Tracy Clark (1)

Broken Places by Tracy Clark is a promising start to a new mystery series set in Chicago. Author Clark is a native Chicagoan, so she gets the locations and atmosphere right.

Cass Raines is an ex-cop who resigned after bullish (and foolish) politically connected cop Faraday botched a capture, nearly getting her killed, and causing an unnecessary death. As a PI, she stays tight with her ex-partner Ben, and that pays off when she contests Faraday's simplistic conclusions about a double murder in show more a church. The victims are an unlikely pair: a gangbanger and Father Heaton, a surrogate father to Cass whom she called Pop.

Cass is African-American, and the dynamics created by that and her relentless attitude are an integral part of the reader's enjoyment. The more she uncovers, the more someone tries to stop her. And the police want her to leave the case alone. Not going to happen. Is it a gang dispute? Is it someone whose secrecy was uncovered? Can a mentally unstable homeless man who eludes pursuit be behind it? This was a very enjoyable diversion by an author who gets the neighborhoods of Chicago better than most. I'm looking forward to the next adventures of Cass Raines. show less

Hunt and Hide
Review of the Amazon First Reads Kindle eBook (Dec. 1, 2022) released in advance of the official Thomas & Mercer paperback/Kindle/audiobook (Jan. 1, 2023)

I choose Hide for my Amazon First Reads pick for December 2022. It was promoted as the 'Police Procedural' selection for the month and the atmospheric cover art drew my attention over the other offers. I saw that Tracy Clark was also the author of the private detective Cass Raines (4 books 2018-2021) series. The author and all show more of her books are Chicago centred, so that seemed a good indication of authenticity.

This was a fast-paced read with relatively short chapters (83 of them over 377 pages) which alternated between the POVs of the Chicago Police Dept and those of the suspects. Harriet Foster is the lead character and she is the newly transferred detective in the homicide unit of her precinct. She is back from a personal leave from dealing with the aftermath of a former partner's suicide in her previous precinct which had not been foreseen. She carries that demon and also one caused by the earlier death of her own child due to robbery violence. Possibly as a sort of initiation, she is first partnered with the unit's dinosaur detective, and they clash and disagree on techniques and suspects almost immediately.

See photograph at https://www.attractionsofamerica.com/images/all_destinations/20190505120708_chic...
Chicago's Riverwalk area seen at night. Image sourced from Attractions of America.

Foster's first case with her new unit is a savage knife murder of a young woman whose body is left by Chicago's Riverwalk area. The brutal slaying indicates a Jack-the-Ripper level of psychopathy. Further killings are to follow making it a serial killer case in which the entire homicide unit eventually takes part. The suspect trail begins with an unconscious man found near the scene with a single blood smear on their clothing. Without the detectives initially being aware of them, there are interspersed chapters of Amelia and Bodie Morgan, an artist sister and her troubled stalker brother, the latter recently released from psychiatric care. It is gradually revealed that the Morgans have a dark family past and also that Bodie's psychiatrist is a woman with a secret history who is seeking a high profile psychopath on which to base her next book in order to 'get back in the limelight.' How far might she go to help 'create' that psychopath?

Both the police and suspect sides of this procedural are well drawn and the variety of suspects kept me guessing throughout. Although it initially seemed that the tortured and angsty cop stereotypes might get overplayed, those aspects did not play a large part and Harriet Foster comes across as a realistic character and each of the other detectives in the unit played a solid role with even the dinosaur cop showing some dedication. I was quite satisfied with this month's Amazon First Read.

Trivia and Links
Hide is the first book of a new Detective Harriet Foster series from author Tracy Clark. The second book in the series, titled Fall, is already planned for publication December 5, 2023.

Amazon Prime First Reads advance reading copies (ARCs) are available to Amazon Prime subscribers. They offer advance reads of books in Kindle eBook format one month before the date of official release. The current month's selection is available here (Link goes to Amazon US, adjust for your own country or region). show less

HIDE: A Detective Harriet Foster Thriller by Tracy Clark is the first book in a new police procedural series. It introduces a wide-ranging cast of characters and establishes a ground floor for what one can expect going forward. The solidly good book revolves around Detective Harriet Foster who has been through quite a lot in the last few months and years.

A black woman in a heavily male dominated environment, she brings a lot of baggage to her new posting in Chicago. Others have expectations show more who she is and those expectations may or may not be accurate. Word of what happened just a few weeks ago has made it to her new boss and colleagues at CPD’s District One. Her new partner, Jim Lonergan, appears to be your classic old school, non-politically correct cop straight out of Hollywood casting. Like the old rickety desk she is assigned, he is not fixable, so the two clash almost from the second they lay eyes on each other. Things are wrong from almost the get go, but that does not matter as they have a body this Monday morning.

It is also going to be a very high-profile case as the body was dumped on the Riverwalk. Part of the nearby legendary, Magnificent Mile, the body has a lot of witnesses. Many of those same witnesses have thoughts about how quickly police responded to the scene as Lonergan and Foster arrive to work the case. The murder and subsequent dumping of the body in a very public place means the pressure is on from all sides to solve the case.

It also won’t be the last body with the same signature style.

What follows is a complex and very enjoyable read. Marketed as a thriller, it comes across to this reader as a police procedural. Regardless of the marketing label, Foster, as well as nearly everyone in the read, are complex. The focus is on Foster, but the secondary characters get extensive details about themselves as well. None of the characters are simple as even Jim Lonergan is a bit more complex than it first appears.

Then there is the complexity of the case as the read shifts to follow other characters besides Harriet Foster. Plenty of action, misdirection, and a hunt for a killer drive HIDE: A Detective Harriet Foster Thriller forward at a steady pace. The very good read is well worth your time.

The second book in the series, Fall, is currently scheduled to come out on December 5th.

My paperback reading copy came from the Park Forest Branch of the Dallas Public Library System.

Kevin R. Tipple ©2023 show less

Broken Places was one of the best starts to a new to me mystery series that I've read in a long time. I say one because I've read a couple of firsts in series this year that were real winners as well. This book though really stood out for me. Cass is one of those main characters that you want to meet in real life. She isn't perfect but she sticks to what she believes in, and you cannot help but respect her for it. Or at least I couldn't, I should say. I appreciated the way that this author show more used this book to also look at both police brutality and police shootings. The commentary on our justice system in general was perfection. This wasn't a book that I rushed through but instead took my time with. That being said, I had a hard time setting it down. The mystery was very compelling and kept me guessing the entire time. I'm eager to get back to this series and these characters. In fact, I already have the second book checked out from the library because this book was that good.

Overall, I enjoyed my time with this book and these characters immensely. Pick this book up if you enjoy police procedurals, mysteries that keep you guessing, and especially if you just want a really great read in general. Highly recommended!

Bottom Line: A standout beginning to this new to me series.

Disclosure: I read a copy of this book courtesy of my local library. Honest thoughts are my own. show less