Synopsis
Chicago private eye V.I. Warshawski knows from the start that Consuelo Alvarado's baby is trouble. Consuelo is sixteen. Diabetic. And the daughter of a friend. When she goes into labor too early, even V. I.'s wild drive to get her to the hospital can't save either Consuelo or her child.
Soon V.I. is investigating possible malpractice at the emergency room - and falling for a doctor who works there. Mixing business and love is always bad medicine, but V.I. finds herself listening to her heart, not her head. And when a brutal murder and the violent destruction of a woman's clinic put her at the center of a very dirty conspiracy, justice may be the only remedy for a hurt that cuts deep . . .and chills right to the bone . . .
"The plot [is] fast moving, the dialogue snappy, the premise for murder persuasive. This novel hasn't a single snag in its springs." - Chicago Sun-Times
"Paretsky is still the best . . .She doesn't pull punches." - The Washington Post Book World
Publishers Weekly
Since her debut in Paretsky's Indemnity Only, Chicago private eye V. (Victoria) I. Warshawski has been attracting both enthusiastic readers and critical acclaim. This fourth story narrated by the spiky detective is the series' most suspenseful so far. V. I. brings a teenager about to give premature birth to a private hospital where the mother and her baby die. Since the poor girl's own obstetrician is unavailable, Warshawski's friend, Dr. Tregiere, arrives from his inner-city hospital to check procedures; he's found murdered later. So is the supposedly bereaved husband, member of a street gang that atacks Warshawski during her tenacious investigation of the related cases. There are other appalling deaths as tough V. I. gets to the facts behind a tawdry coverup. The cast of the earlier mysteries again adds flavor here, and the big city's ethnic mix, as enlived by Paretsky, does too. (May 15)