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Total Recall (V.I. Warshawski #10)

by Sara Paretsky (Goodreads Author)

3.79 of 5 stars 3.79 · rating details · 1,292 ratings · 84 reviews

Age and experience has not withered VI Warshawski. In Sara Paretsky's latest tale, Total Recall, the uncompromising and wildly unconventional private investigator chases leads and suspects around Chicago "like a pinball, careening around the city", despite the fact that she is now positively the wrong side of 40. Paretsky's heroine is called in to investigate a seemingly s...more Age and experience has not withered VI Warshawski. In Sara Paretsky's latest tale, Total Recall, the uncompromising and wildly unconventional private investigator chases leads and suspects around Chicago "like a pinball, careening around the city", despite the fact that she is now positively the wrong side of 40. Paretsky's heroine is called in to investigate a seemingly simple case of insurance fraud (one of her specialities), when things get rather more complicated. At a conference on Christian-Jewish relations, the media is attracted by two very different stories: while protesters outside call for the recovery of Holocaust assets from insurance companies in denial, inside, a middle-aged Jewish man--helped by a recovered-memory therapist--recalls a childhood devastated by Nazis.

Warshawski soon becomes involved in both stories. As her journalist boyfriend prepares for a trip to Afghanistan to investigate the dismal human rights record of the Taliban (a timely, if not prescient, angle from Paretsky), a friend of his staying from New York decides to embark on a book on recovered memory, inspired by a TV special on the therapist and her star client. Hired by the author to help check out the duo's authenticity, VI finds herself on a collision course between the past and the present and between her professional life and her close friendship with a group of Jewish friends. One of these, the spiky surgeon Lotty Herschel (a regular Warshawski character), is deeply disturbed to find her own past may be linked in some way to that of the troubled client.

With her sharp wit, cynicism and daredevil approach to her job, Warshawski is as annoyingly loveable as ever. There are enough twists and turns to this, her latest outing, to offer a challenging read to die-hard fans and newcomers alike. Irritatingly, however, Paretsky leaves some major strands of her story untied, leaving you wondering and, as ever, waiting anxiously for the next VI Warshawski adventure. --Carey Green

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Published (first published September 4th 2001)

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Aug 02, 2012 JBradford rated it 4 of 5 stars

I have been a fan of the V.I. Warshawski series for a long time, and this may well be the best one yet, pitting Vic in an extraordinarily complicated plot involving two completely different subplots that turn out in the end to be not at all separated. I started off years ago not at all liking first-person narratives, but I have come to appreciate them more during the course of my life, and I think Paretsky does a great job of it. I am intrigued by the sparseness of the dialog; Paretsky can go fo...more I have been a fan of the V.I. Warshawski series for a long time, and this may well be the best one yet, pitting Vic in an extraordinarily complicated plot involving two completely different subplots that turn out in the end to be not at all separated. I started off years ago not at all liking first-person narratives, but I have come to appreciate them more during the course of my life, and I think Paretsky does a great job of it. I am intrigued by the sparseness of the dialog; Paretsky can go for pages with no dialog at all, which seems remarkable.

I do not remember if Lotty Herschel was a character in any of the earlier Warshawski novels I have read (and I rather doubt that I have read them all), but she features prominently in this one-so prominently, in fact, that the action is periodically halted by a chapter (including the first chapter in the book, as well as the last) exposing us to Lotty's steam-of consciousness thinking, which is giving us more of the background history, telling us what really happened 50 years ago … which, of course, has direct bearing on what is happening today. The story begins when Vic Warshawski, now a middling-aged Chicago private detective, gets talked into a stint of babysitting, taking care of a precocious monster of a little 5-year-old girl, Calia, who is the granddaughter of a friend, who happens to be Lotty's current lover, while that friend is involved in a panel discussion about the issue of whether or not insurance companies should be paying off holocaust victims, of which the friend is one, and Lotty is another. Vic is supposed to drop Calia off at the end of that panel discussion, is delayed because two separate groups are picketing the building at which it is being held, with one of these groups being led by a Jewish leader insisting on reparation and the other group being led by a black city alderman who contends that this would be unfair to blacks who want reparation for slavery issues. The news item of the day, however, is the appearance at the panel discussion of a member of the audience who reports that he has only just recently discovered that he is Jewish and a holocaust victim, with his memory having been restored by a well-known therapist, and Vic's lover's editor decides that writing a book about this will bring him fame and fortune. Confused? Paretsky has more than two dozen characters in this novel, along with several other minor characters, and she introduces them about as fast as I have here.

