A collection of 21 crime stories by women writers, including Sara Paretsky, Amanda Cross, Liza Cody and Gillian Slovo. The stories include old favourites such as V.I. Warshawski, Jemima Shore and Kate Fansler

Dagger Awards Eager for physical action in the spirit-numbing wake of 9/11, VI Warshawski is glad to take on a routine stake-out for her most important client, Darraugh Graham. His ninety-one year-old mother has sold the family estate, but Geraldine Graham keeps a fretful eye on it from her retirement apartment across the road. When Geraldine sees lights there in the middle of the night, Darraugh sends V I out to investigate-and the detective finds a dead journalist in the ornamental pond. The man is an African-American; when the suburban cops seem to be treating him as a criminal who stumbled to a drunken death, his family hires V I to investigate. As she retraces the dead reporter’s tracks, V I finds herself in the middle of a Gothic tale of sex, money, and power. The trail leads her back to the McCarthy era blacklists, and forward to the ominous police powers the American government has assumed today. V I finds herself penned into a smaller and smaller space by an array of business and political leaders who can call on the power of the Patriot Act to shut her up. Only her wits, and an unusual alliance she forges with Geraldine Graham and a sixteen year old girl save her

Returning to her South Side alma mater for a reunion, private detective V.I. Warshawski becomes involved in the search for a former classmate's long-lost father, a quest that uncovers a web of corruption, danger, and murder

The enigmatic performer known as the Body Artist takes the stage at Chicago's Club Gouge and allows her audience to use her naked body as a canvas for their impromptu illustrations. V. I. Warshawski watches as people step forward, some meek, some bold, to make their mark. The evening takes a strange turn when one woman's sketch triggers a violent outburst from a man at a nearby table. Quickly subdued, the man – an Iraqi war vet – leaves the club. Days later, the woman is shot outside the club. She dies in V.I.'s arms, and the police move quickly to arrest the angry vet. A shooting in Chicago is nothing new, certainly not to V.I., who is hired by the vet's family to clear his name. As V.I. seeks answers, her investigation will take her from the North Side of Chicago to the far reaches of the Gulf War

When her seedy and importunate Aunt Elena turns up on her doorstep at midnight having been burned out of her old people's home, V.I. Warshawski is exasperated rather than curious. Her interest is aroused however, when an old friend, now a politician, puts pressure on her to investigate

When Chicago Black Hawks hockey legend Boom Boom Warshawski drowns in Lake Michigan, his private-eye cousin, the intrepid V.I. Warshawski, questions the accidental death report and rumors of suicide. Armed with a bottle of Black Label and a Smith Wesson, V.I. follows a trail of violence and corruption to the center of the Windy City's powerful shipping industry. Dodging attempts on her life with characteristic grit and humor, V.I. wends her way through a maze of grain elevators and thousand-ton freighters, ruthless businessmen, and gorgeous ballerinas, to ferret out Boom Boom's killers before they take her out of the picture – permanently

The astonishing new V. I. Warshawski novel from one of America 's foremost writers of crime fiction. V.I. Warshawski may have left her old South Chicago neighborhood, but she learns that she cannot escape it. When V.I. takes over coaching duties of the girls' basketball team at her former high school, she faces an ill-equipped, ragtag group of gangbangers, fundamentalists, and teenage moms who inevitably draw the detective into their family woes. Through young Josie Dorrado, V.I. meets the girl's mother, who voices her worries about sabotage in the little flag manufacturing plant where she works. The biggest employer on the South Side, discount-store behemoth By-Smart, pays even less, and Ms. Dorrado doesn't know how she'll support her four children if the flag plant shuts down. The elder Dorrado's fears are realized when the plant explodes; V.I. is injured and the owner is killed. As V.I. begins to investigate, she finds herself onfronting the Bysen family, who own the By-Smart company. Founder William "Buffalo Bill" Bysen, now in his eighties, has four sons who quarrel with each other and with him; the oldest, "Young Mr. William," is close to sixty and furious that his father doesn't cede more power to him. And then there's "Billy the Kid," Young Mr. William's nineteen-year-old son, whose Christian idealism puts him on a collision course with his father, his grandfather, and the company as a whole. When Billy runs away with Josie Dorrado, V.I. is squeezed between the needs of two very different families. As she tries to find the errant teenagers, and to track down a particularly cruel murderer, her own life is almost forfeit in the swamps that lie under the city of Chicago

