Reviews
Praise for CRITICAL MASS "This is Paretsky at her best, describing with a reporter''s eye and a painter''s vision the light and texture of a place. A scene that throbs with menace concludes with a shock. Yet the tension, palpable from the first page, is sustained and deftly heightened by brief flashbacks to a wartime and postwar world of shifting loyalties and dangers. ...Warshawski, for her part, must confront not only killers but also crooked federal agents. Which she does, as always, without breaking her stride." - The Washington Post " Critical Mass proves that this gifted author is still, justifiably, a star. ...Paretsky has an impressive knack for weaving gripping history into her swift plot." - The Seattle Times "Sara Paretsky seems to have renewed creative energy, evident in pages that almost turn themselves." - Erie-Times News "There are plenty of women among the ranks of genre authors, but not many like Sara Paretsky, whose intellectually lively mysteries featuring her gutsy Chicago private eye, V.I. Warshawski, are fired by political causes and feminist social issues....Paretsky makes us feel both her own love for science and her fury at the way women like Martina have been denied the pursuit of their passion." -Marilyn Stasio, New York Times Book Review "Readers don''t have to understand all the physics to get inside this riveting story." - Shelf Awareness "With entombments, solved mysteries, loose ends neatly tied, good writing and a little bit of love, Critical Mass is a thoroughly satisfying read." - Saint Louis Post-Dispatch "Sara Paretsky mystery capers are always full of twists and turns, including surprising elements that this reviewer eagerly anticipates when reading her books. CRITICAL MASS is a complex family mystery that reaches from the past into the modern day, and is one of Paretsky''s best....It takes a character like V.I. Warshawski, who is willing to see justice served at any cost, to get to the truth. And this is exactly what has endeared Paretsky''s time-tested heroine to so many faithful readers." - BookReporter.com "A daring departure for Paretsky, combining her interests in women''s history, science and the Holocaust - and is a career crowning triumph." - The Sunday Times (London) "Although she has been writing about Vic for more than 30 years, Paretsky always keeps the character fresh and believable. Vic feels the blows and tumbles she takes more than she used to, but she''s as relentless as ever. In Critical Mass , both Warshawski and Paretsky are at the top of their forms." - Tampa Bay Times "As usual, V.I.''s quest is fraught with plenty of danger and white-knuckle moments. ... It is as much a breathless mystery as a historical delving into science and wartime academic politics. An intellectual mystery that will please the author''s many fans." - Library Journal "V.I. has a charismatic and blistering way of bringing old secrets to light." - Kirkus "Stellar...Paretsky builds suspense by deftly weaving the contemporary narrative with flashbacks." - Publishers Weekly (starred review) "Paretsky has been on a roll lately, her long-running, trailblazing series at its most dynamic since the early days." - Booklist (starred review), Praise for Sara Paretsky CRITICAL MASS "Stellar…Paretsky builds suspense by deftly weaving the contemporary narrative with flashbacks." - Publishers Weekly (starred review) "Paretsky has been on a roll lately, her long-running, trailblazing series at its most dynamic since the early days." - Booklist (starred review) "As much a breathless mystery as a historical delving into science and wartime academic politics. An intellectual mystery that will please the author's many fans. - Library Journal BREAKDOWN "Riveting…Warshawski once again proves a dogged champion for the truth at any cost."- Publishers Weekly (starred review) "Both Paretsky and she sharp-tongued justice-seeker, V.I. Warshawski, remain formidable in the masterfully suspenseful fifteenth novel in this superb and adored Chicago-set series. … V.I. reigns as crime fiction's spiky, headstrong warrior woman of conscience, and Paretsky, classy champion of the powerless, has never been more imaginative, rueful, transfixing, and righteous."- Booklist (starred review) "Plotted with all Paretsky's customary generosity, this standout entry harnesses her heroine's righteous anger to some richly deserving targets, all linked together in a truly amazing finale."