Pay Dirt is another fantastic entry in the VI Warshawski series. It starts off on a tragic note: a student VI was trying to find is killed by their father in a murder-suicide right in front of her. She loses confidence in herself and shuts everyone out. In an attempt to cheer her up her goddaughter Bernie invites VI to watch a college basketball game down in Kansas (Bernie's friend Angela is the star player). VI agrees, thinking it will be a short trip. However, when Bernie and Angela's friends goes missing after the game VI feels compelled to investigate. This sets off a firestorm that threatens local land rights and drug operations. VI has to dodge threats from every angle as she tries to uncover the truth. Sara Paretsky is so skilled at weaving together a story that engages the reader from start to finish. VI is such a compelling character because she is still evolving after 22 books. She searches for the truth no matter what. She also has very loyal canine companions, which I love. Another great books from one of the best in the business. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

Intriguing plot and beloved protagonist V.I. Warshawski combined in a new-er location (revisiting Lawrence, KS) combine for a can't-put-it-down mystery of the first order. With multiple threads pulled from current events, Vi pieces together how a drug house and multinational corporation relate to the death of local history gadfly, all before she gets the blame squarely aimed at her by the culprits.

What an amazing book, blending both a modern-day crime with a bit of history. This book has quite a complex, complicated and twisting plot that finds V. I. Warshawski on vacation to Kansas, to watch her young friend Angela compete in a college basketball tournament. She soon finds herself involved in finding another student who has disappeared. VI has not yet fully recovered from the emotional trauma of her last case, and she is also hindered by investigating in an area she is not familiar with. Still, she persists. The case leads her in down dark and twisted paths of murder, deceit and fraud, and she finds her own life in grave danger as she uncovers past unsolved crimes. This is a very timely book that brings to light how prejudices of the past still reverberate today. Sara Paretsky has created a bit of an everyday superhero in V. I. Warshawski, a strong woman that fights for justice, even when she's in danger and struggling herself. V. I. is one of my favorite fictional characters! Thank you to the author, publisher, and Netgalley for my advance copy. The opinions of this review are my own.

Pay Dirt, by Sara Paretsky, is #22 in the V I Warshawski series. V I who is still recovering from her last case but ends up helping a friend’s roommate who disappeared. V I is going to stay and try to find her but looking for her in a place that she knows no one can be challenging.After finding her, things get weirder. Drug folks don’t play around and she may not come back from Kansas!
I struggled through reading this book but it could just be me. Read it and let me know what you think.

She’s in the wrong place at the right time.

V. I. Warshawski is a Chicago private investigator who is smart, experienced, and doggedly persistent. She has always been a strong support for her clients and for those in her personal life, but right now V. I. Is struggling. The violent death of one of her college professor boyfriend’s students, for which she feels somewhat complicit, has shaken her to the core. Her boyfriend has left the continent to deal with the emotional fallout in his own way, leaving V. I. to cope by herself. The always calm and competent P.I Isn’t sleeping or eating well, is having nightmares on the regular can barely do work, and isn’t sure if she can continue in the profession which has defined her for so long. When her goddaughter Bernie invites her to come to a women’s college basketball game in the neighboring state of Kansas where Bernie’s roommate Angela is playing, V. I. reluctantly agrees. No good deed goes unpunished, and soon she is caught up in the disappearance of another of the young women’s roommates after the game and later the death of Clarina Coffin a history buff who has been annoying the residents of the area with her claims to know long-buried secrets. V. I.’s instinct is to get out of town, but she succumbs to the pleas of first Bernie and Angela and then the mother of the missing girl Sabrina to do a little poking around . She soon finds herself one of the chief suspects in Sabrina’s disappearance and the murder of Clarina, is told not to leave town, and has to summon whatever internal strength she can find…because if she can’t figure out was is actually behind these events, she may just find herself convicted of murder or worse.
V. I. is one of the OG female private eyes, and has long been a personal favorite. She is savvy and compassionate, has worked hard to build a business in an industry that did not always respect female practitioners, and has always displayed both a strong moral code and a willingness to fight long and hard against seemingly insurmountable odds. As Pay Dirt kicks off, she is not at her best, and doubts that she is up to the task at hand. But she’s a fighter, and even when its her own demons that she’s fighting she won’t give up easily. Away from her usual stomping grounds, she doesn’t have all of the contacts with whom she works back in Chicago, but she finds a few allies (and makes more than a few enemies) as she digs into matters. As always, the pacing of the story is outstanding, the characters well developed and the plot full of unforeseen twists and complications. What keeps this from being a full five stars is what I found to be a distraction, the apparently random insertion of sentences throughout the book that are not particularly related to the story at hand and that seemed political in nature. In these times of highly divisive political views, I neither expected nor wanted to read about the virtues of mask-wearing, the intolerance of parents protesting critical race theory, the evils of book bans, etc., especially not as a one or two line phrase thrown in for no particular reason. I found that it detracted from the flow of the story. Still, a slightly flawed Warshawski outing is still a pleasure overall, and I would recommend it to fans of Sara Paretsky (of course), but also of Sue Grafton, Linda Barnes, and PI enthusiasts of all stripes. Many thanks to NetGalley and William Morrow for allowing me access to an early copy of the latest novels by one of the best crime novelists out there.

