Creator of Chicago's famous feminist detective V. I. Warshawski, author Sara Paretsky paved the way for a new category of female detectives within the mystery genre. In 1986, angered at the treatment of female mystery writers, who were often ignored, unrewarded, underappreciated, and forced into creating stereotypical protagonists, Paretsky helped to create Sisters in Crime. This group has consistently worked to garner awards for female mystery writers, demand that more reviews of mysteries be written by women, and improve the image of women in mystery novels.

Paretsky, who was born in Iowa and grew up in Lawrence, Kansas, was influenced in her choice of career by her mother, a children's librarian at the Lawrence Public Library. Young Sara began writing at the age of five. As an adult, however, Paretsky worked as a dishwasher, secretary, market manager, and freelance writer before writing her first V...