Hardball

Publisher Marketing: Chicago s unique brand of ball is sixteen-inch slow pitch, played in leagues all over the city for more than a century. But in politics, in business, and in law enforcement, the game is hardball. When V. I. Warshawski is asked to find Lamont Gadsden, a man who s been missing for four decades, a search that she figured would be futile turns lethal. Old skeletons from the city s racially charged history, as well as haunting family secrets her own and those of the elderly sisters who hired her rise up to brush her back from the plate with a vengeance. To complicate matters, Petra, a young cousin whom V. I. has never met, arrives from Kansas City to work on a political campaign. It does not take long for the high-spirited yet likable Petra to win over V. I. s affections. When Petra goes missing after a break-in at the office, V. I. is determined to find her beloved cousin. As the search to locate Petra becomes more desperate, V. I. is also having difficulties tracking down Lamont Gadsden. Unable to catch a break, she learns that a nun who marched with Martin Luther King, Jr., has died before she can reveal crucial evidence. V. I. herself almost dies in a blazing fire, and new information has emerged about her father s role in a politically and racially charged trial almost forty years ago. Afraid to discover that her adored father might have been a bent cop, V. I. takes the investigation all the way to its frightening end." Review Citations: Library Journal Prepub Alert 05/01/2009 pg. 59 (EAN 9780399155932, Hardcover) Booklist 07/01/2009 pg. 7 (EAN 9780399155932, Hardcover) - *Starred Review Publishers Weekly 07/13/2009 pg. 35 (EAN 9780399155932, Hardcover) Kirkus Reviews 08/01/2009 (EAN 9780399155932, Hardcover) Library Journal 08/15/2009 pg. 71 (EAN 9780399155932, Hardcover) Romantic Times 10/01/2009 pg. 87 (EAN 9780399155932, Hardcover) New York Times Book Review 12/06/2009 pg. 56 (EAN 9780399155932, Hardcover) Wilson Fiction Catalog 01/01/2011 pg. 71 (EAN 9780399155932, Hardcover) Wilson Fiction Catalog 01/01/2014 pg. 802 (EAN 9780399155932, Hardcover) Audio File 03/01/2010 pg. 32 (EAN 9781423319917, Compact Disc) - *Starred Review Contributor Bio:  Paretsky, Sara Sara Paretsky is the author of eighteen books, including her renowned V. I. Warshawski novels. She was named 2011 Grand Master by the Mystery Writers of America, and is also the recipient of the Cartier Diamond Dagger Award given by the British Crime Writers Association. She lives in Chicago. Contributor Bio:  Ericksen, Susan Susan Ericksen, an Audie Award and "AudioFile" Earphones Award winner, has recorded many audiobooks, including "Naked in Death" by J. D. Robb.