Critical Mass: V.I. Warshawski 16 [Paperback] Paretsky, Sara

V.I. Warshawski digs into her own family's past when a stranger brings her an old photograph and a half-forgotten name from 1930s Vienna. What starts as genealogical curiosity spirals into a present-day murder investigation tangled up with Cold War secrets, missing nuclear scientists, and Chicago's North Shore elite who'd prefer certain histories stay buried. Paretsky weaves between WWII-era Austria and contemporary Illinois, linking personal trauma to political violence across generations. The sixteenth outing for Warshawski delivers her signature mix: hard-boiled detective work, feminist fury, and a protagonist who won't quit even when powerful people want her to. If you like your crime fiction with historical depth and a detective who punches up, this hits the mark.