Indemnity Only (by Sara Paretsky)
I have seen a lot of readers posting their praise for author Sara Paretsky’s books and decided to give her a try. She writes a series of books based on a woman private detective, V.I. Warshawki, set in Chicago. Starting another series, especially one with 22 books published, did not bring about a sense of excitement. I decided I would read the first book in the series and if I loved it, I would be happy to pursue the series.
Since I’m the type of person who has to start a series at the beginning, I started my journey with the first installment, Indemnity Only. V.I. Warshawski is hired by John Thayer, a prominent banker, who says his son’s girlfriend, Anita Hill, is missing. V.I. quickly learns that isn’t the girlfriend’s real name. While searching for her, V.I. finds the son, Peter Thayer, dead in his apartment. The mystery thickens when V.I. learns she wasn’t hired by John Thayer in the first place. Before V.I. can find the girlfriend, she must uncover the identity of her client and who murdered young Peter Thayer.
Like any good mystery, this novel kept me busy following the characters and how they connected. And most importantly, why did someone want to kill Peter? The location of the girlfriend remained a constant mystery while V.I. worked diligently to put together the pieces of the puzzle.
I enjoyed Indemnity Only, but I didn’t love it as I hoped. V.I. Warshawski is a tough detective and quite sharp at her detecting skills. She reminded me a lot of Sue Grafton’s Kinsey Milhone character in her alphabet series. I have been reading my way through that series for a few years now and I’m almost finished. It’s hard to describe, but this book didn’t affect me enough to keep reading the series. I’m at a stage in my life where I want to read books that I love. Meaning, I can’t wait to resume reading and it has characters I adore getting to know. A book that gives me all the feels! Sara Paretsky is a good storyteller. Indemnity Only is a good book that I recommend to anyone who is looking for a lengthy series in the mystery genre.
I purchased the audiobook of Indemnity Only through Audible. Narrator Susan Ericksen does a great job conveying the tough character of V.I. Warshawski.
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