Victoria Warshawski es una investigadora privada que procede de los barrios del sur de Chicago, donde la inmigración, las drogas, los embarazos adolescentes y el absentismo escolar son una constante. Aquejada de cáncer, la entrenadora de baloncesto del instituto donde ella estudió le pide que asuma el control del equipo femenino, y Warshawski no puede negarse. El equipo está compuesto por adolescentes de minorías raciales, algunas de ellas con hijos, y todas procedentes de familias humildes. La mayoría de los padres de las chicas trabaja en By-Smart, una cadena de hipermercados que explota y discrimina a sus empleados

Victoria Warshawski debe averiguar quién es el padre de su amiga Caroline. Pero nadie quiere oír hablar de ello y su investigación choca con un extraño miedo al pasado en una truculenta historia de crimen y seducción familiar. Golpe de sangre es una novela en la más pura tradición del género policíaco, pero también, como siempre en su autora, una profunda mirada sobre la corrupción, el escándalo político y los dramas de familia. Victoria Warshawski, universitaria y radical, divorciada y treinteañera, hija de un policía de origen polaco y de una emigrante italiana que quiso ser cantante de ópera, es ya uno de los personajes más fascinantes de la novela negra

When VI Warshawski returns to her Chicago office after a client visit at Stateville, the last thing she expects is exactly what she finds. Her once tidy work space looks as though a hurricane tore through it. Ripped documents, upended drawers, and even pictures from the wall have been strewn about. But the most chilling find is a bracelet belonging to Warshawki's adored cousin Petra. A video surveillance camera reveals that three persons entered the premises – but where is Petra? The cops spring into action, calling it a possible kidnapping, possible assault, and possible aggravated burglary. Has Warshawski's connection to a group known as the Anacondas put those she loves in danger?

Nuclear brinksmanship. Psychological warfare. Spies, double agents, femme fatales, and dead drops. The Cold War—a terrifying time when nuclear war between the world’s two superpowers was an ever-present threat, an all-too-real possibility that could be set off at the touch of a button—provides a chilling backdrop to this collection of all-new short stories from today’s most celebrated mystery writers. Bestselling authors Jeffery Deaver and Raymond Benson—the only American writers to be commissioned to pen official James Bond novels—have joined forces to bring us twenty masterful tales of paranoia, espionage, and psychological drama. In Joseph Finder’s “Police Report,” the seemingly cut-and-dry case of a lunatic murderer in rural Massachusetts may have roots in Soviet-controlled Armenia. In “Miss Bianca” by Sara Paretsky, a young girl befriends a mouse in a biological warfare laboratory and finds herself unwittingly caught in an espionage drama. And Deaver’s “Comrade 35” offers a unique spin on the assassination of John F. Kennedy—with a signature twist

This anthology was edited by Michael Connelly. His essay is called "Once Upon a Midnight Dreary." A collection of stories by thriller master Edgar Allan Poe with essays by beloved and bestselling writers, to commemorate the 200th anniversary of Poe's birth. Authors involved include Michael Connelly, Jeffery Deaver, Nelson DeMille, Tess Gerritsen, Sue Grafton, Stephen King, Lisa Scottoline, Laura Lippman, and twelve others. *** Few have crafted stories as haunting as those by Edgar Allan Poe. Collected here to commemorate the 200th anniversary of Poe's birth are sixteen of his best tales accompanied by twenty essays from beloved authors, including T. Jefferson Parker, Lawrence Block, Sara Paretsky, and Joseph Wambaugh, among others, on how Poe has changed their life and work. Michael Connelly recounts the inspiration he drew from Poe's poetry while researching one of his books. Stephen King reflects on Poe's insight into humanity's dark side in "The Genius of 'The Tell-Tale Heart.'" Jan Burke recalls her childhood terror during late-night reading sessions. Tess Gerritsen, Nelson DeMille, and others remember the classic B-movie adaptations of Poe's tales. And in "The Thief," Laurie R. King complains about how Poe stole all the good ideas… or maybe he just thought of them first. Powerful and timeless, In the Shadow of the Master is a celebration of one of the greatest literary minds of all time. The Mystery Writers of America, founded in 1945, is the foremost organization for mystery writers and other professionals dedicated to the field of crime writing

The vice-president of a Chicago bank hires V.I. Warshawski to find his son. She's pleased. The head of the International Brotherhood of Knifegrinders hires her to find his daughter. She's not so pleased. Who's the boss in this dangerous game of insurance fraud, murder contracts and gunmen?

