Paretsky S 1998 Bloodshot

Tough detective VI is tough. She adored her mum: Italian, loving, but tough.  She remembers her neighbour: flighty, but tough. She leans on her Dr friend Lotty: caring, but tough. She meets an elderly lady: unfulfilled, but tough. Tough women are tough. In a tough town. That's the theme of the book. It's one note, over 399 pages. Possibly, if there'd been less authorial focus on being tough, the book could be a little shorter. That wouldn't be a bad thing. 

Do you think I may be mistaken? I'm not:

"She hung up on my incoherent protest. I smiled a little - gruff to the end. I hoped I was that tough forty years ahead."

The plot? Who's the daddy? Why is that woman murdered? It takes a while to find out, and you have to be TOUGH to take the pace. 

I thought I remembered liking the VI Warshawski series. I misremembered.

First line: 

I had forgotten the smell. Even with the South Works on strike and Wisconsin Steel padlocked and rusting away, a pungent mix of chemicals streamed in through the engine vents.

last line:

 I knelt next to her chair and put my arms around her. 'Till death do us part, kid'.