Part of V.I. Warshawski, book 7
First published 1993
V I Warshawski watches her Racine Avenue neighborhood transform as wealthy newcomers push out longtime residents with soaring tax bills. The biggest target is elderly Hattie Frizell, whose prairie yard and five dogs offend the new block club. When Hattie slips in her bathtub and falls unconscious, lawyer Todd Pichea and his wife Chrissie move fast to become her court-appointed guardians. V I returns from a business trip to discover they have killed all of Hattie's dogs. Rage drives her to dig into the Picheas' background, hunting for dirt that could strip their guardianship. Meanwhile, her downstairs neighbor Mr. Contreras begs her to find his missing friend. Both cases pull V I into a web connecting Chicago's industrial elite to union corruption and a politically wired bank. Her search leads her through the murky Sanitary Canal and into a confrontation with ex-husband Dick Yarborough. When trusted allies Lotty Herschel and her own lawyer abandon her, V I faces her toughest case with no backup.
Genres: mystery, crime, contemporary, thriller
Vibes: fast-paced, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, found-family
Setting: Racine Avenue, Sanitary Canal, Chicago
Period: Contemporary
432 pages · Mass Market Paperback · Dell
Content warnings: violence