Finished with that chore, Vic goes to meet a new client, a black blue-collar worker, who wants to hire her to look into a denial of insurance claim on his uncle, because the insurance company contends that they had already paid out the insurance claim ten years before the insuree died. This client is not able to pay much, and his disagreeable wife is vehemently opposed to the whole idea, in no uncertain terms, but Vic says she will see what she can do within her 5-hour minimum. She expects that to be a fairly easy task, since the director of claims at that insurance company happens to be an old lover of hers. The ex-lover, Ralph Devereux, has his own problems, however, as his company has just been bought out by a Swiss insurance company, and a home-company representative is hovering at his side, and the latter takes an extreme interest in the case, declining to let Vic look at the files. Vic then goes to visit the insurance agency which originally wrote the policy, finding the original salesman has been dead for many years and the firm is now being run by the son of the original owner, who also gets close-mouthed after looking at the file.

That's when things start happening. Before things get sorted out, a few people wind up dead, with Vic's client being blamed for at least one of those deaths, and the intricacy of the constantly turning plot gets more and more involved. I love a complicated plot, but this one actually had my head spinning, so that one point I had to stop reading and go do a sudoku puzzle just to clear my mind before going to bed!

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08/01/2012 -- And here's proof that my youngest daughter was very wrong in telling me that Goodreads would be the answer to the problem of rereading books I had forgotten having read. That only works if one looks them up! I've just read the novel again, three years and a week later, and I had the feeling all the way through that I had read it before, but right up to the last page I did not know what was going to happen or who the bad guy was. In fact, I came here to post a new review and found this one sitting here from the past. If it's any consolation, I gave it four stars the second time, too!

The fourth star is just for extra appreciation, I guess--I’ve just come off from reading two novels (one a 757-page monster that should have been finished within 600 pages), both of which were excellent in their own right, but both of which had a meandering style with a lot of repetition, as well as the inclusion of blind-end trails that did not go anywhere, and Paretsky’s book is so professional that it cuts like a knife. I really like Paretsky’s style. There are a lot of lines of action in this novel, all winding around each other as one thing leads to another. There are several interesting peripheral characters, all drawn rather nicely, but the real prize is Victoria, herself, who is drawn so empathetically that I feel I am looking out of her eyes as I read the book.
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Dec 07, 2010 Kirsty Darbyshire added it

Paretsky is one of my very favourite authors so nothing I say about her books is likely to be particularly objective. Six years ago I picked up a copy of Burn Marks in the library and it changed me from being an occassional mystery reader to a fully fledged addict who only occassionally reads other genres. Strangely enough the first Paretsky I read wasn't a mystery at all but a short story called A Taste of Life which was published as one of the mini 60p books brought out to celebrate Penguin's

...more

I've avoided reading reviews of this book because there was no point to me reading them. Even if the book was declared the biggest pile of garbage ever produced I was going to read it and like it. But the vibe that I've picked up is that it's not great. Not Paretsky's best. That she's done better. I read the book slowly, both to savour it and to put off any possible disappointment. And in the end I find that I don't agree, I think it's a good chapter in VI Warshawski's life so long as you're following the series.

One of the problems I have with some long running series are that the characters don't get developed enough or that they just repeat themselves over and over. A couple of books back it looked as if this series might be heading into that territory. In this book however I think many members of the series cast have reached pivotal points in their lives and that future books will take them to new heights.

Vic has annoyed me in the past with her ability to lose good men as if they were going out of fashion and also with her ability to get cracked over the head twice a book without suffering any ill effects. In this book she manages to both hang onto a man who I hope is to become a permanent fixture in the series. Actually her boyfriend reminds me very much of Hy Ripinsky in Marcia Muller's Sharon McCone books which is probably just because he's got a job that takes him off to obscure regions of the world for long periods of time. (Though how obscure Afghanistan is at the moment is another matter ;-) I wonder what experiences he will tell us about in the next book.) Also Vic manages not to get injured in this book. She scrapes her knees a couple of times but she seems to have given up chucking herself off buildings.

