Hide

Wow! What a wild and impressive read!

Detective Harriet Foster has a lot on her plate with her new job and her personal life that has experienced great loss. She now finds herself in a new precinct, with a new partner and a serial killer on the loose.

This was a fast-paced, twisty police procedural that reminded me of some of my favourite suspense reads by Hilary Davidson (Blood Always Tells) and Nadine Matheson (Jig Saw Man). Like those suspense reads, Hide is a story that that blends bits of the personal lives of the main character with a gritty police procedural that keeps readers glued to the pages with its sinister and psychotic baddie and great twists.

Harriet Foster is an interesting character and I loved that she's an experienced detective with some years under her belt. She's lived through personal tragedies, but she's a fighter and I love how she doesn't take any guff from her snarly, ornery 'old school' detective partner. Through Harriet's experiences, Clark blends themes of sexism, racism and the devastating and long-term effects of loss into this well-written and impressive story that had me on my toes (but perhaps could have gone even darker).

Tracy Clark is a new-to-me author, and I will definitely be reading her backlist while impatiently patiently waiting for Fall, the second book in the Detective Harriet Foster series which is due to publish in late 2023.

Disclaimer: My sincere thanks to Thomas and Mercer for the complimentary digital copy of this book which was provided via the Amazon First Reads program in exchange for my honest review.

My Rating: 4.5 stars

Author: Tracy Clark

Genre: Suspense

Series: 1st in Detective Harriet Foster series

Type and Source: eBook from Amazon First Reads

Publisher: Thomas and Mercer

First Published: January 1, 2023

Book Description from GoodReads: 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.

After another victim turns up with the same lipstick markings, Foster suspects she’s looking for a serial killer. Through a tip from a psychiatrist, Foster learns about Bodie Morgan: a troubled man with a twisted past and a penchant for pretty young redheads with the bluest eyes. As Foster wades into Morgan’s sinister history, the killer continues their gruesome assault on Chicago’s streets.

In her desperate race to catch the murderer before they strike again, Foster will have to confront the darkest of secrets—including her own.