Reviews

Bitter Medicine by Sara Paretsky

Only show reviews with written explanations

henrismum's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

Audiobook (All of my entries on The Story Graph are audiobooks.)
#4 in series (I started reading this series in Sept 2022 and I have been committed to this series since April 2023.)
Comparison to others in series: ~~Not as good~~ A~~bout the same~~ Better I liked this better than the last one. V.I. is a little tiring with her stupid antics, but the story was still enjoyable. Well, maybe you could cut 1.5 hours out and still have a good book.
The narrator was Susan Ericksen. She was fine.
Source: Audible (own)

Content Warnings

wetdryvac's review against another edition

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5.0

I normally go in for supernatural and SF insanity, but this series is some seriously nifty writing.

reddybeast's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

dancingkouign's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

noonjinx's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

An easy read with great characters and an exciting story, riffing off various cliches that I love; written in the first person by a cynical private investigator digging into a seemingly straightforward death and uncovering corporate corruption and conspiracy.

The twist here is that the PI is a woman and she's definitely a great and refreshing character. A tough, gun toting, progressive, left winger who can hold her own in fist fights with gangsters and who's not embarrassed to describe her messy apartment and sweaty armpits.

I've read conservative reviews complaining about the politics and even though I agree with Paretsky's views i did find her a bit preachy. Also, the end was a bit drawn out, plot based and too neat.

These are minor quibbles and i would read more though.

Content Warnings

rclz's review against another edition

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4.0

This is good. I really enjoy Vick's outlook and her smart mouth. I could kind of see where this was all going but it didn't matter because getting there was good.