V.I. Warshawski, short for Victoria Iphigenia Warshawski, is the protagonist in Sara Paretsky’s groundbreaking crime fiction series. As a private eye in Chicago, she is intelligent, tough, funny, and cool under fire.

Throughout the series, V.I. typically investigates high-stakes white-collar crimes. This allows Sara Paretsky to delve into contemporary social ills stemming from corruption, greed, and organized crime, all while crafting entertaining mystery thrillers.

Sara Paretsky identifies closely with her fictional heroine, stating that V.I. is not just her voice in the world but also expresses her own “conflicts over morality.” Readers love V.I. for her fierce independence and strength. She is also the first “hard-boiled” female detective series they ever read and still continue to read.

The series debuted in 1982, and Sara continues to write it. Pay Dirt, the twenty-second V.I. book, was released in April 2024. While it’s not strictly necessary to read the books in order since each has a standalone mystery, doing so allows you to follow the continuity of V.I.’s character journey and personal life as they develop throughout the series.

Sara Paretsky has also written several short stories featuring V.I. Warshawski that doesn’t need to be read in any particular order. Notable, however, is Wildcat (Book 0.5), which is the story of Warshawski’s first case.