Blacklist

V. I. Warshawski, Book 11

By: Sara Paretsky

Narrated by: Sandra Burr

Length: 15 hrs and 37 mins

Publisher's summary

V. I. Warshawski explores secrets and betrayals that stretch across four generations in this New York Times bestselling novel from one of the most compelling writers in American crime fiction...

“A thoughtful, high-tension mystery.” (The Washington Post Book World)

“A genuinely exciting and disturbing thriller.” (Chicago Tribune)

As a favor to her most important client, V. I. agrees to check up on an empty mansion. But instead of a mysterious intruder she discovers a dead man in the ornamental pond - a reporter for an African-American publication whom the suburban cops are quick to dismiss as a suicide.

When the man’s shattered family hires V. I. to investigate, she is sucked into a Gothic tale of sex, money, and power, leading her back to McCarthy-era blacklists and forward to some of the darker aspects of the Patriot Act. As V. I. finds herself penned in to a smaller and smaller space by an array of people trying to silence her, and before she can untangled the sordid truth, two more people will die - and V.I.’s own life will hang in the balance.

Listen to all of our V. I. Warshawski titles.

©2004 Sara Paretsky (P)2004 Brilliance Audio, Inc.

Best Warshawski I've Read Yet

Deeply researched and rich in numerour characters, Blacklist earned the rewards it garnished. I've read five books in this series. (None in order.) This one simply has a greater depth as Paretsky explores the abuses of the Patriot Act against McCarthy era hearings. As usual, Chicago is a character study itself.

Overwrought and Underwhelming: Too Bad

Is there anything you would change about this book?

Economize the story. Felt like ten pounds of potatoes in a five-pound bag.

What was most disappointing about Sara Paretsky’s story?

No wonder was V.I. so exhausted and exhausting in chronicling the roman a clef historical overlay with this narrative of class struggles, confused family org charts and dubious foul deeds. The material from which it was drawn held some interest, but the shuffling of characters resembled more of a game of three-card-monte than a well plotted journey. While I understand the device of the teen Egyptian refugee's dilemma, I wanted to slap Benjy's characterization bow-legged. What an annoying little twerp.

What does Sandra Burr bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Hers was a Herculean task to help match the characters voice and personality and emotions with the need to shepherd the reader through the dramatis personae. I think she was able to the task as challenging as it was.

Did Blacklist inspire you to do anything?

I stuck with it as I've read a good many of Paretsky's works (including listening to other audiobooks) and while there were many points I say "this is a hot mess". I was looking for redemption by the book's end. Not terribly satisfying, but did appreciate Sara's earnest effort and cloaked "then and now" comparisons with the HUAC cum Patriot Act's darker underpinnings. She made her points.

Any additional comments?

I hope V.I. was to sleep this one off as it was a dozer for the listener/reader.

good read

if you like V.I., this is a good one. it has a very interesting story line.

High pitched narrator

It was hard to listen to the narrator. Not suited to VI's persona. Loved the story.

Wrong voice for V.I. Great story

This is entirely the wrong voice for V.I. If I didn't like her stories so much, I wouldn't have continued the story.

A Great Story Teller

I had read this when first released, but with Audible, I was listening anew. Loved the story and as always, a great cast of characters.

Loved the book, not the performance.

The narrator didn't have the accents and voices right. Mr Contreras is not a grisly guy from a Western. Chicago accents were nowhere in her narrative.
I love Paretsky and her characters, but annoyance with Ms Burr's performance took away from my engagement.

Great Detective Storyline & Narration

I love the V. I. Warshawski novels by Sara Paretsky and Sandra Burr does a great job narrating them (even though I prefer Susan Erickson’s gravelly gutsy portrayal). I gave this book’s storyline only 3 stars because of the book within the book that totally threw me off base and I ended up skimming over the tale.

Keeping the characters straight was a bit daunting and I had to go over them a few times, but once I did , the novel flowed seamlessly. As always, Sara Paretsky delivered a novel full of twists and turns and gave me insight into worlds that I seldom encounter in real life. #detective #PI #crime #mystery #GreatNarration #VIWarshawski #SaraParetsky #SandraBurr #murder

BOOOORING!

Here's an audiobook that really needs to be abridged to separate the story from hours of superfluous blather about the "McCarthy Era." I appreciated the occasional jab at the stupidity of the Patriot Act, but hours spent reliving the (fictitious in the audiobook) trials of the House Unamerican Activities Committee -- boooring, and not much to do with the underlying (and I do mean underlying) story. The story itself is OK (not great) but it's so broken up by McCarthy-stuff, and there are so many characters/names, that you lose track of who's doing what to whom -- to the point you don't really care. Save your money -- Audible has lots of better audiobooks to choose from.

Hated it.

Couldn't even finish it. Unresearched. Boring. Repetitive. Don't waste your money. Waste of my time.