It's getting very repetitive, as V.I. always faces two cases, at least one of them strictly personal, which miraculously combine into one big case and thus almost solve themselves. ( )

V. I. Warshawski, detective privado, intenta resolver una serie de asesinatos que comienzan con la extraña muerte de su amiga Consuelo y su bebé en una lujosa clínica, ¿Hubo negligencia? ¿Quién mató al joven médico negro que la atendía? Al mismo tiempo tiene que luchar con los problemas domésticos habituales: la dieta desordenada, los efectos del fanatismo religioso o la dura vida de Chicago.

Sorry, this book started off really well and then floundered in the middle and fell flat at the end.

in this fourth installment in the V.I. Warshawski series, we have V.I. settled in her new co-op and not doing any life or death cases. She gets involved with Lotty's friend's family woes. Teen Counselo is expecting her first child. She has some medical issues (diabetes and other things which is affecting her health due to her pregnancy) and a husband who is pretty worthless and doesn't want to work. When Counselo dies in the hospital after her newborn child also dies, Warshawski at first doesn't think a thing is amiss until a doctor working alongside Lotty turns up beaten and murdered too.

I have to think to myself that this book when it was written (1987) was definitely pushing the envelope. Paretsky, through V.I. talks about abortion and the pro-life movement which I did shake my head at, doesn't seem much changed. Everyone seems pro-life until the baby is born and then it's well you just need to strap on your boots and deal with things. Vic is pretty upfront about being a "radical" and a feminist. But I think that this book also shows how out of touch Vic is with the world and also how her actions (though she thinks that they are benign) affect other people.

Case in point, Vic thinks that since she got a high profile drug dealer less time in prison, he would be willing to talk to her and possibly dime out Counselo's husband about possibly being behind the doctor's death that worked with Lotty. The incident doesn't go off the way that Vic thinks, but the man brings up that he could read contempt on Vic's face the whole time. The whole thing shakes her and it's brought up throughout the book. Honestly, I have to wonder how Vic even kept investigated after a while. She is getting pushed by Lotty, and the dead man's girlfriend to get to the bottom of things.

The case takes a turn and once again we have one of Vic's love interests cautioning her to be careful and not being really appreciative of her job. Also, can I say right now, I am a little over Vic dating people that are tied into her case. Maybe wait to make sure that they are on the up and up. Gah.

We have references to Bobby (thank goodness he is not in here) and we have some new characters, a Black Chicago detective whose name is eluding me right now, and a downstairs neighbor of Vic's that is retired and nosy.

I honestly thought the whole case was a bit confusing and we get data dumped as I like to say via a character we have never met before who I detested (his name is Max and he is dating Lotty). We literally have a gross whose on first thing happening with Max, Murray, and Vic, as those three get increasingly drunk (or at least it read that way) as they explained things to Lotty who was upset about how glib they were all being.

To make matters worse, they set things up to catch the "bad" guys (for no reason I could tell) and then there's a couple of scenes involving a dog that was just devastating and terrible. At least the dog thing gets redeemed by the end of the book though. Up until then I was thinking I was going to just be done with this series. ( )

One wonders how V. I.'s business survives since she seems to spend a lot of time investigating things for her friends and family without being paid for it. In this book, V. I. begins to wonder about Friendship Hospital when she has to rush a teen who's in early labor to it. I'd forgotten that V. I. had been a lawyer--still holds her bar association membership apparently, so she's not really lying when she says she's someone's lawyer, even though she is no longer actively practicing law.

(Warning--possible spoilers ahead--read at your own discretion.)

The in-labor-teen is the daughter of Dr. Herschel's assistant. One admissions person seems to imply that they aren't treating her emergency situation because she's indigent, and when V. I. calls her on the statement, she runs to get the Administrator who claims that isn't what's going on. Dr. Herschel sends her associate Malcolm out to the hospital to help treat since he knows more of her medical history and Dr. Herschel can't get away from her main hospital right away. Sometime after he arrives, the baby dies. Later that night, Dr. Herschel gets called out to the specialty hospital but by the time she arrives, the teen (mother) has died also.

The head of obstetrics at Friendship Hospital strikes up a relationship with V. I. but he seems overly consumed with thoughts of "did I do enough". The hospital pays the husband $5000 in exchange for a release form--but then he decides to sue Dr. Herschel and her associate--which also brings the hospital back into the lawsuit picture.

Dr. Herschel's clinic is picketed by anti-abortionists. Eventually it becomes alot like a riot and the clinic's windows are broken and the inside of the clinic damaged. It is only after she's sued that Dr. Herschel realizes that all her files with the last name Hernandez are missing. V. I. tries to get her a copy of the hospital report. V. I. discovers that her ex-husband, a $200 an hour lawyer, is representing the head of the anti-abortion group and wonders who's paying him.

Malcolm is killed before he gives Dr. Herschel his report of what happened when he went out to the specialty hospital. Later, Fabiano (the husband of the dead girl) is killed. V. I.'s apartment is broken into (but her grandmother's venetian glasses survive this time.)

It takes a bit of unraveling, but V. I. manages to figure out how it all ties together eventually.

I like V. I.'s neighbor (Mr. Contreras) though he could be a bit annoying at times. I'm glad she stepped in to help him out rather than make him go to his daughter's house. Max Lowenthal seems like an interesting character also. I wonder if we'll see more of him in future books in the series.

I was sad to see Malcolm's character killed off--he seems to only appear in this book--Dr. Herschel suddenly has an associate who is aligned with her ideas of medicine (something not always easy to find in the real world) and then he's gone--and for no good reason! ( )

Having enjoyed one book in the V.I. Warshawski series, I expected similar good things from this novel, but I was ultimately disappointed.

It opens well, but gradual slides downhill. It didn’t grip me at all. I do like the main character, but she isn’t enough to carry the lacklustre plot. ( )