Chicago private eye, VI Warshawski, is not happy to be asked for help by her Aunt Rosa who hates her - and the feeling's mutual.

Sara Paretsky's thriller about a feisty Chicago private investigator.

Kathleen Turner stars as VI Warshawski.

With Martin Shaw.

Dramatised in six parts by Michelene Wandor.

VI Warshawski .… Kathleen Turner
Roger Ferrant …. Martin Shaw
Gabriella …. Avril Clark
Albert …. William Hootkins
Rosa …. Eileen Way
Father Carroll …. Don Fellows
Father Pelly …. Colin Stinton
Father Jablonski …. Peter Penry-Jones

Sara Paretsky created one of the most popular female sleuths in modern crime fiction. Her heroine, VI Warshawski, is a strong female character in a male-dominated world. VI 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".

Kathleen Turner also starred in the same role in the 1991 film 'VI Warshawski'.

Director: Janet Whitaker

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in November 1991. Show less