V.I. Warshawski

I've always been a reader. Reading and books are my lifeline. When I can't sleep, feel homesick, miss people or places, am overcome with anxiety/sadness/anger/frustration, 10 minutes of a Harry Potter, an Agatha Christie, or Adrian Mole, and perspective is restored and calm resides again.

I have always loved a crime thriller, and while a dedicated follower of Agatha Christie, Sue Grafton, and more recently Steig Larsson, I am always on the lookout for more. And thanks to my step-mother for introducing me to the wonderful Sara Paretsky, and her heroine, the ballsy, brash and sarcastic VI Warshawski.

I have managed to devour two and am currently on a third in recent months. The series is ongoing, and chronological (although reading them as such is not a necessity - I have failed miserably at this and am still addicted).

The stories are fast-paced, at times dangerous and violent, but there is a confidence that you, as the reader, has in the heroine. She is scatty, untidy and disogranised. She drinks neat whiskey, can't start the day without a run, and lives in a permanent state of disarray and untidiness. Maybe it is this that has instilled such great confidence in her. She is a real person, and for all her messiness on the outside, I empathise with her - I am the same. A mess on the outside, yet obsessive and organised on the inside.

She is quick-witted, impulsive (often to the point of regret) and dry. Her sarcastic put-downs make for satisfying reading, and the many characters she has in her life are people one can recognise in one's own life. The interfering and yet well-meaning neighbour, the close, yet judgemental female friend, the ex-partners, some of which remain friends, others that quickly become enemies.

Each story starts feeling a little mundane, and then the pace quickens, the various plotlines are pulled together, and the story climaxes with some near death incident. Everything is explained (often not clear as crystal, but who cares - you know on closer inspection it would hold) and often Warshawski has successfully bought down some corrupt institution or company, and in the process is righting some social ill.

They are, all round a satisfying read; perfect for a sleepless night, long tube journey, or lazy holiday. And because the heroine has no qualms about indulging regluarly in a large, straight Johnny Walker, there is not a hint of guilt to settling down with the book and a large gin and tonic.

The power of context

I've recently discovered (and finished) an incredible series of books. They have been published posthumously by a Swedish author, Steig Larsson, and the first in the series is called "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo".

These books are incredibly good. They are intricate, thrilling, gory, and yet have a depth to them that can often be lacking in crime thrillers. Possibly the weakest part of the book is the title (in it's original language, the book was titled the far more apt "Men who hate women").

Throughout the trilogy there are many literary references that have spurred me on to try authors I had not yet read, or indeed in some cases, had not even heard of. A very rewarding one has been Sara Paretsky, a crime novelist who also favours a strong female loner for her main character.

On doing a little more research I discovered that there were plans for as many as 10 more books in the Lisbeth Salander series, and it seems that the loss of Larsson may well be a profound loss to the literary world (he was named the second best-selling author in the world in 2008)

I also discovered that Larsson never married his longterm partner, meaning that at the time of his (untimely) death, she was not named in his long-outdated will. And because they had never married, she was left with nothing. Yet they never married because (apparently) in Sweden, if you marry, you are obliged to publish your address, and due to the nature of Larsson's work, this was not a very good idea.

Both this fact, finding out the original title, and Larsson's sudden death have all combined to deepen the appeal of the Millenium trilogy. It struck me that by giving this additional context to the book, many aspects of the Sweden that is represented seem darker, and events of the novels all the more tragic.

It's funny what little things can do for the understanding of the whole.