Rating: 
Summary: This book appeared to be self indulgent.
Review: Ms. Paretsky certainly doesn't have to continue writing the V.I. series in order to satisfy her legions of loyal readers. However, this book is in no way a good read or an enjoyable story. If Ms. Paretsky is tired of V.I., she is a talented, engrossing, and involving enough author to devise a better plot and characters than she 'gave birth' to in this book. An avid reader, I have one basic requirement, the character(s) must make you want to know them better, whether the reader likes or understands them or not--otherwise why read that particular book? These inhabitants of "Ghost Country" were no more interesting or involving of the reader at the end of the book than at the beginning and the story could have been anything--bottom line, who cares? I call this self indulgent because it seems to be a case of a so-called popular author (which there is absolutely nothing wrong with being) striving to become something else. Ms. Paretsky doesn't owe her readers anything but a good read--but she does owe us that.
Rating: 
Summary: A stirring drama of love, healing and spirituality
Review: Sara Paretsky's "Ghost Country" is one of those rare novels that enables one to reexamine their lives and look at the world in, perhaps, a different manner. Simply stated: this is a novel readers beg and hope for. Using the streets of Chicago's homeless as a backdrop for her novel, Ms. Paretsky tells the story of 3 women troubled by their past searching to find their existance for the future. Each, should we say, have lived in the real world before ending up homeless and it is one woman who claims to have seen the Virgin Mary's blood seeping through a wall below a hotel which begins to arouse controversy not only for the homeless but for the city as well. It is not until a mysterious woman, known as Starr, appears who eventually begins the process of changing these women's lives as well as the nation. In Starr, Ms. Paretsky has created a Jesus-like character - Starr's presence creates a "star" of light in an otherwise dark enviorment. She seems to create miracles and, as in the Bible, their are believers and non-believers. Her life appears to be as a prophet as her teachings enable these woman to look at themselves and heal. The world of Opera, homelessness and the Bible are richly displayed here and, when all woven together, create an image that perhaps God intended. "Ghost Country" allows us to reach deep inside and bring to the surface the spirituality we so often forget. Ms. Paretsky's writing is impressive - it is rich, complex and, most of all, remarkable. I am reminded of Joyce Carol Oates who writes under the pseudonym of Rosamande Smith. As Ms. Smith she writes mysterious thrillers illustrating a departure from her complex narratives as Ms. Oates; thus, allowing us to see two different sides of this prolific writer. Perhaps Ms. Paretsky has also evolved showing us that their is more than the mysteries she has written. One can only hope that Ms. Paretsky will continue to write novels of this magnitude.
Rating: 
Summary: Ghost Country
Review: Sara Peretsky steps out of the mystery genre with an allegorical novel that tackles issues of money, sex, gender, power, religion, and insanity. It's an admirable effort that she doesn't quite pull off. The book brings together a diverse group of characters: a group of homeless women, an alcoholic diva, the well-heeled household of a famous neurosurgeon, an overwhelmed psychiatric resident, and a mysterious "goddess" figure. The characters never quite engage us, never get that spark of life that pulls us in for the ride. In particular, we never seem to get a good, head-on look at the pivotal character of the book, the messianic Starr. All of the characters keep telling us how compelling she is; once she shows up, halfway through the book, everybody in the book seems obsessed by her. But we have to take their word for it: she's vague, almost a background character, and there's nothing about her as she's written that reaches out and takes hold of us. This book is both commentary and satire, but it lacks the outrageousness and pure humor necessary to put across its point. I can see what Peretsky was trying to do, and at some points she gets close to hitting her target, but in general it's not a tight enough effort.
Rating:
Summary: The author should stay with Vi Warshinsky.
Review: The story line was disjointed and disappointing. This is a book I would have been unhappy with if I had purchased it instead of getting it from the library. There was supposed to be a message, but I'm not sure what it was, did the characters?
Rating: 
Summary: Sensitive and surreal
Review: This is a brilliant book - sensitive and blunt and a bit surreal. Sisters Mara and Harriet may indeed be rich, but that does not mean they are not like the rest of us. Our society is one of class, make no mistake. But under the skin, the privileged may be fatally flawed and the down-trodden may be noble. Paretsky has taken quite a turn away from V.I. Warshawski, but a what a refreshing change. The resolution for several of the characters is a bit too tidy, but they are gritty and real throughout. I look forward to V.I.'s continuing adventures, and I look forward to Paretsky's continued forays into new territory.
