Scan barcode
A review by melissa_who_reads
Breakdown by Sara Paretsky
4.0
Listened to this as an audiobook on my commute back and forth. Very good for listening to in traffic: holds one's attention, and on the days when traffic was light, I did have a bit of disappointment that I got home too fast. And I did sit in the parked car and listen to the end, because by that point I just wanted to hear the resolution. I did find that the narrator over-pronounced her "T's" to a distracting point ... but otherwise, it was a wonderful read.
VI responds to a call for help from her cousin, and finds herself drawn into a case (or cases) that are intertwined with numerous bad actors. But the "good" people in the story are definitely a mixed bag as well. The book flows from the antics of pre-teen girls in love with a series of books about vampires, to a Senate race and the forces of the right-wing hate machine, to both the wealthy and the poor, to a state mental institution - and a long-overlooked miscarriage of justice. Along the way, her mentally ill friend is thrown off the balcony at Rockefeller Chapel, and VI adds her own guilt to the impetus to solve the crime.
I did guess who did it before the end, and I yelled at her when she failed to follow up a clue early on - so relieved when she finally got around to remembering that bit.
It was an exciting story, but somewhat frustrating due to her own emotional entanglements blinding her to several of the pieces of the puzzle. And the end was a bit implausible. But it was exciting!
VI responds to a call for help from her cousin, and finds herself drawn into a case (or cases) that are intertwined with numerous bad actors. But the "good" people in the story are definitely a mixed bag as well. The book flows from the antics of pre-teen girls in love with a series of books about vampires, to a Senate race and the forces of the right-wing hate machine, to both the wealthy and the poor, to a state mental institution - and a long-overlooked miscarriage of justice. Along the way, her mentally ill friend is thrown off the balcony at Rockefeller Chapel, and VI adds her own guilt to the impetus to solve the crime.
I did guess who did it before the end, and I yelled at her when she failed to follow up a clue early on - so relieved when she finally got around to remembering that bit.
It was an exciting story, but somewhat frustrating due to her own emotional entanglements blinding her to several of the pieces of the puzzle. And the end was a bit implausible. But it was exciting!