Sara Paretsky’s “Fire Sale”

Video requires Adobe Flash 10 (external link)

SPEAKER: Sara Paretsky
EVENT DATE: 02/27/2007
RUNNING TIME: 64 minutes
TRANSCRIPT: View Transcript (link will open in a new window)

DESCRIPTION:

What do basketball, a discount superstore, two runaway teenagers and an explosion that screams of foul play have in common? They are just a sampling of the twists and turns found in the latest mystery thriller by Sara Paretsky who discussed her most recent book "Fire Sale."

The program, which marked the 25th anniversary of the debut of Paretsky's fictional private detective, V.I. Warshawski, and the 20th anniversary of the Sisters in Crime organization, is part of the Books & Beyond author series sponsored by the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress Sisters in Crime, www.sistersincrime.org  , which Paretsky helped found in 1986, combats discrimination against women in the mystery field and promotes the professional advancement of female mystery novelists. Mystery Writers of America, www.mysterywriters.org, a reading promotion partner of the Center for the Book, is the premier organization for mystery writers, professionals allied to the crime-writing field, aspiring crime writers and devotees to the genre.

Speaker Biography: Sara Paretsky revolutionized the mystery world when she introduced the V.I. Warshawski character in her 1982 novel "Indemnity Only." By creating a strong female investigator who uses her wits as well as her fists, Paretsky challenged the conventions of a genre in which women traditionally were either vamps or victims. Eleven other Warshawski novels followed, all national bestsellers, including "Fire Sale" (Penguin, 2006). In addition the Warshawski novels, Paretsky has written a nonseries novel, "Ghost Country," which blends comedy, magic and gritty realism in the streets of Chicago. She has also edited three collections of short stories, and her books are published in 24 languages.

SERIES: Books & Beyond