This book also reveals major details about Lotty Herschel's past. I think the mystery part of this storyline was a bit weak but though I guessed what had happened almost from the beginning I still very much enjoyed this part of the book.

So this was definitely a great character book, but what about the plot? The main mystery plot gets a bit lost in all the other stuff going on to be honest. And there are a few too many coincidences in how everythign gets tied up. I didn't mind too much but I can see why this book could get marked down for it.

For a fan of the series and the characters this is great stuff, but it's not the book to read first.

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Jan 15, 2013 aPriL MEOWS often with scratching rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: mysteries-suspense-thrillers

The tenth V.I. Warshawski novel suffers from being a proto-literary/mystery, in my opinion. Some chapters struck me as very worthy of the designation 'literary', while others were solidly in Warshawski's typical voice and Chicago blue-collar world. Fortunately, it escapes the 'teaching moment' trap many long time writers fall into as they mature as people (some of James Michener's later novels, for instance), but just barely. The subject of damaged people still suffering from the psychic horrors...more The tenth V.I. Warshawski novel suffers from being a proto-literary/mystery, in my opinion. Some chapters struck me as very worthy of the designation 'literary', while others were solidly in Warshawski's typical voice and Chicago blue-collar world. Fortunately, it escapes the 'teaching moment' trap many long time writers fall into as they mature as people (some of James Michener's later novels, for instance), but just barely. The subject of damaged people still suffering from the psychic horrors caused by surviving the Holocaust is a worthy subject, but I think Parestsky cared so much about the history that she slipped too far outside of the mystery genre in crucial spots in her manuscript, and the not-quite-literary slips hurt the book. I think she also threw in so many elements to mystify readers that the story lost forward momentum, the story meandering in energy. I thought the end result was a a book missing the usual tension inherit in a Sara Paretsky product.

There is the double issue of insurance companies failing to pay WWII policy holders, primarily Jews, and the demand for compensatory payments to descendants of American slaves by insurance companies which benefited tremendously by slavery before the Civil War. This would not be a Warshawski novel without the usual self-serving politicians throwing gasoline on the issues, as well as the multiplying dead bodies and the doubting Thomases throwing scorn at V.I.'s investigation, but there is also a holocaust survivor, a stalker, who is a recovering memory psychiatric patient under treatment by hypnosis, who believes V.I.'s friends are related to him, a progressive meltdown by Lottie Herschel, a couple of insurance frauds depriving a family of burial benefits, and V.I.'s journalist boyfriend departing for Afghanistan.

Too much going on here.....

It is still good, but I think it could be skipped for those who read V.I. adventures primarily for a fun, yet interesting beach read. On the other hand, it does reveal Lottie Herschel's back story, so for those into series trivia, it's not to be missed.(less)

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Mar 05, 2012 Johnny rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: mystery

I love Chicago. I particularly love novels and movies set in Chicago (even when they are supposed to be Gotham City as opposed to Chicago—grin). If the novel happens to be a reasonably solid mystery or thriller set in Chicago and using real locations, I like it even more. So, don’t expect me to be objective about those mysteries which involve Victoria Iphigenia Warshawski. She lives near Lakeshore Drive and has a significant other in Evanston. Sometimes, she rides the same purple line express to...more I love Chicago. I particularly love novels and movies set in Chicago (even when they are supposed to be Gotham City as opposed to Chicago—grin). If the novel happens to be a reasonably solid mystery or thriller set in Chicago and using real locations, I like it even more. So, don’t expect me to be objective about those mysteries which involve Victoria Iphigenia Warshawski. She lives near Lakeshore Drive and has a significant other in Evanston. Sometimes, she rides the same purple line express to the Belmont stop that I take into the Loop. She laments the dismal prospects for the Cubs as much as I do (“The Cubs had gone so far into free fall that they’d have to send the space shuttle to haul them back to the National League.” – pp. 120-121). I even learned something about recent Chicagoland history. At one point in the story, someone visits the “Children’s Museum in Wilmette.” (p. 264) I actually live in Wilmette and thought, “Hey! The Children’s Museum is in Glenview.” Then, I discovered that the museum actually began in Wilmette and recently relocated to its present location.

