Book summary

In the 12th V. I. Warshawksi mystery, the private detective returns to her old South Chicago neighborhood, a visit littered with unpleasant memories, plus present-day sabotage, murder, and disappearing teenagers. After her former high-school basketball coach becomes ill with cancer, V. I. agrees to volunteer-coach the girls' team. An attempt to drum up corporate support for the team from local high-school alum Buffalo Bill Bysen, the elderly CEO of the By-Smart big-box discount store, proves a dismal failure; ironically, the Bysen family ends up appealing to V. I. instead when Bysen's great-grandson Billy and one of the basketball team members run off together.

Media reviews

"Packed with social themes and moral energy, held together by humor, compassion and sheer feistiness, this novel shows why Paretsky and her heroine are such enduring figures in American detective fiction." (starred review)