While I have not been a reader of Sara Paretsky’s
mysteries featuring private investigator V.I. Warshawski, I have
long been aware of one of Chicago’s finest writers. It was
with great interest, therefore, that I received my copy of BLEEDING
KANSAS, which represents a major departure for Paretsky. Instead of
the grim streets of Chicago, the setting is Lawrence, Kansas, a
community of farmers and University of Kansas students and
teachers. Rather than a bang-bang mystery, it is a thoughtful
work focusing on issues that paint the contemporary political
landscape. The book’s title rem