Total Recall, my latest experience in vicariously investigating Chicago-based mysteries with Warshawski, is not the novel upon which the successful science-fiction movie was based. It does, of course, have to do with memories. It has to do with the continuing debate over recovered memories versus planted memories. In Total Recall, part of the challenge is dealing with the idea of a person who discovers a Nazi (literally or figuratively, depending upon whether his memory has been recovered or planted) in his father’s closet. In a masterful way, Total Recall masterfully weaves together the story of those who experienced the Kindertransport and were spirited away from Germany before they could be sent to concentration/death camps, the concerns of defrauded African-Americans, the concerns of defrauded survivors of Holocaust victims, corporate greed, political aggrandizement, and a series of murders.

Of course, it helped my enjoyment that I found myself ahead of the very tired investigator from very early on in the novel. I suspect Sara Paretsky, the author of the series, intended this because the foreshadowing was subtle, but carefully strung together like a fine string of pearls. It also helped that there were multiple, but converging mysteries. For some, the solution would probably be considered a little too convenient, but I can see where the initial catalyst could have occurred. Naturally, I would have some skepticism to the full “avalanche” effect of that catalyst, but the interesting event would still have some repercussions and that enabled me to suspend my disbelief enough to become totally involved in the story and figure it out earlier than usual. There is also a lot of humor in this story, probably to offset some of the horrors cited in the Holocaust memories. Fortunately, neither the horror nor humor was overdone. The balance was delightful.
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Nov 16, 2010 Judy rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Fans of mysteries with a female detective

Shelves: 21st-century-fiction, mystery

Once again Paretsky tackles an entirely different issue in one of her most intense novels so far. Lotty Herschel, V I Warshawski's beloved friend and mother substitute, has always been a prickly, complex character in the series. Now in Total Recall, we finally learn why.

As usual, financial crimes are mixed into the story, as well as racial tension and political misbehavior. Though there is a certain amount of violence, the danger to V I this time is more emotional than physical. When a young m...more

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Aug 24, 2010 Joyce Lagow rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: kindle-edition, police-procedural

10th in the V.I. Warshawski series, set in contemporary Chicago.

Paretsky always sets her plots around at least one and usually more social issues, weaving them together in an intricate way so that the issues all bear on one another and the plot as well. Total Recall is one of her best in this respect.

Max Loewenthal, the director of Beth Israel Hospital where V>I>’s other close friend, Lotty Herschel works as a surgeon, has a greed to participate in a seminar about recovery of Jewish assets...more 10th in the V.I. Warshawski series, set in contemporary Chicago.

Paretsky always sets her plots around at least one and usually more social issues, weaving them together in an intricate way so that the issues all bear on one another and the plot as well. Total Recall is one of her best in this respect.

Max Loewenthal, the director of Beth Israel Hospital where V>I>’s other close friend, Lotty Herschel works as a surgeon, has a greed to participate in a seminar about recovery of Jewish assets lost during the Shoah. This is in answer to the political efforts of an Orthodox rabbi who is leading a political movement to force insurance companies to pay on policies made out to Jews who died during the Holocaust; the movement is particularly hard on Jewish institutions that it perceives as not being firm enough on this issue. A bill is pending before the Illinois legislature. But life is complicated by an African-American alderman who is also demanding reparations from companies who benefitted from slavery before the Civil War.

Add to that paul Radubka a man who claims that he was in Terezin, a Nazi concentration camp that held, among others, Jewish children. paul claims that he had lost his memory due to an abusive foster father, that he has reclaimed those memories thanks to a therapist that uses hypnosis to help people recover such memories--and he has decided that Max and Lotty are his relatives. He gains media attention, and suddenly all of Chicago is focused on this fragile little man who then accuses V.I. as well as Lotty and Max of preventing him from reuniting with his family.

