Sara Paretsky: Detective fiction as trauma literature (Contemporary American and Canadian Writers)

This is the first book-length study of Sara Paretsky's detective fiction. Paretsky is known for her influential V.I. Warshawski series, which transformed the masculine hard-boiled detective formula into a vehicle for feminist values. But Paretsky does more than this. She uses contemporary instances of corporate malfeasance and political corruption to indict the indifference, inadequacy, and betrayals of institutions charged with promoting the public good. Her novels also illustrate the extent to which detective fiction acts as a literature of trauma, allowing Paretsky to address the politics of agency in ways that go beyond the personal, for trauma always has a social and a political dimension. She not only uses her detective to examine the dynamics and impact of coercive power, but also to explore potential strategies for resistance.  Paretsky's work exploits the way detective fiction mirrors the writing of history. Here, Paretsky uses the form to expose the partiality of historical accounts-whether they be personal, institutional, or national-that authorise the 'forgetting' of a particularly insidious kind. Significantly, all these issues are explored within the framework of the traditional hard-boiled detective novel. As a result, Paretsky's achievement forces us to acknowledge the deeply subversive potential of detective fiction.  Paretsky has already been recognised as an important figure in the development of the hard-boiled tradition, but not, as this indicates, for all the right reasons. The book is essential reading for students and critics of detective fiction.

Biographies & Memoirs

Hamilton, Cynthia

Arts & Literature

Manchester University Press

Many topics had captured the interest of Allison Tyler-Wilcox, but the idea of writing about the often-divorced never crossed her mind. Not until she encountered Jake Sorenson, who had been unsuccessfully married seven times. She begins her quest for understanding the resiliency of the human heart with Jake as her source of research material.

Lucky at Love: Some guys just never give up...

Literature & Fiction

Literary

Woodstock Press

Madeline Ridley had all she’d ever dreamed of: a handsome, successful husband, a place at the top of Santa Barbara society, every luxury money could buy. In all respects, her world was perfect…until she awoke in the early morning hours in a strange hotel room, alone, unclothed, with a splitting headache and no clue how she had gotten there. When Steven Ridley comes home in the middle of a weekday and throws a sheaf of damning photos at her, Madeline’s comfortable world collapses in a swirl of blackmail, sabotage and deceit. Hoping to convince Steven of her innocence, Madeline drives to his office and unwittingly stumbles onto a scene that makes her realize who the real enemy is. From that point on, Madeline Ridley deconstructs herself, reverting back to Madeline Dawkins in order to salvage what’s left of her life. In the process, she discovers where her true strengths lay, and with those, she steels herself for the battle of a lifetime. Spouse Trap is the first installment in the Madeline Dawkins series.

Spouse Trap (The Madeline Dawkins Mystery Series)

Mystery, Thriller & Suspense

Mystery

Madeline’s dual professions as event coordinator and private investigator cross paths during the most lavish affair of her career—a weekend-long fortieth birthday extravaganza for the wife of a famous film director. As the party draws near, a simple background check after the disappearance of precious family jewels quickly turns into a murder investigation, and before Madeline and Mike can put the pieces together, another body turns up. Adding to Madeline’s already overflowing plate, the D.A. informs her that Rick Yeoman, one of the men who had abducted her three years earlier, has been prematurely released from prison after cutting a deal with the Feds. Besides fearing reprisals from the man she helped to convict, his parole also triggers the reappearance of soulless Lionel Usherwood, lured out of his hideaway by the call of revenge. When Yeoman’s body surfaces in Lake Cachuma, Usherwood moves on to the next target: Madeline. A High Price to Pay is the second novel in the Madeline Dawkins series.

A High Price to Pay: A Madeline Dawkins Novel

Once Upon a Lyme... A Tale of Two Journeys

Memoirs

As fiercely independent Ruth struggles to stay self-reliant at the age of 86, each day brings her closer to an event that will alter her life forever. While her author daughter shifts through Ruth’s possessions prior to her move into a skilled nursing facility, she discovers a previously unseen photo from 1949 and realizes how little she knows of her mother’s life. As Alzheimer’s continues to warp Ruth’s once sharp mind, she can no longer shed any light on the past. Yearning to know who her mother was as a person in her own right, the author painstakingly reconstructs Ruth’s life from photos, letters, public records and firsthand memories. What emerges is a portrait of a bright, beautiful woman who is propelled through decades of broken promises and heartache, bouncing from one ill-fated relationship to the next, but always staying strong, always surviving. Through a timeline going back sixty years, the author gleans a much better understanding of the woman she had known only as Mom.

Finding Ruth

From the Author of SPOUSE TRAP and A HIGH PRICE TO PAY Appearances can be deceiving. And in Southern California, where the sun shines almost every day and make-believe has its own industry, it’s hard to tell what is real and what is merely illusion. Two inquiries come to MDPI on the same day that seem like fairly straight-forward missing person cases. But it doesn’t take long to discover there’s nothing ordinary about the disappearance of two beautiful sisters from Minnesota and an estranged heiress who has never touched her eight-figure fortune. While Madeline’s partner, Mike Delaney, heads down to Los Angeles to search for his cousin’s vanished girlfriend and her sister, Madeline heads to San Luis Obispo in hopes of picking up a twelve-year-old trail at a Catholic boarding school. Their separate pursuits lead them into a world where a frightening reality hides behind a glossy veneer. With several lives hanging in the balance, Mike and Madeline are faced with daunting odds and ruthless criminals who will kill to keep what they have taken. “Girl Trap” is the third novel in the Madeline Dawkins series.

Girl Trap (The Madeline Dawkins Mystery Series)

The Trouble with Paradise (Madeline Dawkins Mystery)

Every Cook Can Govern: At Friendship and Kay Street

Professionals & Academics

Trafford Publishing

THE BOOK IS MY STORY BUT I WAS MOTIVATED TO WRITE AFTER MY MOTHER SURVIVED A BLOOD CLOT AND AN AUTOIMMUNE SKIN DISEASE AT 96. I HAVE RELIED ON NON-WESTERN MEDICINE THROUGHOUT MY ORDEAL. I RECOMMEND THAT WE IMBRACE ALTERNATIVES IN MEDICINE, HOME CARE AND HOUSING. MY WEBSTE IS http://www.cmhamilton.com

Every Cook Can Govern: At Friendship And Kay Street

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Hamilton, Cynthia. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Hamilton, Cynthia