Shell Game by Sara Paretsky Narrator: Susan Ericksen
Series: V.I. Warshawski #19
Published by HarperAudio on October 16, 2018
Genres: Mystery
Length: 15 hours, 2 minutes
Format: Audiobook
Source: Library
Goodreads
Amazon, Audible, Libro.fm, Barnes & Noble
Legendary sleuth V.I. Warshawski returns to the Windy City to save an old friend’s nephew from a murder arrest. The case involves a stolen artifact that could implicate a shadowy network of international criminals. As V.I. investigates, the detective soon finds herself tangling with the Russian mob, ISIS backers, and a shady network of stock scams and stolen art that stretches from Chicago to the East Indies and the Middle East. In Shell Game, nothing and no one are what they seem, except for the detective herself, who loses sleep, money, and blood, but remains indomitable in her quest for justice.
Read It, Rate It and Record
A short review to update challenges
I have read and loved the V.I. Warshawski series for a looooong time, since it started in 1982! I’ve read and loved them all and Shell Game is number 19. I was happy to get this on audio from the library.
The social issues were on display in this complex, layered mystery. Vic ends up in two personal, i.e. non-paying cases, which show the utter lack of compassion and total greed of the wealthy. Characters, including Vic herself, are not all black and white. There are rich, old men using women, without consent. There are also racists happy to abuse those from other cultures. Of course, there are the greedy who will use anyone for their own profit.
Vic is hunting for her niece who is missing. She is also working on finding out who killed an Arabic-speaking young man, to prevent Lotty’s nephew from being charged with his murder due to circumstantial evidence. There are some times Vic really puts herself into too much danger.
As per usual, after a few injuries Vic brings the wrongdoers to light, to their dismay and downfall. lucky for her Lotty is always there to patch her up. She also has a bit of unbelievable help sometimes from rich clients. It’s a fun series encompassing current topics. I recommend it.
Narration:
Susan Ericksen is the voice of the series for me. It is a stream of consciousness in Shell Game particularly. I felt it was more Vic with her inner thoughts and feelings and very few voices of any others. I was able to listen at 1.5x speed and enjoyed the performance.
Listen to a clip:
About Susan Ericksen
Susan Ericksen is a Renaissance woman. In addition to being an Earphones-winning audiobook narrator and director–she’s a writer, an amateur linguist, an actress, a mother, and a wife. In the 1980s she joined former classmate David Colacci in western Michigan, where he was artistic director for the Hope Summer Repertory Theater. Twenty miles away, a fledgling audiobook publisher called Brilliance was looking for narrators.
Susan has recorded around two hundred audiobooks for Brilliance, BBC Audiobooks, Tantor, and Hachette. “It was a natural step. As repertory theater actors, the whole point is to be able to do Shakespeare one night, a musical the next night, and Noel Coward the next. So you have multiple personalities and multiple character voices and physicalities. These are such valuable skills for doing audiobooks.”
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 England Before the Civil War, and finally earned an MBA from the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business. Married to a professor of physics at the University of Chicago, she has lived in Chicago since 1968.
| Rating Breakdown | |
|---|---|
| Plot |
|
| Writing |
|
| Characters |
 |
| Narration (Audio) |
|
| Overall: | |
I read all types of books but my favorites are urban fantasy and romantic suspense.I like some romance and some action / adventure / mystery in everything.I like sex in my books but please, only between TWO people.Intimate conversation is equally important to the sex in a book.It lets me see the characters.The other thing I enjoy is humor.
Friend or follow me at Goodreads.
- 🎧 Death at the Sanatorium by Ragnar Jónasson @ragnarjo#SamWoolf @MinotaurBooks @MacmillanAudio #LoveAudiobooks - September 12, 2024
- 🎧The Swimmer by Loreth Anne White @Loreth @rebabuhr #BrillianceAudio #LoveAudiobooks #KindleUnlimited - September 10, 2024
- 🎧The Brothers Kenney by Adam Mitzner @adam_mitzner #StacyCarolan @librofm @BlackstoneAudio #LoveAudiobooks - September 8, 2024
Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
- 2019 Audiobooks
- 2019 Library-Love
- BTB 2019
I always think it says something about an author when they can continue to give enjoyable stories this far into a series. I’ve only read the first few. Kind of curious about picking it back up.
I really enjoy them. She does have a habit of getting into big trouble without much backup though. She’s one tough lady.
One of these days I’ll start this series! Excellent review, Anne.
Thank you! It really is a great long-running series. I do enjoy this narration by Susan Erickson also.
I have read Sara’s work but it has been a while. I am trying to clear my review shelf so I can start reading more library books. Maybe I’ll catch up on her then. 🙂
I am so with you! I have a ton of library books right now and I want to read them, but I also have a pile of review ARCs to do. It’s a juggling act. I want to read them all. Today.
I love a good mystery. This one sounds intriguing. I am glad you liked it. It sounds like a great series.
Mary
This is a long series, set in Chicago, which I know pretty well. I’ve read or listened to them all. I hope you love it if you try it.