[books 2013] A VI Warshawski mystery

[inulro]

23. Body Work by Sara Paretsky

One of the newest in the series about the female hard-boiled PI set in Chicago. (Some day I want to do a mashup of Warshawski and Harry Drescent).

Warshawski's cousin is working in a club where the "body artist" performs - she goes on stage more or less naked, covered in primer, and invites members of the audience to paint on her. Two weird things - there's an older, unpleasant, man who writes a series of letters and numbers; and then there's a woman who draws a really beautiful picture that sets off an Iraq veteran with PTSD. The cousin asks Warshawski to see what's up, and before you know it, the woman who does the pictures is shot in the club's parking lot, and the disturbed veteran is arrested for the crime. His family hire Warshawski to clear his name. In an awful January with lots of snowstorms.

I'm not describing it very well, but I basically couldn't put it down.

Comments

[lil-m-moses.livejournal.com]

In the vein of urban fantasy/mystery, you may also enjoy The Walker Papers series by C. E. Murphy (Seattle cop finds out she's a shaman, hijinx ensue, one book set in Ireland) and possibly also the Greywalker series by Kat Richardson (Seattle PI dies briefly and has paranormal adventures after being revived, one book set in London). They're quicker reads than Dresden files, but still fun and well done (if you give the new author growing pains some lenience in the first book of each). I know, like you need more books to read...