Series: Detective Harriet Foster
By: Tracy Clark
Narrator: Chanté McCormick
Brilliance Audio
ISBN: 9781542037570
Publisher: Thomas & Mercer
Publication Date: 01/01/2023
Format: Other
My Rating: 4 Stars
From acclaimed author Tracy Clark comes a page-turning mystery featuring hard-boiled Chicago detective Harriet Foster, who’s on the hunt for a serial killer with a deadly affinity for redheads.
When a young red-haired woman is found brutally murdered in downtown Chicago, one detail stands out: the red lipstick encircling her wrists and ankles.
Detective Harriet Foster is on the case, even though she’s still grieving the sudden death of her partner. As a Black woman in a male-dominated department, Foster anticipates a rocky road ahead acclimating to a new team—and building trust with her new partner isn’t coming easily.
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My Review
Tracy Clark introduces a new series, with the first installment starring Detective Harriet Foster Thriller, HIDE—a Chicago detective with a new partner who is hunting a serial killer in the Windy City, who seems to love redheads.
We are introduced to the main character, Detective Harriet Foster. She is returning from a leave of absence after losing her partner, Thompson, to suicide after working together for eleven years. Foster is a godmother to her young son, Todd.
Afterward, Foster lost her only son, Reg, to street violence—a thug with a gun who demanded his bike, and a painful divorce followed.
The African American Homicide detective Harriet Foster has 17 years of experience as a Chicago cop. Now, a new boss, a new team, a new desk, and a new partner—It has only been eight weeks.
When a serial killer begins preying on red-haired women throughout the Chicago area, Harriet has the motivation and drive to get back in the game.
As a black woman in a male-dominated department and a bad partner on the first day, she has her work cut out for her and is tested. She is paired with a new partner, Jim Lonergan—"old-school" thinking, misogynistic. She was told by her boss straightaway he was an asshole.
Their first case is the brutal murder of Peggy Birch, a blue-eyed, redheaded young woman on the Riverwalk after a jogger discovered her. Red lipstick encircled her wrists and ankles.
A Black teen, Keith, was found unconscious only yards away from the body, with a blood stain on his clothing. No weapon.
Her partner Jim is impulsive and wants to arrest the poor teen. Foster is already tired and impatient with her new male chauvinist partner. They must wait for evidence and investigation.
Peggy was stabbed and it was determined she was an activist working to reform the police force on the Riverwalk. Another victim has the same lipstick markings, and now they are looking for a serial killer.
Through a psychiatrist, Foster gets a lead on a suspect, who was arrested twice for stalking attractive redheaded women and spent 30 days in a psychiatric facility.
Bodie's twin sister, Amelia Davies, knows why her brother behaves as he does, but it's a family secret and one she and Bodie are willing to kill to protect.
As Foster wades into Morgan's sinister history, the killer continues their gruesome assault on Chicago's streets. A third murder makes it seem more likely that a serial killer who preys on red-haired women is at work.
Bodie and Amelia Morgan—whose father, accountant Tom Morgan, felt compelled years ago to kill a series of redheads and the question is, which member of the family is the killer of the new murders?
With sprinkled chapters of Amelia and Bodie Morgan, the sister, and troubled brother stalker, recently released from psychiatric care. Gradually revealed that in addition to their dark family past, Bodie's psychiatrist is a woman with a secret history seeking a high-profile psychopath on which to base her next book.
Through alternating POV, we see both sides of the story—from the criminals and the investigators of the dark side of the Windy City. I enjoy books set in Chicago where I have spent a lot of time with work. Highly recommended, with well-developed characters and suspense. Topics: racism, police power, and sexism.
Tracy cleverly combines a gripping psychological thriller, a fast-paced police procedural, a riveting crime thriller, a cracking murder mystery, and a captivating detective. I look forward to the next book in the series—Fall, #2, coming December 5, 2023.
Narrated by Chanté McCormick for an engaging listening experience paired with the e-book.
@JudithDCollins | #JDCMustReadBooks
My Rating: 4 Stars
Pub Date: Jan 1, 2023
Praise
“A Chicago cop still mourning her late partner transfers to a new precinct just in time to catch a truly creepy case. Solid…work from a writer who knows the dark side of the Windy City.”
—Kirkus Reviews
“[Det. Harriet] Foster’s dogged approach to catching killers will resonate with Michael Connelly fans. May the wait for the second Harriet Foster police procedural be brief.”
—Publishers Weekly
“Hide is an astonishing crime novel that broke my heart and then sewed it back together again, stronger than before. It hits all the right notes—a captivating protagonist up against a nightmarish serial killer, their hunt played out across a Chicago so immersive, so flawlessly rendered, that you can hear your own footsteps slapping the streets—while managing to create something completely unique. One of the best books I’ve read in years.”
—Jess Lourey, Amazon Charts bestselling author
“Tracy Clark’s not-so-hidden talent is for conjuring characters who are engaging and achingly real. Detective Harri Foster is a stellar recruit to her new team and to our crime fiction shelves. Hide is a page-turner with heart.”
—Lori Rader-Day, Agatha Award–winning author of Death at Greenway
About the Author
Tracy Clark is the author of the highly acclaimed Cass Raines Chicago Mystery series, featuring Cassandra Raines, a hard-driving African American PI who works the mean streets of the Windy City dodging cops, cons, and killers. Clark received Anthony Award and Lefty Award nominations for her series debut, Broken Places, which was shortlisted for the American Library Association’s RUSA Reading List and named a CrimeReads Best New PI Book of 2018, a Midwest Connections Pick, and a Library Journal Best Book of the Year. Broken Places has since been optioned by Sony Pictures Television. Tracy’s short story “For Services Rendered” appears in the anthology Shades of Black: Crime and Mystery Stories by African-American Authors. She is the winner of the 2020 and 2022 G.P. Putnam’s Sons Sue Grafton Memorial Award, also receiving a 2022 nomination for the Edgar Award for best short story for “Lucky Thirteen,” which appears in the crime fiction anthology Midnight Hour. A Chicago native, she works as an editor in the challenging newspaper business and roots for all Chicago sports teams equally. She’s a proud member of Crime Writers of Color, Mystery Writers of America, and Sisters in Crime, and she sits on the boards of Bouchercon National and the Midwest Mystery Conference. Find her on Facebook (https://facebook.com/tclarkbooks), Twitter (@tracypc6161), Instagram (@tpclark2000), or her website tracyclarkbooks.com.
