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Автор Сара Парецки

“AN ABSORBING, WELL-WRITTEN TALE … A TOP-NOTCH MYSTERY. ”

—Publishers Weekly

THE CRITICS LOVE

DEADLOCK

“GOOD FUN, PARTICULARLY IF YOU LIKE THE TOUGH ONES. ”

—Chattanooga Times

“A STANDOUT. A RICH AND EXCITING NOVEL. ”

—Mystery News

“V. I. WARSHAWSKI IS ONE OF THE TOUGHEST AND PERHAPS THE MOST PERSUASIVELY WRITTEN OF THE NEW BREED OF FEMALE PRIVATE-EYES. ”

—Philadelphia Inquirer

“FLAWLESS PLOTTING. ”

—Booklist

“SWIFT-PACED AND ENGROSSING. ”

—The Plain Dealer (Cleveland)

SARA PARETSKY’S INTRIGUING WOMAN P. I. V. I. WARSHAWSKI IS “THE DETECTIVE MANY MYSTERY FANS HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR!”*

“HER WORK DOES MORE THAN TURN THE GENRE UPSIDE DOWN: her books are beautifully paced and plotted, and the dialogue is fresh and smart. ”

—Newsweek

“TENACIOUS, GOOD-NATURED, IDEALISTIC … V. I. Warshawski is a pleasure to see in action. ”

—Glamour

“BRASH, BREEZY, AND IN HER OWN SENSE, HIGHLY MORAL, V. I. Warshawski is the best of the new breed of female detectives … a tough female detective working Chicago’s mean streets—a perspective you won’t find anywhere else. ”

—Rave Reviews

“A GRIPPING, ENTERTAINING STORY. ”

—Publishers Weekly

“PARETSKY JUGGLES WISECRACKS, TENDERNESS AND GRIT IN A STORY THAT RETURNS CHICAGO P. I. V. I.

WARSHAWSKI TO HER SOUTHSIDE ROOTS … PARETSKY COULD NOT HAVE WRITTEN THIS ONE BETTER. ”

—Kirkus Reviews

“PARETSKY’S NAME ALWAYS MAKES THE TOP OF THE LIST WHEN PEOPLE TALK ABOUT THE NEW FEMALE OPERATIVES. ”

—The New York Times Book Review

“V. I. WARSHAWSKI IS … THE TOP OF THE LINE—ATTRACTIVE, INTELLIGENT, TOUGH, AND VULNERABLE. ”

—Chicago Tribune

* Newsweek

Books by Sara Paretsky

TOTAL RECALL

HARD TIME

GHOST COUNTRY

WINDY CITY BLUES

TUNNEL VISION

GUARDIAN ANGEL

BURN MARKS

BLOOD SHOT

BITTER MEDICINE

KILLING ORDERS

DEADLOCK

INDEMNITY ONLY

Edited by Sara Paretsky

WOMEN ON THE CASE

A WOMAN’S EYE

Published by

Dell Publishing

a division of

Random House, Inc.

Copyright © 1984 by Sara Paretsky

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the written permission of the Publisher, except where permitted by law. For information address: Ballantine Books, New York, New York.

Dell® is a registered trademark of Random House, Inc. , and the colophon is a trademark of Random House, Inc.

eISBN: 978-0-307-78128-4

v3. 1

For Lucella Wieser,

a lady who sailed these seas

with wit and great courage

for over a hundred and six years.

The Canada Steamship Line very generously allowed me to get a firsthand look at a Great Lakes freighter in operation during the fall of 1980. Captain Bowman, master of their 720-foot self-unloading vessel, the J. W. McGiffin, invited me to sail with him from Thunder Bay through the Soo locks to the Welland Canal. He gave me run of the ship, from the bridge to the holds. Chief Engineer Thomas Taylor took me through the engine room and explained the intricacies of the self-unloader. I wish I could have put his humor and his love of machines into this story. However, no resemblance is intended between any of the officers or crew of the McGiffin and those of the ships in this novel. Nor are the operation of Grafalk Steamship or the Pole Star Line meant to resemble Canada Steamship in any way.