Episode 1

Private Detective V I Warshawski is being set up for a murder she didn't commit - of a woman she hardly knew.

The victim is a famous crime fiction writer. Her latest book threatens to uncover the shame of a small American town whose dark secrets and those of her tormentor have been buried for decades.

Read in two parts by Buffy Davis.

Sara Paretsky has created one of the most popular female sleuths in modern crime fiction.

Her heroine, V I Warshawski, is a strong female character in a male-dominated world. V I is comfortable packing heat and trailing nasty suspects but she never loses touch with her basic femininity. Paretsky says of her Warshawski:

"I was troubled by the way women were portrayed in (detective fiction) they always seemed either evil or powerless. I thought it was time for a tough, smart, likeable female private investigator".

Producer: Joanne Reardon

Made for BBC 7 and first broadcast in December 2003.