Dead Land

NAMED A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR BY THE WASHINGTON POSTA proper hero for these times . . . To us, V.I. is perfect.THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW &quote;Sara Paretskys gloriously kick-ass private eye, V.I. Vic Warshawski, is back . . . in a political-rot thriller thats the definition of perfection in the genre.&quote;THE WASHINGTON POSTChicagos legendary detective, V.I. Warshawski, knows her citys rotten underbelly better than most, but shes unable to avoid it when her goddaughter drags her into a fight over lakefront land use, in this propulsive novel from New York Times bestseller Sara Paretsky.Chicago may be the city of broad shoulders, but its political law is Pay to Play. Money changes hands in the middle of the night, and by morning, buildings and parks are replaced by billion-dollar projects.Chicago PI V.I. Warshawski gets pulled into one of these clandestine deals through her impetuous goddaughter, Bernie Fouchard. Bernie tries to rescue Lydia Zamir, a famed singer-songwriter now living on the streets; Zamirs life fell apart when her lover was murdered next to her in a mass shooting at an outdoor concert. Not only does Bernie plunge her and V.I. headlong into the path of some ruthless developers, they lead to the murder of the young man Bernie is dating. Hes a computer geek working for a community group called SLICK.V.I. is desperate to find a mysterious man named Coop, who roams the lakefront in the middle of the night with his dog. Shes sure he holds the key to the mounting body count within SLICK. Coop may even know why an international law firm is representing the mass murderer responsible for Lydias lovers death. Instead, the detective finds a terrifying conspiracy stretching from Chicagos parks to a cover-up of the dark chapters in Americas meddling in South American politics. Before she finds answers, this electrifying novel pushes V.I. close to the breaking point: People who pay to play take no prisoners.