Bitter Medicine

PUBLISHED 1987

Bitter Medicine, V.I.’s fourth case, starts when a young friend goes into premature labor. V.I. and Consuelo are far from home. By the time Consuelo’s doctor, young Malcolm Tregiere, arrives, both she and her baby are dead at the local for profit hospital. V.I. assumes this is a tragic but unavoidable outcome. However, when Dr. Tregiere is brutally murdered and V.I. begins to investigate, her work unleashes a trail of violence that leads her back to the hospital where Consuelo died. The trail of greed and violence the detective uncovers proves to be bitter medicine indeed.

Reviews and Quotes
Bitter Medicine is a sweet read. Sara Paretsky keeps you guessing until the last minute.
— Rita Mae Brown

A dense, convincing, fast-moving plot, a dauntless but vulnerable heroine, a fine-tuned ear for real-life dialogue and a sharp eye for the Chicago scene. Superior stuff.
— The Kirkus Reviews

Paretsky, author of Indemnity Only, Deadlock, and Killing Orders (all featuring Warshawski), has established herself as a first-rate exponent of the hardboiled school of detective writing. She brings new meaning to the genre with her thoughtful work.
— Library Journal