Sara Paretsky: Burn Marks (USA 2025)

From the Publisher:
A knock at the door in the middle of the night pulls a Chicago PI into a web of crime and corruption in this "captivating" New York Times bestseller (The Baltimore Sun).

V.I. "Vic" Warshawski's alcoholic aunt turns up at her door at three in the morning, accompanied by an addict friend after the hotel she's been living in burns down, and Vic is soon on the trail of an arsonist. But then the private investigator starts getting ominous messages, and her aunt's friend is found dead... with Vic's driver's license in their possession. To unravel the mystery and keep herself alive, Vic will have to delve into the dark world of the city's unhoused population -- and the even darker world of Chicago's wealthy and powerful -- in this steely thriller by a winner of multiple Anthony, Edgar, and Dagger Awards.

Sara Paretsky: Burn Marks. A V.I. Warshawski Mystery. MysteriousPress.com / Open Road Media, ISBN: 9781504099820 (March, 2025), 464 p., $27.99.

Sara Paretsky: Burn Marks (USA 2024)

From the Publisher:
A knock at the door in the middle of the night pulls a Chicago PI into a web of crime and corruption in this "captivating" New York Times bestseller (The Baltimore Sun).

V.I. "Vic" Warshawski's alcoholic aunt turns up at her door at three in the morning, accompanied by an addict friend after the hotel she's been living in burns down, and Vic is soon on the trail of an arsonist. But then the private investigator starts getting ominous messages, and her aunt's friend is found dead... with Vic's driver's license in their possession. To unravel the mystery and keep herself alive, Vic will have to delve into the dark world of the city's unhoused population -- and the even darker world of Chicago's wealthy and powerful -- in this steely thriller by a winner of multiple Anthony, Edgar, and Dagger Awards.

Sara Paretsky: Burn Marks. A V.I. Warshawski Mystery. MysteriousPress.com / Open Road Media, ISBN: 9781504099813 (December, 2024), eBook, 2 MB (ca. 464 p.), $17.99.

Sara Paretsky: Burn Marks (UK 2013)

From the Publisher:
V.I. Warshawski receives an unwelcome shock when her aunt Elena arrives on her doorstep in the middle of the night, having fled from her burning hotel. But things go from bad to worse when Elena mysteriously vanishes and the corpse of her aunt's friend is discovered at a construction site.

As V.I.'s investigation plunges her deep into the workings of the construction industry and county politics, she finds herself part of a dangerous game of corruption where her life is the prize. Someone's out to silence her, and they won't stop until they do...

Sara Paretsky: Burn Marks. When things heat up, someone will get burnt... A V.I. Warshawski Novel. Hodder, ISBN: 9781444761467 (January, 2013), 447 p., £7.99.

Sara Paretsky: Burn Marks (UK 1998)

From the Publisher:
In Burnmarks, the wonderful V.I returns, once again meddling where she is not wanted. When an elderly aunt appears destitute on her, doorstep, following a fire at the Old Folks' home, her annoyance soon turns to curiosity when her attempts to investigate are thwarted. Someone from V.I's past, now a rising star in Chicago politics, is keen to keep her out of it. Never taking no for an answer, V.I uncovers political corruption on a massive scale. In the race to the top, V.I discovers that friendship and loyalty are left far behind.

Sara Paretsky: Burn Marks. Meet... V.I. Warshawski. Virago Press, ISBN: 186049627X (December, 1998), 340 p., £5.99.

Sara Paretsky: Burn Marks (UK 1991)

From the Publisher:
'Winner of the Silver Dagger Award for crime fiction ... Warshawski, brave, blonde, beautiful, fit and bristling with feminist wit, has transformed a genre sinking beneath its own clichés' - Sunday Times
'Feisty private eye Vic Warshawski grows more interesting, quirky, and admirable with every story... Irresistible' - The Times

When her seedy and importunate Aunt Elena turns up on her doorstep at midnight, having been burned out of her old folks' building, V.I. is exasperated rather than curious. ifer interest is aroused only when an Gid friend, now a rising politician, puts pressure on her not to investigate... and what she discovers isn't pretty: massive corruption and collusion among Chicago politicians and the construction industry. In the complex threads of past loyalties and big aspirations, the political stakes are high and friendship is cheap.

Sara Paretsky: Burn Marks. Meet... V.I. Warshawski. Virago Crime, ISBN: 185381279X (April, 1991), 340 p., £5.99.

Sara Paretsky: Burn Marks (USA 1991)

From the Publisher:
Someone knocking on the door at 3 A.M. is never good news. For V.I. Warshawski, the bad news arrives in the form of her wacky, unwelcome aunt Elena. The fire that has just burned down a sleazy SRO hotel has brought Elena to V.I.'s doorstep. Uncovering an arsonist -- and the secrets hidden behind Elena's boozy smile -- will send V.I. into the seedy world of Chicago's homeless... into the Windy City's backroom deals and bedroom politics, where new schemers and old cronies team up to get V.I. off the case -- by hook, by crook, or by homocide.

Sara Paretsky: Burn Marks. A V.I. Warshawski Mystery. Dell, ISBN: 0440208459 (March, 1991), 340 p., $4.95.

Sara Paretsky: Burn Marks (USA 1990)

From the Publisher:
In this, her sixth V.I. Warshawski novel, Sara Paretsky proves beyond all reasonable doubt that she is one of the premier writers of private-eye fiction in America today. The New York Times called her most recent novel, Blood Shot, "her best and boldest work." BURN MARKS carries her to new heights.

"Victoria, sweetie, you look terrific!"
With those words- and the sour yeasty smell of stale beer- Elena, V.I. Warshawski's derelict aunt, re-enters her niece's life at three in the morning. Burned out of her SRO hotel, Elena has turned to V.I. for a place to stay: V.I. vows that it will be a short visit and uses some old political contacts to find Elena a room.

When V.I. is hired to investigate the fire at the hotel, her aunt disappears, and her aunt's young friend is found dead at a construction site. V.I. is warned off the case by both a high-ranking police officer and a major Chicago developer- who also happens to be a close friend of the chairman of the Cook County Board. After three terrifying attempts on her life, V.I. doesn't know whether it's the politicians, the police, or the developers who are after her.

As the investigation takes her deep into the workings of both the construction business and Cook County politics, V.I. discovers a connection between the two that brings her to a confrontation where the line between friend and enemy is redrawn to frightening effect.

Sara Paretsky: Burn Marks. A V.I. Warshawski Mystery. Delacorte Press, ISBN: 0385298927 (March, 1990), 340 p., $17.95.