Indemnity Only

V. I. Warshawski, Book 1

By: Sara Paretsky

Narrated by: Susan Ericksen

In this gripping adventure - the first V.I. Warshawski mystery - America’s top private eye is tossed into a dangerous adventure when a seemingly straightforward assignment becomes complicated and deadly.

Hired by a man who calls himself John Thayer, V.I.’s assignment is to find Thayer’s son Peter’s missing girlfriend. But when V.I. finds young Peter’s dead body instead, her client disappears. Her efforts to track down her client and learn his true identity take her deep into a labyrinth of fraud and violence.

By the time V.I. figures out the answers she is in a race to find the missing young woman - before the murderers do.

©1991 Sara Paretsky (P)2011 Brilliance Audio, Inc.

Loved the movie.

Had never realized the movie was based on these books. I loved listening to this. Some of the characters were in this one and I see some are in the next book. Almost wish Kathleen Turner was reading them after being introduced to her in the movie. This book is great. Has her sassy attitude and her interactions with everyone she meets can almost make you start cracking up and people look at you funny. Overall a very good story.

An entertaining “period piece”

It’s strange to be calling this an almost historic detective novel when so much of the social and technological background resonates with me. No cell phones or computers? However did we cope!
This was a fun story, predictable at times but keep in mind it is a product of another era and there are enough twists and turns to keep it interesting. And of course there’s the wonderful Susan Erickson bringing it all to life.

Like watching an 80s Detective Show

The story is good, and of course Susan Erickson's performance is amazing as usual. One has to remember that this book was written in the 1980s, and it really feels like watching an old 80s detective show.

With that in mind, since I actually remember the 1980s firsthand, it is interesting to notice how attitudes and technology have changed. It's funny to think that it wasn't that long ago, when people's lives could be put in danger if you actually left home so that you missed a call. Of course there is also the rampant misogyny at odds with changing attitudes and values, that were indicative of the era.

I plan to listen to more of the serious, and it will be interesting to see how the characters progress if the series keeps up with the contemporary timeframe of when each book was written.

A Good Debut Novel, Well Read by Susan Erickson

This is a debut novel of Sara Paretsky featuring her protagonist V. I. Warshawski. The story is a decent private detective mystery. The book is a fairly easy read and the audiobook is well read and fairly easily followed. I liked the book and intend to try another novel by Sara Paretsky.

V.I. Warshawski's character in this debut novel reminded me a good deal of a female version of Robert Parker's debut Spenser novel "The Godwulf Manuscript" published several years prior. I liked both novels about the same amount. Thank You...

I love narrator Susan Erickson - Great Series

What did you love best about Indemnity Only?

I took a shot at this writer ONLY because of the narrator. I have found that Susan Erickson has a great way of building a story especially if the story line is exceptional. I Loved this book and am now on #6 with plans to download ALL of them. Great story line.

Have you listened to any of Susan Ericksen’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

LOVE HER and this compares very well with RD Robb The Eve Dallas Series which I am an avid fan of.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

YES