SOURCE: “Women, Mystery, and Sleuthing in the '80s,” in Sojourner: The Women's Forum, Vol. 14, No. 7, March, 1989, pp. 16-7.

In the following interview, Paretsky discusses her choice to write in the detective genre and her character V. I. Warshawski.

Sarah Paretsky, author of a series of mystery novels featuring detective V. I. Warshawski, is known for bringing a feminist perspective to the hard-boiled Private Eye genre. V. I., or Vic, as her friends call her, routinely handles street thugs, corporate big shots, and Chicago cops with the same wise-ass bravado. Paretsky, also one of the founding members of the organization Sisters in Crime, was recently in Boston promoting her fifth book, Blood Shot, which takes a fascinating look at environmental issues, big city Democratic-machine politics, and incest. Paretsky's previous novels, all of which bring to life in vivid detail the ethnic neighborhoods of her hometown, Chicago, include: Indemnity...