shoot 'em ups says much about her writing ability - she appeals to the reader's intelligence more than their emotions and provides a cracking good story while doing it. Thanks to Edelweiss+ and William Morrow Publishers for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review

Another wonderful V.I. Warshawski thriller from Sara Parestsky...Vick's mentor Lottie Herschel asks her to provide counsel for her grandnephew & one of her twin nieces pleads with her to find her missing sister...these 2 seemingly unrelated events will pull Warshawski into intrigue involving immigration, Homeland Security & offshore corporations...Parestsky let's her Cook County "Leftism," "open borders" & anti-business slant infuse the story, but none put a damper on a very good effort in the series!