- Kirkus (starred review) "What really matters in a Sara Paretsky mystery are the crimes behind the crimes ¬ the corrupt politics, the class divisions, the economic inequities, the dirty business practices and all the other injustices that incite the wicked deeds we love to read about. Breakdown takes its first crack at a soft target: a cult series of lurid vampire novels that sends a group of impressionable pre-teenage girls into a graveyard to perform a giddy initiation ritual for their book club. But once V.I. Warshawski, the intrepid private eye who sees herself as "a street fighter, a product of the mills and ethnic wars of Chicago's Steel City," has rescued the girls from the trauma of discovering the murder victim, the true villains come into sharper focus."-Marilyn Stasio, The New York Times "One of the many pleasures of Sara Paretsky's V.I. Warshawski novels is that the sharp-tongued, short-tempered detective often seems to be following clues that lead not just to the heart of whatever mystery is at hand, but also into the red-hot center of the zeitgeist itself… the dialogue is sharp, the satire of politics and media intuitions downrightbiting, and the descriptions hilarious."- L.A. Times, Praise for CRITICAL MASS "Critical Mass proves that this gifted author is still, justifiably, a star. …Paretsky has an impressive knack for weaving gripping history into her swift plot." - The Seattle Times "There are plenty of women among the ranks of genre authors, but not many like Sara Paretsky, whose intellectually lively mysteries featuring her gutsy Chicago private eye, V.I. Warshawski, are fired by political causes and feminist social issues….Paretsky makes us feel both her own love for science and her fury at the way women like Martina have been denied the pursuit of their passion." -Marilyn Stasio, New York Times Book Review "As usual, V.I.'s quest is fraught with plenty of danger and white-knuckle moments. … It is as much a breathless mystery as a historical delving into science and wartime academic politics. An intellectual mystery that will please the author's many fans." - Library Journal "V.I. has a charismatic and blistering way of bringing old secrets to light." Kirkus "Stellar…Paretsky builds suspense by deftly weaving the contemporary narrative with flashbacks." - Publishers Weekly (starred review) "Paretsky has been on a roll lately, her long-running, trailblazing series at its most dynamic since the early days." - Booklist (starred review), Praise for CRITICAL MASS "This is Paretsky at her best, describing with a reporter's eye and a painter's vision the light and texture of a place. A scene that throbs with menace concludes with a shock. Yet the tension, palpable from the first page, is sustained and deftly heightened by brief flashbacks to a wartime and postwar world of shifting loyalties and dangers. ...Warshawski, for her part, must confront not only killers but also crooked federal agents. Which she does, as always, without breaking her stride." - The Washington Post " Critical Mass proves that this gifted author is still, justifiably, a star. …Paretsky has an impressive knack for weaving gripping history into her swift plot." - The Seattle Times "Sara Paretsky seems to have renewed creative energy, evident in pages that almost turn themselves." - Erie-Times News "There are plenty of women among the ranks of genre authors, but not many like Sara Paretsky, whose intellectually lively mysteries featuring her gutsy Chicago private eye, V.I. Warshawski, are fired by political causes and feminist social issues….Paretsky makes us feel both her own love for science and her fury at the way women like Martina have been denied the pursuit of their passion." -Marilyn Stasio, New York Times Book Review "Readers don''t have to understand all the physics to get inside this riveting story." - Shelf Awareness "With entombments, solved mysteries, loose ends neatly tied, good writing and a little bit of love, Critical Mass is a thoroughly satisfying read." - Saint Louis Post-Dispatch "Sara Paretsky mystery capers are always full of twists and turns, including surprising elements that this reviewer eagerly anticipates when reading her books. CRITICAL MASS is a complex family mystery that reaches from the past into the modern day, and is one of Paretsky's best….It takes a character like V.I. Warshawski, who is willing to see justice served at any cost, to get to the truth. And this is exactly what has endeared Paretsky's time-tested heroine to so many faithful readers." - BookReporter.com "A daring departure for Paretsky, combining her interests in women's history, science and the Holocaust and is a career crowning triumph." - The Sunday Times (London) "Although she has been writing about Vic for more than 30 years, Paretsky always keeps the character fresh and believable. Vic feels the blows and tumbles she takes more than she used to, but she''s as relentless as ever. In Critical Mass , both Warshawski and Paretsky are at the top of their forms." - Tampa Bay Times "As usual, V.I.'s quest is fraught with plenty of danger and white-knuckle moments. … It is as much a breathless mystery as a historical delving into science and wartime academic politics. An intellectual mystery that will please the author's many fans." - Library Journal "V.I. has a charismatic and blistering way of bringing old secrets to light." Kirkus "Stellar…Paretsky builds suspense by deftly weaving the contemporary narrative with flashbacks." - Publishers Weekly (starred review) "Paretsky has been on a roll lately, her long-running, trailblazing series at its most dynamic since the early days." - Booklist (starred review), Praise for Sara Paretsky BREAKDOWN "Riveting…Warshawski once again proves a dogged champion for the truth at any cost."