Decimotercera novela de la serie de la comprometida investigadora privada Vic Warshawski. En esta ocasión, se involucra en un caso enraizado en los años sesenta, en plena efervescencia de la lucha por los derechos de la comunidad afroamericana Durante los disturbios raciales de 1967, cuando los blancos reaccionaron con dureza ante los planes de integración en los barrios, Lamont Gadsden desapareció sin dejar rastro. Años después, su anciana madre le encomienda el caso a Vic Warshawski. La detective se enfrentará a un periodo desagradable de la historia de su ciudad, en el que una marcha pacífica de Martin Luther King se saldó con la muerte de una joven negra, y lo que ella consideraba un caso cerrado e imposible se convierte en algo mortalmente peligroso. Viejas cuestiones de la historia racial de Chicago y secretos familiares −suyos propios y del desaparecido− saldrán a la luz de manera sorprendente

When Detective V.I. Warshawski begins an investigation of a three million dollar theft from a monastery, acid is thrown in her face, and she suspects she might be taking on the Vatican, the Mafia, and an international conglomerate

Una historia de secretos y mentiras que atraviesa cuatro generaciones. Tras los atentados del 11 de septiembre, la detective V.I. Warshawski acepta un extraño encargo de uno de sus clientes más importantes: debe vigilar la antigua mansión de su madre, pues la anciana está segura de ver luces en ella. En medio de la noche, la investigadora encuentra en los jardines de la casa el cadáver de un periodista negro. Al ver que la policía está más que dispuesta a dar carpetazo al asunto, la familia del difunto contrata los servicios de Warshawski para que les ayude a limpiar su buen nombre. De este modo, la detective se irá enredando en una tela de araña hecha de lujuria, dinero mal adquirido, secretos ocultos y poder que se remonta a la época de la “caza de brujas” del senador McCarthy y las tristemente famosas listas negras. Warshawski se dará cuenta de que hay fuerzas muy poderosas empeñadas en que la sórdida verdad no salga a la luz, y de que tendrá que poner toda su habilidad en juego sino quiere correr el riesgo de ser un eslabón más en la cadena de extorsiones y asesinatos

Varios hoteles se incendian en el Chicago de las muchas razas e infinitas tramas. Nadie sabe por qué. ¿Algo huele a corrupción? Victoria Warshawski, la elegante, dura y original detective protagonista de las novelas de Sara Paretsky, jamás rehúye una causa noble, sobre todo si se trata de evitar la explotación de cualquier minoría étnica y de esa gran mayoría marginada que constituyen las mujeres

V. I. Warshawski, detective privado, intenta resolver una serie de asesinatos que comienzan con la extraña muerte de su amiga Consuelo y su bebé en una lujosa clínica, ¿Hubo negligencia? ¿Quién mató al joven médico negro que la atendía? Al mismo tiempo tiene que luchar con los problemas domésticos habituales: la dieta desordenada, los efectos del fanatismo religioso o la dura vida de Chicago

El jugador de los halcones Negros de Chicago, Boom Boom Warshawski, fue una leyenda del hockey. Más de mil personas asisten a su funeral, consternados al enterarse de que ha resbalado en un muelle y se ha ahogado. La policía se apresura a declarar que ha sido un accidente. Y no les gusta la idea de que V.I. Warshawski, meta su nariz femenina en un caso tan evidente. Pero entre atentados contra su propia vida y tragos de scotch, la intrépida e ingeniosa detective, se abre camino a través de un mundo de silos de cereal y cargueros de mil toneladas. Se introducirá en una senda que le hará descubrir si se está tomando las cosas de un modo demasiado personal o si su adorado Boom Boom fue en realidad asesinado…

Para la detective privada V. I. Warshawski, «Vic», esta nueva aventura comienza durante una conferencia en Chicago, donde manifestantes furiosos están reclamando la devolución de los bienes que les arrebataron en tiempos de la Alemania nazi. De repente, un hombre perturbado se levanta para narrar la historia de su infancia, desgarrada por el Holocausto… Un relato que tendrá consecuencias devastadoras para Lotty Herschel, la íntima amiga y mentora de V. I. Lotty tenía tan sólo nueve años cuando emigró de Austria a Inglaterra, junto con un grupo de niños rescatados del terror nazi, justo antes de que la guerra comenzara. Ahora, inesperadamente, alguien del ayer ha regresado. Con la ayuda de las terapias de regresión psicológica a las que se está sometiendo, Paul Radbuka ha desenterrado su verdadera identidad. Pero ¿es realmente quien dice ser? ¿O es un impostor que ha usurpado una historia ajena? Y si es así, ¿por qué Lotty está tan aterrorizada? Desesperada por ayudar a su amiga, Vic indaga en el pasado de Radbuka. Y a medida que la oscuridad se cierne sobre Lotty, V. I. lucha para decidir en quién confiar cuando los recuerdos de una guerra distorsionan la memoria, mientras se acerca poco a poco a un sobrecogedor descubrimiento de la verdad

