Page-turner of the week
Sick of mysteries with plots thin enough to waft away on a summer breeze? Savor the I.Q.-regenerating pleasures of Paretsky's 10th V.I. Warshawski novel, which tackles heavyweight issues but—like the tough-cookie PI herself-is unpretentious and fast on its feet. When a man claims to have recovered repressed memories of a childhood devastated by the Holocaust, his story deeply rattles V.I.'s friend Dr. Lotty Herschel, who lost her own family to the Nazis. V.I., who is also on the case of a black family swindled out of a life-insurance payout, uncovers corruption in the present as she delves into the horrors of the past. Peretsky leavens a gripping read with an eye for the little annoyances of the detecting life—from traffic jams to bloodstains on one's favorite outfits. (Delacorte, $25.95)
Bottom Line: PI V.I. is A-1