- Publishers Weekly (starred review) "Both Paretsky and she sharp-tongued justice-seeker, V.I. Warshawski, remain formidable in the masterfully suspenseful fifteenth novel in this superb and adored Chicago-set series. … V.I. reigns as crime fiction's spiky, headstrong warrior woman of conscience, and Paretsky, classy champion of the powerless, has never been more imaginative, rueful, transfixing, and righteous."- Booklist (starred review) "Plotted with all Paretsky's customary generosity, this standout entry harnesses her heroine's righteous anger to some richly deserving targets, all linked together in a truly amazing finale."- Kirkus (starred review) "What really matters in a Sara Paretsky mystery are the crimes behind the crimes ¬ the corrupt politics, the class divisions, the economic inequities, the dirty business practices and all the other injustices that incite the wicked deeds we love to read about. Breakdown takes its first crack at a soft target: a cult series of lurid vampire novels that sends a group of impressionable pre-teenage girls into a graveyard to perform a giddy initiation ritual for their book club. But once V.I. Warshawski, the intrepid private eye who sees herself as "a street fighter, a product of the mills and ethnic wars of Chicago's Steel City," has rescued the girls from the trauma of discovering the murder victim, the true villains come into sharper focus."-Marilyn Stasio, The New York Times "One of the many pleasures of Sara Paretsky's V.I. Warshawski novels is that the sharp-tongued, short-tempered detective often seems to be following clues that lead not just to the heart of whatever mystery is at hand, but also into the red-hot center of the zeitgeist itself… the dialogue is sharp, the satire of politics and media intuitions downrightbiting, and the descriptions hilarious."- L.A. Times, Praise for Sara Paretsky CRITICAL MASS "Stellar…Paretsky builds suspense by deftly weaving the contemporary narrative with flashbacks." - Publishers Weekly (starred review) "Paretsky has been on a roll lately, her long-running, trailblazing series at its most dynamic since the early days." - Booklist (starred review) BREAKDOWN "Riveting…Warshawski once again proves a dogged champion for the truth at any cost."- Publishers Weekly (starred review) "Both Paretsky and she sharp-tongued justice-seeker, V.I. Warshawski, remain formidable in the masterfully suspenseful fifteenth novel in this superb and adored Chicago-set series. … V.I. reigns as crime fiction's spiky, headstrong warrior woman of conscience, and Paretsky, classy champion of the powerless, has never been more imaginative, rueful, transfixing, and righteous."- Booklist (starred review) "Plotted with all Paretsky's customary generosity, this standout entry harnesses her heroine's righteous anger to some richly deserving targets, all linked together in a truly amazing finale."- Kirkus (starred review) "What really matters in a Sara Paretsky mystery are the crimes behind the crimes ¬ the corrupt politics, the class divisions, the economic inequities, the dirty business practices and all the other injustices that incite the wicked deeds we love to read about. Breakdown takes its first crack at a soft target: a cult series of lurid vampire novels that sends a group of impressionable pre-teenage girls into a graveyard to perform a giddy initiation ritual for their book club. But once V.I. Warshawski, the intrepid private eye who sees herself as "a street fighter, a product of the mills and ethnic wars of Chicago's Steel City," has rescued the girls from the trauma of discovering the murder victim, the true villains come into sharper focus."-Marilyn Stasio, The New York Times "One of the many pleasures of Sara Paretsky's V.I. Warshawski novels is that the sharp-tongued, short-tempered detective often seems to be following clues that lead not just to the heart of whatever mystery is at hand, but also into the red-hot center of the zeitgeist itself… the dialogue is sharp, the satire of politics and media intuitions downrightbiting, and the descriptions hilarious."- L.A. Times