Yes, eventually there is a murder. But while that’s sort of standard police procedural stuff, all the issues surrounding the murder are not, and Paretsky handles them superbly in what could very well be her best book in the series to date.

It’s utterly absorbing in what we learn about the transport of Jewish children to England just before the war shut everything down, the survivors, the raging debate over the recall of memories through hypnosis, and the arguments on both sides of the issues, both for recovery of Jewish assets and for slave reparations.

A fine though not particularly unusual plot greatly enriched by Paretsky’s handling of sensitive social issues. As usual, her stock characters is the series--V.I., Lotty, Max, Mr. Contreras, and a first-timer who will reappear in other books--are very well drawn, making up for the relative thinness of the “bad guys”.

An outstanding read, not only for V.I. fans but also for those who enjoy having their police procedurals fleshed out with contemporary issues.
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Apr 27, 2010 Linda rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: mystery-crime

Sara Paretsky never shies away from burning social issues, and in Total Recall, she takes on insurance fraud and cultural guilt surrounding holocaust and slavery victims. VI takes on the largest insurance company in the state of Illinois, when a bereaved family asks her to find out how their deceased relative’s life policy could have been paid off before his death, as the company claims. Along the way, she becomes entangled in a political firestorm. As is typical in these novels, part of VI’s pe...more

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Apr 06, 2013 Erika Johansen rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites

My standard V.I. disclaimer: If you have never read a V.I. Warshawski novel, do yourself a favor and start from the beginning, with Indemnity Only. The character only becomes richer with time, and while I think the later books are slightly superior to the early ones, you will miss out on wonderful character development if you skip parts of the journey. Just because you CAN read books as stand-alones doesn't mean you should.

On to Total Recall: some people who like a recurring character, particul...more My standard V.I. disclaimer: If you have never read a V.I. Warshawski novel, do yourself a favor and start from the beginning, with Indemnity Only. The character only becomes richer with time, and while I think the later books are slightly superior to the early ones, you will miss out on wonderful character development if you skip parts of the journey. Just because you CAN read books as stand-alones doesn't mean you should.

On to Total Recall: some people who like a recurring character, particularly a genre-based one like a private investigator, seem to want to read the same book over and over again with different supporting characters. They don't want the character to change. Total Recall was the first V.I. book for which I noticed (after I'd already read it, mercifully) a lot of reader backlash that boiled down to: "Don't be so damned political; just tell us a mystery story!" I've been hearing a lot of it for every V.I. book since.

I can't get behind this way of thinking. I believe that loving a fictional character is like loving a child: if the love is healthy, you want them to grow and change and develop by experiencing new situations. This is particularly true in a series like this, which spans many years of the character's lifetime. People do grow and change, and those who think that a good author should stifle her character's development by controlling her like a marionette need to realize how ersatz such a character would actually be. V.I.'s political leanings were always part of the background, right back to the first book. She's getting older now, and what used to be the fiery political passion of youth, where one would seek out conflict and challenge, has inevitably been channeled into the everyday situations while she works to pay her rent. That's what happens when you age. I have loved watching V.I. age and mellow, but her sense of principle doesn't mellow one bit; it's part of who she is. In Total Recall, there are a lot of political machinations rumbling around V.I., but I think she's just doing what she does: trying to help someone who got cheated, and letting her sense of right and wrong guide her along the way.(less)

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Sep 30, 2009 Sueij rated it 4 of 5 stars

Recommended to Sueij by: Nicola

If Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum novels are the half hour prime-time comedies of women private investigators, then Paretsky's V.I. Warshawski novels are the 10:00pm slot hour-long dramas. These books aren't light, but wow are they mysteries worth sinking your teeth into.

