V.I. "Vic" Warshawski's alcoholic aunt turns up at her door at three in the morning, accompanied by an addict friend after the hotel she's been living in burns down, and Vic is soon on the trail of an arsonist. But then the private investigator starts getting ominous messages, and her aunt's friend is found dead . . . with Vic's driver's license in their possession. To unravel the mystery and keep herself alive, Vic will have to delve into the dark world of the city's unhoused population--and the even darker world of Chicago's wealthy and powerful--in this steely thriller by a winner of multiple Anthony, Edgar, and Dagger Awards.

"One gritty good read . . . V.I. is a worthy heir to Marlowe." --Daily News (New York)

"Fast-paced." --The New York Times Book Review

"America's most convincing and engaging professional female private eye." --Entertainment Weekly

"V.I. Warshawski is good company." --Los Angeles Times