After finishing a nighttime surveillance job, V.I. Warshawski, a Lawyer, turned Private Detective, is on her way home with her 2 dogs, when they discover an unconscious girl hiding in rocks at the edge of Lake Michigan. Unfortunately it seems that other people want this girl for various reasons, and V.I. can’t help but get involved - a lot deeper than she wants to but she feels obligated to finish what she started - in her own unique way. I love V.I., she’s full of character, heart and determination, and someone you’d want in your corner. As always Sara Paretsky has written a fast paced, intricately plotted thriller, covering organised crime, greed, crooked cops and with the background of a world trying to come back from the pandemic. This is a real rollercoaster of a read, with such well developed characters, descriptive and one I didn’t want to end. Whenever I see a book by this author I know I’m going to enjoy it. I was right. Definitely worth a read. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book.

I’ve been reading V.I Warshawski novels for many years and I love the fact that the main character has not changed nor aged! She’s still as brave and clever as she was when the author first conceived her! When I read my first novel featuring VI I was amazed to find a female detective who was fearless and ready to jump into action- in those days those sort of heroes were all male. I’m pleased to say that despite writing about VI for so many years, Ms Paretsky is still able to conceive a good plot with plenty for our heroine to investigate. I love the fact that all the main characters do not seem to get any older - even Vic’s elderly neighbour who should probably be 140 years old by now. All characters remain refreshingly the same- only Chicago has changed. In Overboard the author writes about pandemic times but I did not find this intrusive- in fact it was just part of the background as it should be in a good novel. VI discovers a young girl with burns washed up in some rocks by the Chicago river. When she disappears from Dr Lotty’s hospital Vic starts to search for her and becomes involved in a complicated plot involving some very violent people including a Chicago cop. There are some nasty developers who are targeting defenceless people including an elderly home owner and some worshippers at the local synagogue. Vic must defend them all with very little help- all in a days work for our intrepid detective. Police violence, racism and antisemitism are the modern day themes discussed but Ms Paretsky makes it clear that this ugliness has been around for many years- Lotty’s escape from Nazi Germany and Silvia’s escape from Hungry in the 1950s. History is now repeating itself- we only have to turn on our tvs and watch the news.. The characters in the novel are as fresh as when I first started reading them 35 years ago. It is like being reunited with old friends but I must add that the plot itself is right up to date with use of electronics and drones. The author has definitely moved with the times. Recommended to VI fans but also to anyone who enjoys a high octane crime thriller with a great female lead. Sara Paretsky has definitely trail blazed the way for female mystery authors. Five stars from me. Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for my arc.

law-enforcement, private-investigators, family, family-dynamics, violence, murder, multicultural, multigenerational, Chicago, crime-fiction, criminal-injustice-system, crooks, triggers, antisemitism, dogs, pets**** As someone who worked alongside good coppers and deputies for years, I found the behaviors of the "self-entitled bad cops" in this story more than disgusting and very hard to read. The same goes for the blanket condemnation of care homes that are chronically understaffed by people who are more than just underpaid and verbally abused for the thankless work that they do. But the mystery and solution are very well done, and I think it's a good thing for fiction to record the timely realities of living through a pandemic. There is a lot of action at a fast pace, plot twists, red herrings, and exposure of bad politics and worse policework. I requested and received a free ebook copy from William Morrow Books via NetGalley.