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Sara Paretsky

サラ・パレツキー

Sara Paretsky

Profile

Gender
Female
Born
1947-06-08 （Ames, Iowa, U.S.）
Nationality
United States
Languages
English
Residence History
Ames, Iowa → Kansas (family moved; University of Kansas) → Chicago (community work and residence)

Career

Occupations
Novelist, Author, Editor
Active Years
1975-
Affiliations
Ragdale Foundation, Sisters in Crime (founding mother/supporter), Mystery Writers of America
Memberships
Sisters in Crime, Mystery Writers of America

Education

University of Kansas
Political Science
Degree: BA
Period: 1960年代
Year of Graduation: 1968
Country: United States
Bachelor's degree in political science.
University of Chicago
History
Degree: AM (Master's)
Period: 1969
Year of Graduation: 1969
Country: United States
Completed AM (master's) at the University of Chicago.
University of Chicago Booth School of Business
Degree: MBA
Period: 1970s
Year of Graduation: 1977
Country: United States
Earned an MBA in 1977.
University of Chicago
History
Degree: PhD
Period: 1970s
Year of Graduation: 1977
Country: United States
PhD in History; dissertation titled "The Breakdown of Moral Philosophy in New England Before the Civil War."

Awards

Anthony Award (nomination)
1986
Work: Killing Orders
Organization: Bouchercon (Anthony Awards)
Result: ノミネート
Anthony Award (nomination)
1989
Work: Blood Shot
Organization: Bouchercon (Anthony Awards)
Result: ノミネート
Anthony Award (winner, short story collection)
1992
Work: A Woman's Eye
Category: Best Short Story Collection
Organization: Bouchercon (Anthony Awards)
Result: 受賞
Cartier Diamond Dagger
2002
Category: Lifetime achievement
Organization: Crime Writers' Association
Result: 受賞
Gold Dagger
2004
Work: Blacklist
Organization: Crime Writers' Association
Result: 受賞
Anthony Award (Lifetime Achievement)
2011
Category: Lifetime Achievement
Organization: Bouchercon (Anthony Awards)
Result: 受賞
Grand Master
2011
Category: Lifetime achievement
Organization: Mystery Writers of America
Result: 受賞
Sue Grafton Memorial Award
2019
Work: Shell Game
Organization: Mystery Writers of America
Result: 受賞
Sue Grafton Memorial Award (nomination)
2021
Work: Dead Land
Organization: Mystery Writers of America
Result: ノミネート

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Indemnity Only

1982 Crime fiction / Detective fiction

A V.I. Warshawski novel introducing Paretsky's female private investigator confronting corporate and criminal corruption.

female independenceurban corruptionjustice

Killing Orders

1985 Crime fiction

A V.I. Warshawski entry involving murder and corporate scandal.

corporate crimeinvestigationfemale detective

Blood Shot

1988 Crime fiction

A Warshawski novel dealing with environmental and industrial accident-related crime (published in the UK as 'Toxic Shock').

environmental issuesindustrial corruption

Blacklist

2003 Crime fiction

A Warshawski investigation that touches on politics and security; won the CWA Gold Dagger in 2004.

politicsnational securitywomen and justice

Shell Game

2018 Crime fiction

A contemporary Warshawski novel involving finance-related crimes; winner of the Sue Grafton Memorial Award.

financial crimejustice

Dead Land

2020 Crime fiction

A Warshawski novel where contemporary crime intersects with past grievances; nominated for the Sue Grafton Memorial Award.

secrets of the pastrevengeinvestigation

Pay Dirt

2024 Crime fiction

A recent entry in the Warshawski series, combining the protagonist's classic detective methods with modern themes.

justicecontemporary social issues

Bibliography

  • Indemnity Only (1982)
  • Deadlock (1984)
  • Killing Orders (1985)
  • Bitter Medicine (1987)
  • Blood Shot (1988)
  • Burn Marks (1990)
  • Guardian Angel (1992)
  • Tunnel Vision (1994)
  • Ghost Country (1998)
  • Hard Time (1999)
  • Total Recall (2001)
  • Blacklist (2003)
  • Fire Sale (2005)
  • Bleeding Kansas (2008)
  • Hardball (2009)
  • Body Work (2010)
  • Breakdown (2012)
  • Critical Mass (2013)
  • Brush Back (2015)
  • Fallout (2017)
  • Shell Game (2018)
  • Dead Land (2020)
  • Overboard (2022)
  • Pay Dirt (2024)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
Realistic, hardboiled-influenced crime fiction stylePlots that integrate social, political and economic issues
Recurring Motifs
female independence and professionalismdepictions of Chicago as a settingworking-class issues and corruption of power

Legacy

Sara Paretsky is credited with transforming the image of women in crime fiction through her V.I. Warshawski novels. She helped found and support Sisters in Crime and has advanced the standing of women writers in the mystery field.

Academic Societies

  • Sisters in Crime
  • Mystery Writers of America

Archives

  • Newberry Library: Sara Paretsky papers

In Popular Culture

  • The Winter 2007 issue of Clues: A Journal of Detection was devoted to her work

Quotes

  • I start each VI Warshawski book convinced I can't do it.
    Source: The Guardian (interview, 2015) (2015)

Trivia

  • V.I. Warshawski is the protagonist of most of her novels.
  • Considered a founding mother of Sisters in Crime.
  • Her husband, S. Courtenay Wright, was a physicist (died 2018).
  • Alumna of the Ragdale Foundation.
  • Also known as a mystery writer with an academic (PhD) background.