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.