She grew up in rural Kansas, but moved to Chicago in the mid-60’s to do community service work in the same neighborhood where Martin Luther King was inspiring residents to take a stand for civil rights. In 1982, she introduced readers to a street-wise investigator who was willing to use force to get answers and wit to keep the challenges of life in perspective. Her strong-willed, sharp-tongued protagonist invaded the traditional detective boy’s club, openly challenging a genre in which women were customarily portrayed as either vamps or victims. Twenty volumes later and there are still stories to be told, including a collection of shorts that we’ll dig into along the way. Our tour guide for today’s adventure is the imagination behind the indomitable V.I. Warshawski, please welcome the iconic, Sara Paretsky…