Pay Dirt finds V.I. Warshawski knocked off her square. After a traumatic incident back in Chicago, she’s reluctantly in Kansas for a basketball game – one of her proteges, Angela, is on the Northwestern team – and all she wants, after the game, is to crawl back to Chicago and lick her wounds. When she wakes up the morning after the game, she gets a call from Angela: her friend Sabrina, a rising soccer star, has vanished. V.I. had noticed the girl didn’t look right at dinner the night before and finally surrenders to Angela’s pleas to try to find her.

The problem: V.I. is in a strange town with no contacts and no connections. Being V.I. she’s already witnessed a confrontation outside the game, and using her brain, she begins to nose out possible drug locations as she thought the girl looked like she might be using. V.I. does find the girl in a house out in the middle of nowhere, suffering from an O.D. She gets her to the hospital and her panicked family asks V.I. to help. She reluctantly agrees, but once the girl is medevacked to rehab (not something that actually happens) the mother calls off her search.

In typical V.I. fashion, she unearths a nest of conspiracies, cover ups, and all kinds of subtle and not so subtle racism permeating the small town. It takes all her strength to find the culprits behind not only Sabrina’s OD but of the murdered woman she finds in the same drug house when she goes back to look for clues. The police think she’s hinky and the FBI is on her ass.

This has an interesting historical thread running through it regarding rightfully held land and the ways it was wrested away from African Americans through “legal” means. This was a strong V.I. story, with V.I.’s endurance, strength and resilience front and center.

No one, and I mean no one, writes like Sara Paretsky... her attention to detail and talented storytelling makes the reader feel as if he/she is right next to V.I. on this adventure in Kansas. V.I. is working through emotional issues after her last case, when her goddaughter asks her to come watch the women's basketball team play in Kansas. As always with V.I., nothing is as it seems, and a young girl goes missing, and everything escalates from there. From unhelpful police, questionable parents, secretive women, and drugs - lots of drugs, Pay Dirt is rich with story. And, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention how much everyone needs Lou and Ed in their corner. I could read this book over and over as it's absolutely fantastic! I wish I could give it more than five stars. Thank you to William Morrow for an advance reader of this book - the opinions expressed are my own.

A very interesting plot with lots of twists. The main character is recovering from trauma which impacts her decisions. Good book in the series b

I received a Gally proof of this book from NetGalley. I highly recommend Sara Paretsky's "Pay Dirt'.This is quite different from most of the other V.I. Warshawski novels with it taking place in Lawrence, Kansas. While the author has had her detective in Kansas before, this time Warshawski begins the case as a favor to help find a missing female soccer athlete after a college basketball game. Warshawski had no plans on staying in Lawrence longer than a day or two for the game but as seems normal with V.I. things don't always go as planned. Two differences in this book from others in the series are the lack of her usual support but even more critical, V.I. is going through an emotional crisis that leaves her less adept than usual. These combine along with a new cast of support to create a near constant tension and sense of conflict through the entire book from the main story to the subplots along the way. I look forward to its publication and will be adding it to my kindle and sudible libraries.

Another winner from Sarah Paretsky! (In case you didn't get the hint from my first sentence, I am a fan of Ms. Paretsky. "Pay Dirt" is another of her books that is set primarily in Kansas, Lawrence Kansas to be precise. There are many character names to keep track of, which gives the reader the opportunity to try and figure out the culprit. Not only is the mystery itself interesting, but the historical context in which the plot unfolds adds an additional flavor to the book.

Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced copy of Pay Dirt by Sara Paretsky. This is my first V.I. Warshawski novel but it will not be my last. The author creates a great story of intrigue with all the twist and turns.

V.I. Warshawski #22


V.I. is still hurting from her last case. Physically, Emotionally, she isn’t okay. Trying to get her out of herself, her friends have sent her to a college basketball game to see Angela play. But when Angela’s roommate disappears, it turns into something else.


