Count me as a VI fan who loved this stand alone novel! Starting with the title which suggests, when you think about it in context that a dog has been bad. But the dog is also bad to be with. And this is what Lily Sedako, a retired CIA intelligence operative finds when she receives a picture. One that takes her back to one of her earliest stations a a cultural attache in the Eastern European County of Hayalistan. Paretsky creates out of thin air Hayalistan, complete with it’s own language that is hard to learn (cause it’s made up by Paretsky with actual words) The language though, is real to Lily who speaks it. Because of her cover job, Lily immersed herself in the community and i formed real friendships while dealing with a malignantly misogynist boss who didn’t take his portfolio very seriously. The picture shows a group of naked women swimming in a sacred place for a spiritual celebration and there in the middle is young Lily. She learns it was published in a national magazine, thus violating the privacy of her friends, who trusted her. And… why was this sent to her well over forty years after she left her post?
When Lily brings this photo to the attention of the CIA, she stirs up a hornets nest. Lily is in her 70s, very fit but with a bum leg and so when she performs unexpected acts of derring do, they are tempered to her age, fitness and pain. She is a risk taker and a breaker of “bad” rules that were created out of greed, selfishness, and contempt for local people. Lily is all too familiar with the political history of Hayalistan including the assassination of a young, promising, democratic leader who was replaced by an authoritarian head of state. When she finds herself in danger and has to go underground, Lily decides to investigate. She needs to see what she can do to help her beloved Hayalistan, to maybe right some wrongs and make some of her own amends. The setting of Hayalistan and its political and cultural background is phenomenal. I HUGELY recommend the audiobook narrated by Eliza Foss to perfection. Not only are her accents and phrasing/inflection amazing but she is the only person any of us mortals will likely hear speaking the language of Hayalistan. Highly, highly recommend.
