Love and Other Crimes

Sara Paretsky gives us an excellent collection of short stories, 8 of which feature her iconic Chicago PI, VI Warshawski, almost all the stories have been published previously, some are reworked here, and Paretsky helpfully provides the background and motivation at the end of each story. There are 14 stories in total, I enjoyed all of them, and there is only one that I have read previously, Publicity Stunts:

Love and Other Crimes
Miss Bianca
Is It Justice
Flashpoint
Acid Test
Safety First
Trial by Fire
Murder at the Century of Progress
The Curious Affair of the Italian Art Dealer
Wildcat
Death on the Edge
Photo Finish
Publicity Stunts
Heartbreak House

Some of the stories use the supporting cast from the VI Warshawski series, such as the dystopian tale of the arrest and trial of Dr Lottie Herschel that echoes the many troubling contemporary realites of women and refugees, and Freeman Carter, VI's go to lawyer, represents Karin, when she is arrested for an explosion that kills 2 people, including her neighbour Clarence Epstein. It is Karin's daughter, Temple who works for Cheviot Engineering, the source for forensic advice for Vic, who employs Carter for her mother, unaware the two of them already know each other. Paretsky addresses the injustice in her novel, Critical Mass, with a shooting outside the courthouse and recounts the terrors of the fight for Civil Rights in 1960s Chicago. VI gets to the bottom of a body found in a warehouse, buried beneath $25 million worth of broken wine bottles, and is the prime suspect in the murder of Lisa Macauley, a writer with a big right wing following.

Paretsky pays homage to other well known fictional PIs, Race Williams, and to Amelia Butterworth in a Sherlock Holmes story, and to Miss Marple in the creation of her character, Charlotte Palmer, determined to find the real killer of her nephew, Eric. We are taken to the beginning of the 20th century in rural Kansas, the inability of women to implement their wishes when it comes to inheritance and the horrors of the widespread racism against Native Americans. The delightful 10 year old Abigail acquires Miss Bianca, a mouse from a research lab, going on to uncover a Cold War conspiracy. If you are a crime and mystery fan and have never read Sarah Paretsky, this is a wonderful selection of stories with which to acquaint yourself with her brilliant storytelling and her unforgettable PI heroine, VI Warshawski. Many thanks to the publisher for an ARC.