Product Description

V.I.'s battleaxe Aunt Rosa is under investigation by the FBI and SEC after counterfeit stock certificates were found at St. Albert's Priory, where she serves as treasurer. As malicious as her aunt is, V.I. knows she's not dishonest, so V.I. vows to protect her from taking the fall. But V.I. starts questioning the strength of her family ties when a menacing voice on the phone threatens to throw acid into her eyes if she doesn't butt out. The stakes are high as she begins to sniff out a connection between Chicago's most powerful institutions: the Church and the Mob.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #109057 in Books
• Published on: 2005-05-03
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• 368 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780451214973
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

Review
Entertaining and intelligent. -- Washington Post Book World

No one, male or female, writes better P.I. books than Paretsky. -- Denver Post

Review
No one, male or female, writes better P.I. books than Paretsky. (Denver Post) Entertaining and intelligent. (Washington Post Book World)

From the Publisher
V.I. Warshawski's latest case has alreasy opened up old wounds. But when a silky voice on the phone threatened to throw acid in her eyes, V.I. knew this one could finish her off with some brand-new ones. The sour-faced old aunt she had agreed to help was accused of stealing millions in stock certificates from a pious order of Dominican brothers. V.I. knew the woman was a witch, not a thief, and she soon smelled something rotten in the sanctum sanctorum of Chicago's most powerful movers and shakers -- the Church and the Mob. Now someone wants to see V.I. burn in hell. But this tough cookie of a private eye had her back up, a brand-new Smith & Wesson, and a daring plan to make the bad guys go to the devil first.

Customer Reviews

Gets into the character
KILLING ORDERS is one of Paretsky's earlier V. I. Warshawski novels. In this case her aunt Rosa is accused by her church in committing stock fraud. She reluctantly asks her niece for her help in clearing her name.

I have read most of Warshawski's novels and this one is one of my favorites mainly because I got to learn more about her character as well as her relationship with her friend, Lotty. I regret having read them in disorder but I recommend this novel for anyone interested in learning how V. I. got started. Although this is the third novel in the series it tells a lot.

Weird but good
Very good, in fact. I don't think Paretsky had quite fashioned her own mold for the genre yet, so there are a few cliché elements in the book, but everything else is a highly original treat. Lots of great little twists throughout--not just plot twists, but different ways of looking at things. With V.I. Warshawski, Paretsky has created a heroine who is intelligent, engaging, and not afraid to shake things up. I haven't read much early V.I. yet, but I intend to, so I can get to know this woman from the beginning.

Early VI
One of the first in Paretsky's V.I Warshawski series, Killing Orders involves stock fraud among the friars in a Chicago Dominican convent. When VI's less than beloved aunt, who works at the friary, is implicated, she calls in her niece to help her retain her good reputation. It's surprising how interesting a mystery about financial fraud can be in the hands of Sara Paretsky. VI (Victoria) is no pushover, and when the case grows personally intimidating, she digs in and resolves to break it no matter what or who she has to take on. Even if her new love interest is involved.....