V.I. Warshawski Books in Order
Sara Paretsky has written 26 V.I. Warshawski books, published between 1982 and 2024: 23 in the V.I. Warshawski series and 3 related titles. The first book is Indemnity Only (1982) and the newest main-line book is Pay Dirt (2024). Publication order is the reading order below.
- Books
- 26
- Published
- 1982–2024
- Confirmed
- 26 of 26 titles
- Pages on record
- 8,765 in 21 of 26 books
- Reading time
- 146–219 hours
Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 8,765 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200–300 words a minute, covering the 21 of 26 titles with a page count on record.
V.I. Warshawski is a private investigator series by Sara Paretsky, set in Chicago. Indemnity Only (1982) opens the run, followed by Deadlock, Killing Orders, Bitter Medicine, Blood Shot, Burn Marks and Guardian Angel. Twenty-six catalogued titles, short fiction included, reach Pay Dirt in 2024.
How many V.I. Warshawski books are there?
V.I. Warshawski has 26 books, released between 1982 and 2024. 23 of them belong to the V.I. Warshawski series, and 3 related titles sit outside it: short stories and novellas.
V.I. Warshawski Books in Publication Order
The table lists all 26 V.I. Warshawski books in the order they were published, with the release year, the page count where one is on record, and how many independent book listings confirm each title. Catalogue data as of September 2026.
- 119823234/4
- 219842634/4
- 319853533/4
- 419873213/4
- 519883284/4
- 619903523/4
- 719924173/4
- 819944644/4
- 919953374/4
- 1019994954/4
- 1120014323/4
- 1220034323/4
- 1320055313/4
- 1420094463/4
- 1520104433/4
- 162011–3/4
- 1720124313/4
- 1820134653/4
- 1920154593/4
- 202017–4/4
- 2120174333/4
- 222018–4/4
- 2320183843/4
- 2420206563/4
- 252022–3/4
- 262024–4/4
Do you have to read V.I. Warshawski books in order?
You should read the V.I. Warshawski series in publication order, the order of the numbered table above; the 3 related titles (short stories and novellas) sit outside that sequence. The catalogue does not record whether each V.I. Warshawski book also stands alone.
Where to start with V.I. Warshawski
Start with Indemnity Only (1982), the earliest published book in the V.I. Warshawski series.
What is the newest V.I. Warshawski book?
Pay Dirt (2024) is the newest book in the V.I. Warshawski series.
Is there a new V.I. Warshawski book coming?
No next V.I. Warshawski book is announced in the catalogue, which is a gap in the listings it merges rather than a sign that the run has ended.
Awards V.I. Warshawski has won
Wikidata records 1 award for V.I. Warshawski. Each row states whether the title won or was shortlisted, and the year the award was given.
- Gold Dagger2004Wonfor Blacklist
V.I. Warshawski at a glance
- Still running
- V.I. Warshawski is still running, with a main-line title published as recently as 2024.
- Release pace
- V.I. Warshawski books have appeared about one every 2 years on average.
- Length
- 8,765 pages across the 21 of 26 books with a recorded length, a median of 432 pages each.
- Busiest decade
- Most V.I. Warshawski books, 9 of 26, were published in the 2010s.
- Corroboration
- 9 of the 26 titles appear in all four independent book listings, and every one of them in at least three.
What the V.I. Warshawski books are about
21 of the 26 V.I. Warshawski books carry subject tags in Open Library's catalogue. The subjects below are the ones that recur across them, most frequent first: women private investigators is tagged on 16 of 21. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.
- Women private investigators 16 of 21 books
- Private investigators 12 of 21 books
- Warshawski, v. i. (fictitious character) 12 of 21 books
- Mystery & detective, women sleuths 9 of 21 books
- Chicago (Ill.) 7 of 21 books
- Mystery & detective 7 of 21 books
- Missing persons 2 of 21 books
- Shipping 2 of 21 books
More books by Sara Paretsky
The author page linked below lists every book in publication order.
- Sara Paretsky books in order 34 books