Ghost Country

They come from different worlds and meet at a time of crisis for all of them. Luisa, a drunken diva fallen on hard times, discovers on Chicago's streets a drama greater than any she has experienced onstage. Madeleine, a homeless woman, sees the Virgin Mary's blood seeping through a concrete wall beneath a luxury hotel. Mara, a rebellious adolescent cast out by her wealthy grandfather, becomes the catalyst for a war between the haves and have-nots as she searches among society's castoffs for the mother she never knew. As the three women fight for their right to live and worship beneath the hotel, they find an ally in Hector Tammuz, an idealistic young psychiatrist risking his career to treat the homeless regardless of the cost.

Sara Paretsky boldly strays from her widely popular V.I. Warshawski mystery series--note to fans: caveat emptor--and trades the gritty Chicago detective in for a pair of debutante sisters, Mara and Harriet Stonds. The poor little rich girls (grand pa-pa Stonds was a famous neurosurgeon) are blessed with every material comfort, but are sadly lacking in a sound karma-credit plan. Treated like a second-class citizen by her grandfather, Mara forever plays the underdog to "golden" Harriet, an irritatingly perfect girl, reminiscent of "Nellie" from Little House on the Prairie. In a bizarre chain of events, the sisters see the errors of their ways when they become entangled in a complex caper involving a washed-up, drunken opera singer, a posse of homeless women, a soothsayer, a kindly psychotherapist and a selection of twisted clergymen. Abstract and slightly surreal at times, Ghost Country might seem arduous to the tried and true Paretsky fan: it's a far cry from her no-nonsense, cut-and-dried thrillers. However, this atypical character study might prove to be a refreshing pit stop for those with a lot of mystery mileage under their belts; it's a colorful detour from the predictable puzzlers. --Rebekah Warren