Books I've Read

V.I. Warshawski looks for a missing Labor Union Boss's daughter. First in the series, pretty good!

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8/2000

Killing Orders

Crooked friars cause V.I. Warshawski no end of trouble.

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11/2000

Total Recall

V.I. Warshawski is investigating Ajax Insurance again, and some guy thinks he is a holocaust survivor. Very good.

SMOKE QUOTE:

"You look horribly healthy, it makes me want to smoke more in self-defense."

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2/2002

Tunnel Vision

The tunnels under Chicago are flooding, V.I.'s office building is condemned, and some scam is afoot at a non-profit housing outfit.

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11/2000

Windy City Blues

A collection of stories about V.I. Warshawski.

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6/2000

Women The Case

Paretsky, Sara, editor

26 stories by women writers of crime. Some were excellent, some were not.

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6/2000

Futuristic Violence And Fancy Suits

Originally published under author's pseudonym, David Wong. Zoey Ashe #1. A bit in the future, Zoey lives in a trailer park and works at a small coffee shop. A LOT of violence happens, but works out OK except for all the folks who die/are injured.

Smoke Quote:

She shouldn't be in this bad of shape, she had quit smoking when she was fifteen.

Quote:

Zoey was disappointed that the van didn't explode into a fireball like in old action movies, but was one of the downsides of electric car technology.

Quote:

We want to sew doubt about why she's so confident. -- "sew"? How about sow?

Quote:

Without turning away from the wall, Armando said, "This man, is he still around?" -- WOAH, I said!

Quote:

...paint it, modify it, put real tactical sites on it... -- "sites"?? Maybe, "sights"?

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1/2024

I'm Starting to Worry About This Black Box of Doom

Synopsis from Good Reads: Outside Los Angeles, a driver pulls up to find a young woman sitting on a large black box. She offers him $200,000 cash to transport her and that box across the country, to Washington, DC. -- Yeah, outside of Los Angeles...like 86 miles in Victorville!!

Quote:

Sometimes she liked to have a little puddle of [sugar] granules at the end; it was like the coffee's dessert.

Quote:

"If you think about it," she said, "Party City is kind of the apex of human civilization."

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1/2024

John Dies At The End

John Dies at the End, #1. Originally published as authored by David Wong, which is the pseudonym of Jason Pargin.
I am not reading anymore books in this series!!!

Quote:

... one wall was still covered by an incompetent mural of a dusky woman riding a bull and proudly flying the flag of Mexico, carrying a cartoon burrito the size of a pig under her arm.

Quote:

... in Korean, 'chachi' means 'penis'. -- No, it does not.

Quote:

I let the naked man, hairy as Robin Williams, help me up... -- Now THERE'S a vision!

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2/2025

Zoey Is Too Drunk For This Dystopia

Zoey Ashe, #3. There's an election going on. Who is Zoey and her crew supporting? Plus, there are three women missing from a brothel. One that Zoey owns, of course.

Quote:

She looked down at the Doritos bag, the animated flaming-triangle logo dancing above a heap of dusted chips, as if looking to it for advice. Receiving none, she started running.

Quote:

... depending on the publication. -- Chapter 3, page 26.

Quote:

... depending on the publication. -- Chapter 3, page 28.

Quote:

... depending on the publication. -- Chapter 3, page 33.

Quote:

... depending on the publication. -- Chapter 3, page 59.

Quote:

... depending on the publication. -- Chapter 6, page 93.

Quote:

... depending on the publication. -- Chapter 6, page 94.

Quote:

... depending on the publication. -- Chapter 6, page 101.

Quote:

... depending on the publication. -- Chapter 9, page 165.

Quote:

The socks were her favorite, they were thick and cushioned and had little nubs on the bottom. -- Yes, I love hospital socks!

Quote:

"Aviv, we don't even know if we can tolerate each others company for longer than it takes to have sex and get dressed."

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2/2024

Zoey Punches The Future In The Dick

Zoey Ashe, #2. Very funny, and violent. I think I could do with less of the cannibalism, but it IS funny. Sometimes.

Quote:

"...A bodyguard who hides and shoots from fifty yards away is probably being a bit too proactive in his duties."

Quote:

"Ah, it's a solid life rule that if Will Blackwater hands you a weapon, it either isn't loaded, or there is a much larger one pointed at your back."

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2/2024

Project Mulberry

Park, Linda Sue

Julia is not too enthused about her and Patrick's new project, breeding silkworms. It's too Korean.

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12/2009

Click

Park, Linda Sue, et. al.

One novel, ten authors,neat book jacket. Each chapter written by a different author, telling events in the lives of people who knew George "Gee" Keane, a photojournalist. I really enjoyed the story until the strange separate personality weirdness.

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9/2009

A Catskill Eagle

Spencer travels to Mill Valley, California, to assist Hawk and Susan.

Words I Had To Look Up:

Jocasta (pg. 235) -- Mother of Oedipus.

Quote:

She dog-eared the page to mark her place and smiled at me. (pg. 232) Caitiff!!! (Not the first word I thought of)

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7/2008

Back Story

A friend of Paul asks Spencer to look into who killed her mother during a bank robbery 28 years ago.

Quibble:

On page 9 the text refers to a "M1 carbine. Fully-automatic." DISCLAIMER: I am not a weapons expert! As far as I can find, the M1 is semi-automatic, and it is the M2 that is fully-automatic. And there is a big difference between semi and fully.

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8/2008

Bad Business

Spencer is hired for a little marital investigation, finds out he is not the only one on the job, plus there's some other sordid stuff going on.

Words I Had To Look Up:

Portman lobbies (pg.17) -- John Portman, an American architect, is known for his atrium hotel designs.
Atrium -- Glazed courtyard often extending through several floors at the entrance to a building.
Cantabrigian (pg. 142) -- A student or graduate of Cambridge University; or a native or resident of Cambridge, Massachusetts.

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8/2008

Brimstone

First of the Westerns I have read. Seems very like the Boston books, don't ya think? Still, they are fun.

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7/2013

Chance

Spenser ends up in Vegas looking for a gangster's son-in-law. Meets that short guy there.

Words I Had To Look Up:

Postlapsarian (pg. 73)-- Of, relating to, or characteristic of the time or state after the fall of humankind described in the Bible.
Tripartile (pg. 231 --Divided into or composed of three parts

Quote:

Outside the bright desert air hinted faintly of carbon monoxide as we walked down the Strip. -- (pg. 293) I think it is odorless and colorless, but i know what he means!

Donut Quote:

I opend the box. Plain donuts. Perfect.

"Do you know how to eat a donut?" I said.

"I'll watch you on the first one," Susan said.

...I ate half a donut.

"Ugh," Susan said. "Is that how it's done?"

"Girls sometimes take smaller bites," I said. -- (pg. 181)

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8/2008

Chasing The Bear