Fallout: A V.I. Warshawski Novel

In the latest addition to the V.I. Warshawski canon (after Brush Back), the Chicago sleuth hits the road after Bernie, her cousin's goddaughter, pleads with her to take a case. Bernie's friend, budding filmmaker August, has gone missing, and a break-in at the gym where he works has alarmed her. As V.I. soon discovers, August isn't the only one missing. On an odd trail, she packs up her dog Peppy and sets off on a journey to Kansas to find the hometown of former film star Emerald Ferring, hoping her fanboy filmmaker is with her. Taking V.I. on tangents from her original quest, her Kansas trip spawns inquiries she never anticipated, leading her into the realm of one town's deeply buried family secrets, racial division, murders old and new, corporate land grabs, and a little bioterrorism to shake things up for good measure. True to V.I. form, she follows her investigation to wherever it leads, no matter how bumpy or dangerous.