An anthology of stories edited by Sara Paretsky This eclectic anthology from a variety of female mystery writers has something to please every fan. Editor and contributor Paretsky (V.I. Warshawski series) introduces the anthology with a brief history of Sisters in Crime, an organization formed by Paretsky in 1987 to help boost the profiles of women crime writers. The stories range in tone from Sue Henry's (Jessie Arnold series) haunting, lyrical "Sister Death" to "Murder for Lunch," Carolyn Hart's (Death on Demand series) tale of misunderstandings and murder. Libby Fischer Hellmann (Ellie Foreman series) and Susan Dunlap (Jill Smith series) both tackle the turbulent world of 1960s radicals from different perspectives, with tales of a captured fugitive and violent conflicts with the police. The collection also includes an early story from the late Charlotte MacLeod's impressive body of work, as well as a new story from Dorothy Salisbury Davis, a pioneer in the genre since the 1950s. Mystery fans will delight in reading new pieces from old favorites, as well as discovering new voices from every corner of this diverse genre

The bestselling V.I. Warshawski novels have dazzled readers and earned the acclaim of critics everywhere. "V.I. Warshawski rules," writes Newsweek, crowning her "the most engaging woman in detective fiction." Of V.I.'s creator, the Chicago Tribune says "Sara Paretsky has no peer." Now Paretsky brings her incomparable storytelling brilliance to her most powerful Warshawski novel yet. Total Recall follows the Chicago P.I. on a road that winds back more than fifty years – and into an intricate maze of wartime lies, heartbreaking secrets, and harrowing retribution. For V.I., the journey begins with a national conference in downtown Chicago, where angry protesters are calling for the recovery of Holocaust assets. Replayed on the evening news is the scene of a slight man who has stood up at the conference to tell an astonishing story of a childhood shattered by the Holocaust – a story that has devastating consequences for V.I.'s cherished friend and mentor, Lotty Herschel. Lotty was a girl of nine when she emigrated from Austria to England, one of a group of children wrenched from their parents and saved from the Nazi terror just before the war broke out. Now stunningly – impossibly – it appears that someone from that long-lost past may have returned. With the help of a recovered-memory therapist, Paul Radbuka has recently learned his true identity. But is he who he claims to be? Or is he a cunning impostor who has usurped someone else's history… a history Lotty has tried to forget for over fifty years? As a frightened V.I. watches her friend unravel, she sets out to help in the only way she can: by investigating Radbuka's past. Already working on a difficult case for a poor family cheated of their life insurance, she tries to balance Lotty's needs with her client's, only to find that both are spiraling into a whirlpool of international crime that stretches from Switzerland and Germany to Chicago 's South Side. As the atrocities of the past reach out to engulf the living, V.I. struggles to decide whose memories of a terrible war she can trust, and moves closer to a chilling realization of the truth – a truth that almost destroys her oldest friend. With fierce emotional power, Sara Paretsky has woven a gripping and morally complex novel of crime and punishment, memory and illusion. Destined to become a suspense classic, Total Recall proves once again the daring and compelling genius of Sara Paretsky

La investigadora privada V. I. Warshawski, experta en kárate y tiradora mortal, es contratada por el vicepresidente de un importante banco de Chicago para que encuentre a la novia de su hijo Peter, misteriosamente desaparecida. Cuando Warshawski encuentra el cadáver de Peter, su cliente se esfuma. Sin embargo, la detective se niega a abandonar la investigación, y halla una pista que la convierte en la principal enemiga de una peligrosa organización integrada por asesinos a sueldo y pistoleros sin escrúpulos

The teenage tennis star had a frighteningly brutal trainer-her father. So nobody cried when he got strangled in the women's locker room. Now V.I. Warshawski wants to clear the number one suspect-who was showering alone at the time in "Strung Out". And in "Skin Deep", after his trip to the salon the stranger wasn't looking so good. Maybe it was the poison facial. V.I. Warshawski tries a few new creams herself while she looks for somebody, anybody connected to this guy

La detective Victoria Warshawski, mujer independiente, solitaria, aparentemente dura e incapaz de ordenar su vida doméstica y sentimental, vuelve a hacerse cargo de la causa de los desheredados encarnada en dos de sus vecinos: una anciana que vive sola con sus perros y cuya presencia incomoda a los nuevos residentes del barrio y el entrañable señor Contreras, que le pide su ayuda para localizar a un antiguo compañero de trabajo desaparecido cuando hacía averiguaciones sobre las condiciones de jubilación de la empresa en la que ambos trabajaban