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HARDBALL
by Sara Paretsky
Hodder & Stoughton, February 2010
464 pages
12.99 GBP
ISBN: 0340839147


Buy in the UK | Buy in Canada

Sara Paretsky's books have always had a spine of steel running through them. But her most recent novels reflect even more strongly the turmoil of modern America.

She's long been concerned with issues of social justice, but in HARDBALL Paretsky turns her attention to race unrest and political and police corruption. And her enduring private investigator VI Warshawski is soon ensnared by the darkness and paranoia of the authorities who dog her every move.

Against her better judgement, VI finds herself investigating the disappearance of a young black man who was last seen 40 years ago. Her questions aren't universally welcome, even among his friends and relations, and it seems like he was caught up in gang warfare. And it seems, too, that there are links to the murder of a young woman during race riots in Marquette Park in 1966.

VI's adventures have often featured family members, and HARDBALL is no exception when her young cousin Petra appears. Petra's a hit with VI's elderly neighbour Mr Contreras and rapidly elbows her way into their lives. But then Petra, who's working on the election campaign of an up-and-coming politician, disappears. As VI investigates the two cases she is presented with evidence that her beloved cop father Tony may have been corrupt.

HARDBALL sports a sprawling cast and a slightly disjointed structure. But Paretsky is far too talented a writer to lose control of the mix. That large cast features a handful of standout faces, including the elderly sisters Claudia and Ella, and Karen the hospital chaplain who guilts VI into taking on the case of Miss Ella's missing son Lamont.

Paretsky seems incapable of writing a disappointing book. What she does consistently is to turn an unwavering gaze onto a nation's troubled history and equally troubled present. And she never loses sight of the fact that ordinary people are the victims of corruption and social injustice.

In HARDBALL VI makes some painful personal discoveries and is never quite sure who can be trusted. She's a fighter, though – knock her down and she gets back up again. This time she lives to fight another day, albeit a little unsteadier on her legs.

Reviewed by Sharon Wheeler, February 2010

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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)


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