Rating:
Summary: Ghost Country
Review: This is a very well-written urban fantasy. (It's not remotely horror, by the way).It's not a mystery. It's about a Goddess returning into urban American life, and the chaos that ensues. As a reader familiar with SFF, I found this story original, well-written, well-characterized and engaging. It draws the reader in and offers both intellectual and emotional interest. Paretsky fans who are able to step beyond the familiar mystery milieu, and who aren't afraid of a little sensuality, have a treat to read here--and I don't hesitate to recommend the book to anyone.
Rating:
Summary: Embarrassingly bad
Review: This novel has all of the weaknesses, but none of the strengths, of the VI novels. Cardboard characters, wooden dialogue, earnest "social problem" moralizing, reductive psychologizing...all of this and more can be found in the VI series. But the VI novels _do_ also offer more: an endearingly imperfect protagonist, a cast of quirky sidekicks, and a fast-paced (if sometimes highly improbable) plot. They're formulaic but fun. _Ghost Country_ is formulaic, but it's not at all fun. I can't remember when I've read a more tedious book. And I can't remember when I last read something that made me feel such embarrassment for the author. I kept wanting to abandon it, but just couldn't stop myself from turning the next page to see just how bad things could get. Things got pretty bad, and then got worse. Reading this book from start to finish was like stopping to watch a traffic accident: you know you should look away, but you can't resist craning your neck to take a peek.
Rating:
Summary: WHAT WAS SHE THINKING?
Review: This was something totally unexpected. I am not sure where Sara was going with this book and was really disappointed. I did not associate with the characters and it was hard to get into the book. I have read all of Sara's previous books and enjoyed them thoroughly, I hope she will continue to write mysteries in the future, if not I would think twice about buying another of her books.
Rating:
Summary: story about mean people
Review: Wanting to understand the point of the book, I finished it. With characters as one dimensional as the book depicted, I just don't get it.
Rating:
Summary: Ghost Country
Review: When you think of Sara Paretsky, you can't help but think of V.I. Warshawski in the very same thought. Most people who picked up this book probably assumed it was a new adventure for V.I.; after all, that's what Sara Paretsky writes. Well, I'm sure Sara Paretsky is a multi-dimensional person herself, and as such is allowed to write what she likes - if we're disappointed that V.I. is not a character in this book, that's our problem, not hers. There really was no room for V.I. in this story, anyway. But that didn't stop me having a problem. Still set in Chicago, Paretsky weaves an urban fable around the most unlikely heroines; the homeless, "mad" and dispossessed. We all know about homeless people, but do we have any idea how they get that way? How can an unquenchable craving for alcohol bring a world famous operatic diva onto the streets with her hardly noticing? It seems incredible to me, but I have never experienced that thirst. Why do the withheld histories of her mother and grandmother cause a young woman to construct alternative lives for them and go looking for them? I don't know - I'm sure we don't have such secrets in my family. How can someone see rusty water leaking from a crack in a wall, and see the blood of the Virgin Mary? I don't know - I don't have that sort of faith. Then there are those who help. What is help? Is the shelter provided by Hagar House really help, with all the miles of strings attached in the name of some sort of self-serving Christianity. Does the hospital really provide help, with the dispensation of drugs and 15 minute psychiatric sessions? The supposedly normal people are also a mass of confliction. The golden girl, freezing her emotions down deep while striving relentlessly for the approval of a domineering grandfather. The domineering grandfather, treated as a god by the hospital and by a manipulative housekeeper. The idealistic, young psychiatrist, still naïve enough to put concern for patients ahead of concern for the hospital. The hellfire and brimstone preaching lay brother, with his abused, repressed and cowered daughter, and bully of a son. The large hotel, owners of the wall worshipped by the homeless women and the lengths they are prepared to go to get rid of them. But then the story takes a fantasy turn, and unfortunately gets lost. A mysteriously erotic, unintelligible woman named Starr enters, and manages to heal everyone's afflictions and punish the manipulators. With her Medusa-like hairstyle, is she a reincarnated Sumarian goddess, or a female Christ? Well, what she is, is a cop-out. I was appalled to find this story that had provoked my thoughts and held me spell-bound for many pages, suddenly turned into a silly little fantasy. The introduction of this character was completely unnecessary - a writer of Paretsky's proven skill resorting to such artifice to resolve a skilfully constructed set-up is extremely disappointing. Still, I found quite a bit of food for thought in this book. How precariously many of us totter on the precipice, how tiny the nudge to send us spinning out of control. What then?
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