Detective Harriet Foster Book 3
Book Blurb:
From the award-winning author of Hide and Fall comes the third book in the Detective Harriet Foster thriller series, a taut tale of renegade justice with a heart-stopping finale.
Hardwicke House, home to Belverton College’s exclusive Minotaur Society, is no stranger to tragedy. And when a body turns up in the field next to the mansion, the scene looks chillingly familiar.
Chicago PD sends hard-nosed Detective Harriet “Harri” Foster to investigate. The victim is Brice Collier, a wealthy Belverton student, whose billionaire father, Sebastian, owns Hardwicke and ranks as a major school benefactor. Sebastian also has ties to the mansion’s notorious past, when thirty years ago, hazing led to a student’s death in the very same field.
Could the deaths be connected? With no suspects or leads, Harri and her partner, Detective Vera Li, will have to dig deep to find answers. No charges were ever filed in the first case, and this time, Harri’s determined the killer must pay. But still grieving her former partner’s death, Harri must also contend with a shadowy figure called the voice—and their dangerous game of cat and mouse could threaten everything.
My Review:
Of course, I chose this book because it was located in Chicago. Now that I live in “Chicagoland” I’m interested in local food, color, history, and atmospheric description. This one highlights Belverton College where the body of Brice Collier was found in a field near Hardwicke House and the exclusive Minotaur Society reigns supreme.
Coincidentally, or maybe not so, it “echoed” somewhat an unsolved death from thirty years before. Detective Harriet “Harri” Foster and her partner Detective Vera Li land the case. Harri is a strong protagonist, but I really appreciated Vera’s wise backup support. I loved the way they bounced off each other, Harri tending to explode into action while Vera quietly waited for her to chill. Vera can handle things thoughtfully—she has a family and errs on the side of caution.
The author builds the suspense slowly, dropping bits and pieces, supplying twists and turns for misdirection. It works. Interwoven with the main storyline is an unresolved plot line from a previous series installment and Harri is still hot on the trail of any thread she can pull looking to vindicate her former partner. Essentially kept in the background, it doesn’t over-power the current storyline.
This is the third in the trilogy and apparently the end of the series. It could be read as a standalone, however. I previously read Book 3 of the author’s Chicago Mystery series, What You Don’t See, and greatly enjoyed it. This is an author who writes strong but not infallible women within law enforcement. If you enjoy crime fiction, PI investigators, or women sleuths, you may very well enjoy her soft palate style of writing.
I received a complimentary review copy of this book from the author and publisher through @NetGalley that in no way influenced this review. These are my honest thoughts.
Rosepoint Rating: Four Stars 
Book Details:
Genre: Domestic Thrillers, Police Procedurals, Crime Thrillers
Publisher: Thomas & Mercer
ISBN: 1662517327
ASIN: B0CM7YTCWD
Print Length: 361 pages
Publication Date: December 3, 2024
Source: Publisher and NetGalley
Title Link(s):
Amazon-US | Amazon-UK | Barnes & Noble
The Author: Tracy Clark, a native Chicagoan, is the author of the Cass Raines Chicago Mystery series, featuring ex-cop turned PaI Cassandra Raines. Her debut, BROKEN PLACES, made Library Journal’s list of the Best Crime Fiction of 2018 and CrimeReads named Cass Raines Best New PI of 2018. The novel was nominated for a Lefty Award for Best Debut Novel, an Anthony Award for Best Debut Novel and a Shamus Award for Best First PI Novel. Her second Raines novel, BORROWED TIME, was a finalist for the 2020 Lefty Award for Best Mystery Novel and won the 2020 G.P. Putnam’s Sons Sue Grafton Memorial Award. Book three in the Raines series, WHAT YOU DON’T SEE, was also short-listed for the 2021 Left Award for Best Mystery novel. Book four, RUNNER, releases June 29, 2021. Tracy, a proud member of Sisters in Crime and Mystery Writers of America, is a lifelong South-Sider and roots for every Chicago team with equal enthusiasm. She is currently busy writing her next book.
©2024 V Williams
Rosepoint Publishing 