Part of V.I. Warshawski, book 12
First published 2006
V.I. Warshawski's conscience gets her in trouble again. The Chicago private investigator agrees to coach the girls' basketball team at her old South Chicago high school. The team needs money, so V.I. heads to By-Smart, the massive retail chain, hoping to secure funding for her struggling players. At By-Smart headquarters, V.I. discovers that ethical behavior is rare among the executives. The one exception is Billy Bysen, the sincere teenage grandson of the company's harsh, penny-pinching founder. When Billy vanishes along with a mysterious document that By-Smart's management desperately wants, V.I. finds herself pulled into a deadly investigation. The case drags her through Chicago's most corrupt corners and exposes the city's ugliest secrets. Bodies pile up as V.I. follows a twisted trail that connects corporate greed to street-level violence. Her commitment to the basketball team becomes entangled with a conspiracy that reaches the highest levels of the retail empire.
Genres: mystery, crime, contemporary, action
Vibes: fast-paced, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family, investigative-journalism
Setting: Chicago, South Chicago
Period: Contemporary
544 pages · Paperback · Berkley