Indemnity Only

V. I. Warshawski, Book 1

By: Sara Paretsky

Narrated by: Susan Ericksen

Length: 8 hrs and 43 mins

Publisher's summary

In this gripping adventure - the first V.I. Warshawski mystery - America’s top private eye is tossed into a dangerous adventure when a seemingly straightforward assignment becomes complicated and deadly.

Hired by a man who calls himself John Thayer, V.I.’s assignment is to find Thayer’s son Peter’s missing girlfriend. But when V.I. finds young Peter’s dead body instead, her client disappears. Her efforts to track down her client and learn his true identity take her deep into a labyrinth of fraud and violence.

By the time V.I. figures out the answers she is in a race to find the missing young woman - before the murderers do.

©1991 Sara Paretsky (P)2011 Brilliance Audio, Inc.

Loved the movie.

Had never realized the movie was based on these books. I loved listening to this. Some of the characters were in this one and I see some are in the next book. Almost wish Kathleen Turner was reading them after being introduced to her in the movie. This book is great. Has her sassy attitude and her interactions with everyone she meets can almost make you start cracking up and people look at you funny. Overall a very good story.

An entertaining “period piece”

It’s strange to be calling this an almost historic detective novel when so much of the social and technological background resonates with me. No cell phones or computers? However did we cope!
This was a fun story, predictable at times but keep in mind it is a product of another era and there are enough twists and turns to keep it interesting. And of course there’s the wonderful Susan Erickson bringing it all to life.

Like watching an 80s Detective Show

The story is good, and of course Susan Erickson's performance is amazing as usual. One has to remember that this book was written in the 1980s, and it really feels like watching an old 80s detective show.

With that in mind, since I actually remember the 1980s firsthand, it is interesting to notice how attitudes and technology have changed. It's funny to think that it wasn't that long ago, when people's lives could be put in danger if you actually left home so that you missed a call. Of course there is also the rampant misogyny at odds with changing attitudes and values, that were indicative of the era.

I plan to listen to more of the serious, and it will be interesting to see how the characters progress if the series keeps up with the contemporary timeframe of when each book was written.

A Good Debut Novel, Well Read by Susan Erickson

This is a debut novel of Sara Paretsky featuring her protagonist V. I. Warshawski. The story is a decent private detective mystery. The book is a fairly easy read and the audiobook is well read and fairly easily followed. I liked the book and intend to try another novel by Sara Paretsky.

V.I. Warshawski's character in this debut novel reminded me a good deal of a female version of Robert Parker's debut Spenser novel "The Godwulf Manuscript" published several years prior. I liked both novels about the same amount. Thank You...

No Double Indemnity

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes, this is my first first introduction to private eye V. I., I kook forward to another book in the series. Am interested to see how the main character develops.

Would you recommend Indemnity Only to your friends? Why or why not?

See above.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Neither

Awesome!

This is my first V.I. Story and I loved it. Searching for more to read/listen to. And I love Susan Ericksen as the narrator, she never lets me down!

the underbelly of Chicago revealed i

good mystery. strange disconnect between chapter numbers on the audio with those on screen notes. Confusing.

I love narrator Susan Erickson - Great Series

What did you love best about Indemnity Only?

I took a shot at this writer ONLY because of the narrator. I have found that Susan Erickson has a great way of building a story especially if the story line is exceptional. I Loved this book and am now on #6 with plans to download ALL of them. Great story line.

Have you listened to any of Susan Ericksen’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

LOVE HER and this compares very well with RD Robb The Eve Dallas Series which I am an avid fan of.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

YES

Very Enjoyable!

Would you listen to Indemnity Only again? Why?

Thought it was a

Have you listened to any of Susan Ericksen’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No

Any additional comments?

Although the story was simple and direct it was exactly what I was looking for. Relaxing and to the point. No brain surgery required!

It’s an OK detective story

The story is OK, a bit slow at first and it took time for the story to get moving. By the end, I was in a “page-turning” mode, V.I.’s character is OK, the Chicago setting is fun (I’m a New Yorker originally, myself, so not quite as much fun as New York, but still …). The narration is sub-par. It was slow, so I sped up to 1.1 to make it better, but at either speed she is choppy and bullet-like. I don’t know if she thinks that is what she ought to sound like to have this tough sound, or what, but it is not effective. And what did she think she was doing with Lottie’s accent? It was supposed to be Viennese, but it was awful. I’m not rushing to so the next book in the series. Maybe some time in the future, but there are many other series that I think are better.