Hard Time by
Sara Paretsky
hbk out October 99
Published by Hamish Hamilton
at £15.99
With the creation of V.I. Warshawski, Sara Paretsky did more than anyone to change the face of contemporary women's crime fiction. The Chicago private eye was among the first of a new breed of women sleuths -- independent, intelligent, tenacious, politically aware and never at a loss for the
smart-mouthed response.
With her latest outing, Paretsky demonstrates that V.I. has lost none of her passion, her determination or her integrity in spite of the temptations to succumb to the corrupting influences around her. Not so strong is her old buddy Murray Ryerson, a former investigative journalist who has sold his soul to a global media and entertainment conglomerate, a move that puts their friendship under severe strain.
But that turns out to be the least of V.I.'s worries. The real trouble starts when she becomes involved in the hit and run death of an escaped prisoner. Nicola Aguinaldo had been convicted of stealing jewellery from the family where she worked as a nanny, but the police are curiously aggressive in their investigation of her death.
And when V.I. starts to take an interest, she finds puzzling connections between Nicola and the garment industry that lead back to local girl made
good, film star Lacey Dowell. Then there is a second death, and V.I. Starts to uncover clear signs of police corruption.
At once, she becomes the focus of their unwelcome attentions. In the absence of a real culprit, it appears the police want to frame her for the convict's death. Or anything else they can think of. Suddenly, she finds
herself at the heart of an escalating spiral of disaster. Isolated from her friends and contacts, she is herself thrown into the very prison that Nicola escaped from.
It's the most harrowing and terrifying experience of her life, a nightmare with no apparent way out. Never has V.I. been so isolated, never so at risk.
It is impossible to read Hard Time without being consumed with anger and outrage, yet this is no mere polemic against the horrors of the American penal system. Even as she reveals the scandalous treatment meted out to those who are incarcerated, Paretsky never loses sight of the need to keep the story moving. Hard Time is a compulsive read, revealing its author at her most passionate
and most page-turning. Cleverly constructed and well-written -- the contrast between prison life and the false glamour of the entertainment industry alone is worth the cover price -- this is the most gripping and
thought-provoking novel Sara Paretsky has given her readers for some time.
(
Val McDermid
- Gold Dagger winner & creator of Lindsay Gordon, Kate Brannigan & Tony Hill)