The context of this mystery is a man with supposedly-recovered memories of surviving the Holocaust, his life at the hands of his abusive father, and a group of V.I.'s friends who are Jewish survivors of pre-war Eastern Europe...more

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May 09, 2013 Larry Bassett rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: mystery

Sara Paretsky’s writing comes into the twenty-first century with Total Recall published in 2001. Her protagonist, V.I. Warshawski, is now forty years old. Is she getting too old for her usual rough and tumble existence as a private investigator? Murray, a regular character in the series, says, “You’re getting too old for these tall buildings, Warshawski.” At theend of the book it is Murray who leaves you wondering, Where is this going? Will she survive her usual one or two calamities per book to...more

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Mar 09, 2011 Jodi rated it 4 of 5 stars

Been revisiting some Jane Austen favorites so won’t review them, but will do the book ‘read’ on my commute, Total Recall by Sara Paretsky. Although I am not very familiar with Chicago, this was a fun read since it takes place in that city—so names of streets and suburbs were recognizable. The writing was clear if a bit wordy sometimes (never realized how much I ‘skim’ in fiction—but the elaborate details of the heroine’s dreams would be one thing I would speed read if physically reading the book...more

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Mar 24, 2012 Amber Berry rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: mystery

I have read several of these mysteries, but didn't always enjoy them. I think this was the most recent one I read and the one I liked most. ~ V.I Warshawski is sometimes annoying. I prefer the female detective in Marcia Muller's books, set in San Francisco. ~ Although I grew up in a small town not that far from Chicago, somehow I'm a west-coaster and novels set in the western cities resonate more with me. That being said, it appears that setting is a strong component in whether a novel appeals t...more

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May 25, 2012 Carol/Bonadie rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

VI gets drawn in to two seemingly unrelated cases. A bit complex for a listen, it was hard to keep track of the many characters introduced. An life insurance claim is denied because a claim was already made against it decades ago; a young man hounds VIs friend Lottie and her circle because he thinks his family lost in the holocaust is related to theirs. VI doggedly pursues both and eventually sorts it all out. Ably Read by Sandra Burr, although her voice seems a little lyrical for Warshawski. I...more

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Jun 22, 2009 Rhonda rated it 2 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Dolly Dickinson

In this 11th VI Warsahwski book, Vic investigates a life insurance claim that was paid out prematurely before a man's death. When he dies, it leaves a mystery as to why the claim was paid out and where the money went. The insurance company has other bigger problems when different groups try to get reparations for people insured during the Holocaust and American slavery. When the issues begin to involve her friend Lotty Herschel, the cases merge as one and a man claiming to be related to a myster...more

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Apr 12, 2010 Mary JL rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Any mystery fan

Recommended to Mary JL by: I am Familiar with this series

Shelves: mystery-horror

This is the tenth in Paretsky's V. I. Warshawski series. As the review above note, it involves the Holocuast--and involves V. I.'s close freind and mentor, Dr. Lottie Herschel.

The story is up to Paretsky's usual high standards, as V. I. tries to discover the truth, based on memories of so long ago. But an extra addition to this novel, is that six chapters are told from Lottie Herschel's point of view. Normally, V. I. is always the narrator; the switch in point of view is unusal and well done. Lo...more

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May 08, 2013 Lynn Pribus rated it 3 of 5 stars

Actually a 3 1/2. The usual, reliable Paretsky with the usual cast of characters. Except this one revolves much more about Lotty, V.I.'s surgeon friend. There is an evil insurance company, the corrupt Chicago alderman, and the usual character types who block her path to truth and justice.

I picked up the paperback from the exchange table at the gym. It's one of those good-to-read-on-a-trip numbers, but I didn't wait to go on a trip. Very competent, moves right along. This was back in the days whe...more

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Mar 14, 2010 Ann rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: anyone, mystery lovers

I love VI Warshawski as Sara Paretsky draws her: a working class feminist detective who is loyal to her friends and very smart. I also like the way Paretsky takes on social issues in her novels. This one is about false memory syndrome and Hollocaust survivors, plus the question of reparations for slavery, so it is a complicated subject, but Paretsky pulls it out of the hat. I liked her other one I read about the scandal of a private prison a bit better but this is quite good as well.

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Sep 24, 2011 Jan C rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: mystery, 2011, chi

I think I wanted to know more about the Lottie story than the insurance scam.

And Durham lives up to the image of a Chicago politician (view spoiler).

And Max lives in Evanston (my town).

Paretsky always gets Chicago right. She's been here long enough to do that.

It was good. I finished it after midnight.

Multiple plot lines.