Of course, V.I. is going to stay and try to find her. But looking for her in a place that she knows noone, is difficult.


But when she finds her, things get weirder. Drug folks don’t play around and she may not come back from Kansas!


This was a real thriller of a read! I’m already looking forward to the next one!


NetGalley/ William Morrow Out April 16, 2024

A solid VI novel but it gets so complicated at the end it was just a bit too much. 4.5 stars rounded to 5 because of the explanation about a character who was missing for almost the entire book. It wasn't necessary and I would have left that on a cliffhanger.

"Pay Dirt" follows a down and out V.I. She's shaken and broken after a case she gets involved in results in a young woman being murdered by her father in front of her and her boyfriend Peter. V.I. hasn't taken a case in months outside of her regular clients and she's lost weight and the ability to sleep without nightmares. When her almost goddaughter Bernie pops up and invites V.I. to watch a basketball game in Kansas she agrees. But Bernie being the worst (yep I said it) still pushes at V.I. to help her when a friend of hers that came on the trip disappears. V.I. doesn't want to get involved, but does and finds herself rusty and being almost out thought by something deeper and darker in Kanas that wants the past to stay buried.

I thought that the insight into V.I. and how she's feeling like she's running on fumes was true to form. It was also a good idea to get her out of Chicago. It was fascinating watching her meet new people and make all new enemies.

The flow though gets to be a bit much after a while. I think it's because we keep getting the truth dangled in front of our faces but it gets ripped away again and again. And I don't know if I buy the whole story since I still don't understand [redacted]. But the book definitely shows a U.S. that is coming out against trans women and anything being "woke" which makes V.I. wonder what she's even fighting for anymore.

The ending was good, almost all tided up, but then I said, there's an 11th hour explanation that was not necessary I thought.

V.I. is still attempting to recover from a horrific act she witnessed months ago when her God daughter convinces her to travel to Lawrence to watch a friend play. Another girl disappears that night and, against her better judgement, V.I. agrees to stay and search. From that point on,the book is a heart stopping, end-of-your seat read. Beyond good!

VI gets herself in some serious scrapes while out of town to see a friend play basketball. The next day everything goes wrong and stays wrong for several weeks. However, our heroine figures everything out before the police and saves the day, as usual. What is really wonderful about this latest novel is that the author finally has VI act like the 50-something woman she is - the physical aches and pains she suffers at the hands of the bad guys actually slow her down a bit. I love that this fit and athletic character is now really believable. Besides, she still kicks butts when necessary and doesn't back down when threatened, she's just smarter about it!

This is one of the series that helped create the reader that I am. VI Warshawski might be my favorite character of all time. What I love most about the series and this book is that, years later, Paretsky has kept up the momentum of the first books. Pay Dirt continues the excellence. If you read this series, this is a must-read. If this series is new to you, start at the beginning! It's worth it.

There is nothing better than celebrating Thanksgiving with my family and V. I. Warshowski. This is a really great adventure for Vic, who innocently goes to Kansas to see her beloved goddaughter Bernie play, and winds up in the middle of a really ugly murder. Sadly, she becomes a suspect dogged by law enforcement and the goons of a wealthy family, believing that she has secret papers that could stop their nefarious plans.

As someone who has read every Paretsky book, this brought back many beloved characters, both human and canine, but I think it might be difficult as a stand-alone. Because I am so familiar with all the players, I loved seeing them, but generally a novel with this many characters can seem daunting.

As always, Vic’s strength both physical and mental allow her to solve the case. Warshowski is such a superstar that I had nothing but confidence in her ability to get it all right. I really enjoyed this and thank Netgalley for allowing me to read and review this novel about my favorite female detective. Keep ‘em coming!

VI is back in Lawrence, Kansas, this time to solve a history mystery involving an entire town. While we don't get much time with her usual friends (Mr. Contreras, Lottie, Max, Sal, etc), Paretsky still delivers a satisfying and timely story. In her trademark style, She mixes social commentary with narrative, drawing on contemporary conversations about how we teach history, and what we have tried to cover up.
I'm a big fan of this series, because they are always engaging and the characters are well-drawn.

Another V. I. Warshawski mystery. Pay Dirt has roots all the way to the Civil War up through the present time.

Warshawski is hired to watch a child. When the father kills that child she falls apart. Her friends send her back to Kansas to rest. She stays with a former protege whose roommate disappears. V.I. takes on the task of finding her but the town is not so friendly and she has no resources to help her.
When she finds the roommate close to death from drugs, she goes down a hole where drug lords abound.
Soon, V.I. becomes most unwelcome in the town.
The reasons why are most compelling.