Breakdown: V.I. Warshawski 15

Both Paretsky and her sharp-tongued justice-seeker, V.I. Warshawski, remain formidable in the masterfully suspenseful fifteenth novel in this superb and adored Chicago-set series . . .V.I. reigns as crime fiction's spiky, headstrong warrior woman of conscience, and Paretsky, classy champion of the powerless, has never been more imaginative, rueful, transfixing, and righteous. - Booklist, starred review

Plotted with all Paretsky's customary generosity, this standout entry harnesses her heroine's righteous anger to some richly deserving targets, all linked together in a truly amazing finale. - Kirkus, starred review

She is writing with the kind of passion for social justice that inspired Chandler and Hammett - Joan Smith, Sunday Times

The thing about Sara Paretsky is, she's tough . . . she doesn't flinch from examining old social injustices others might find too shameful (and too painful) to dig up - The New York Times

Paretsky's eye is sharp but it's not just about satire. BREAKDOWN is also a propulsive rush of a thriller. Somehow she packs in politics, great characters, nifty wisecracks and a breakneck story. That takes some doing. - Metro

Joy and rapture - Vic's back, Paretsky's heroine, V.I. Warshawski, is the thinking woman's private detective; intelligent and brave, yet just as vulnerable and muddled as the rest of us . . . Don't miss - Saga Magazine

The usual pleasure points are ticked: gutsy liberal opinions; hidden urban connections; public issues and personal pains; plust appearances from cousin Petra and the dogs . . . this is a solid additon to an involving series. - Financial Times

Smart and sharp-tongued Chicago detective Warshawksi is looking for her cousin's curfew-breaking child (wrong - sorry, Sara!) when she finds a man's corpse impaled on a steel stake in a cemetery. America's travails are laid as bare as those entrails in the subsequent investigation. - Sunday Express