An insurance company selling burial plots to poor Jews in Vienna in the '20s and '30s. And all those years later doing t...more

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May 20, 2011 Carla rated it 3 of 5 stars

Because Darryl bought this book for $1 when the Borders was going out of business, so my expectations were not high. I haven't read any other V.I Warshawski novels, but it takes place in Chicago (and she was dashing from Evanston from Hyde Park - been there done that). I enjoyed it. This one is pretty involved once you get to the who-dunnit part. But interesting to read - I really did care about what happened to the characters.

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Apr 19, 2009 Ann rated it 3 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Jul 10, 2011 Susan rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: v-i-warshawski-mystery-series, 2010-support-your-local-library-rea

Holocaust theme. If I had not already read and enjoyed the previous 9 books in the VI Warshawski series, I would not have finished this book. I may not read the remainder of the series. Within the story, Vic says she is a pinball bouncing around Chicago, an accurate description of her investigation and this narrative. The poignant ending would have been powerful if this had been a short story.

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Oct 12, 2012 Terri rated it 5 of 5 stars

Of course this novel is the usual great mystery read by Sara Paretsky, but it is much more. I'm trying to avoid spoilers, but this book explores some often-overlooked emotional aspects of Holocaust survivors and the circumstances by which they survived. There is much more depth than just finding out "who dun it," even in Paretsky's usual well-developed way.

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Aug 17, 2011 JoTownhead rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

VI's investigation into a dodgy life assurance claim leads her to unearth long-buried secrets from the Second World War, and culminates in painful revelations from her closest friend, Lottie. Lots of well-crafted storylines which weave together satisfyingly and acerbic one-liners from VI. Sensitively handled and ultimately very moving.

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May 12, 2012 Kb rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Paretsky's best books are those that hook onto a larger issue in society. This one looks at how insurance companies and banks became rich off the policies they sold to eventual Holocaust victims. Paretsky's pacing sometimes still bugs me, but her treatment of issues like the sexism and racism that makes up modern society overrules those annoyances.

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Sep 19, 2010 Rdonn rated it 4 of 5 stars

I've enjoyed Sara Paretsky books on and off for a long time. I found Total Recall quite different as it focuses on Lotty Herschel, long-time doctor friend of V.I. Warshawski, and her deep dark secret - buried in the Holocaust. I found it an engrossing book, full of interesting characters, and many twists and turns. A very good read.

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Aug 31, 2012 Lora rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, history, mystery

Very good, not as violently upsetting (to me). It's about retrieved memory and the Holocaust and the publicity machine in America. Scarily enough, Vic's boyfriend is off to Afghanistan to do some journalism "stuff" on or with the Taliban. Lotty Herschel's past is explained somewhat. Very intricate and well-done.

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Sep 15, 2011 Susan Finch rated it 4 of 5 stars

As in Parentsky's other V.I. Warshawski novels, I enjoyed this one. The story held my interest throughout and got more interesting as it went on. Toward the middle of the book I found it hard to put down. The characters, good guys and bad, were believable and well developed. I will read more in this series.

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Mar 16, 2012 Alan rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Perhaps not her best novel but you have to give her an A for effort. Peppered with more characters and plot devices than you can keep track of she keeps you on the edge of your seat. Unfortunately this gets tiresome and frustrating as the characters devolve into caricatures that are never resolved.

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Apr 21, 2010 Jane rated it 3 of 5 stars

This was a very angry - frenetic - paranoid book. Know one trusted - no one believed - no one was even polite to each other. I stuck with it and was disappointed int he ending. I've never read any otheres in this series and may not try any others. Too many books and not enough time ---

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Jul 26, 2011 Voula rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I liked this book, but confess that I was having a hard time keeping all the characters straight at times. I like the VI Warshawski novels. This one also took a bit of a glance at some European history, which added to the color of the book.

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About Sara Paretsky

Sara Paretsky is a modern American author of detective fiction. Paretsky was raised in Kansas, and graduated from the state university with a degree in political science. She did community service work on the south side of Chicago in 1966 and returned in 1968 to work there. She ultimately completed a Ph.D. in history at the University of Chicago, entitled The Breakdown of Moral Philosophy in New E...more

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Total Recall (V.I. Warshawski #10)

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