Overboard: A Novel (V.I. Warshawski Novels, 22)

Sara Paretsky’s readers know that when private detective V.I. Warshawski is on the case, they are assured of a tale with energy, atmosphere, and usually, a visit to Chicago. V.I. has a challenging issue right away in this book. A strange teenage girl with burns and scrapes is discovered by her beloved dogs, Peppy and Mitch. The girl is wedged between rocks on the shore of Lake Michigan, and she is barely clinging to life.

Readers can find comfort in the dedication V.I. gives the cries for help she hears from friends, neighbors, and strangers. Paying clients’ work is often put on the backburner in favor of those who really need her skills.

Paretsky wrote this novel during COVID-19. The virus is present in the novel as a marker of the time, not a distraction. Several plot threads seem unrelated; however, they are well developed, socially significant, and relevant. For example, a group of elderly men are confronted with graffiti and general desecration of their beloved synagogue. They know V.I. will solve the crime.

Very few series authors deliver as masterfully as Sara Paretsky. This is book twenty-one in the series!