I’ve got to say I’m a big fan of detective Harriet Foster. The second book of the series was great but the end left me wanting more. I’m not sure if i’m disappointed or the author is a genius for leaving me with my mouth hanging. Cant wait to get my hands on the third installment!
Thank you Thomas & Mercer, the author and Netgalley for an advanced copy of the book.

This one has been sitting on my eReader for a while. It sounded really interesting, politics and a mystery is right up my alley but life got in the way and I had little time or interest in reading. I am sorry I waited, it may have helped me get out of my reading funk as I really enjoyed this one.

Marin is just out of prison after serving three years for corruption, a sentence she could have had reduced if she gave up the other aldermans she served with on Chicago’s Council. But Marin kept quiet only for two of them to turn up dead soon after her release, and hours after she called one of them to say they owed her.

To the reader, Marin being guilty of their deaths doesn’t make a lot of sense. She is trying to rebuild her relationship with her daughter, when called from the victim’s phone right after the first death she is still angry with the victim. But to the cops, she spent longer in jail for not giving them up and wants revenge – and that is exactly what they are supposed to think.

I had a feeling that is who the killer was early on, as the cops ate just before the second murder call – but for different reasons. Then brushed it aside for various other suspects through the book.

I just wish the other storyline played out too, but I guess I will need to read the next book, Echo, which is out in a few months.

Thanks to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for the review copy.

Usually police procedurals aren't my favorite, but Fall by Tracy Clark is so much more. It's tense and engrossing and features complex characters in a realistically diverse world. This is the first book I read by the author and will definitely look up her past and future work.

I came to "Fall" already loving the first book in this series. The Harriet Foster series focuses on a police officer who has suffered through the loss of her previous partner and her son and is trying to find her footing while continuing to solve cases in the city of Chicago. In this novel, Foster is attempting to solve the murder of alderman in Chicago's notoriously corrupt world of politics. I continued to love Foster and her new partner, Li. However, the depth of the personalities of the other officers in their unit was explored a bit more in this book, which I appreciated. There is a secondary storyline that is not resolved, leaving me even more anxious for book number three. I think I enjoyed the twists and turns and victim/murderer profiles from the first book slightly, but there is still great depth found in this second book in the series. Clark's series is promising to be a great one as each of these mysteries were unique in their own right and she is not sticking with a formulaic or cliche mystery plot for her novels.

Aldermen in Chicago are coming up dead and the main suspect is the Alderwoman who has just been released from prison after serving three years. Now Harriet Foster her partner and others from the Chicago PD must work at finding who the killer is. Excellent book with plenty of twists and turns. Characters, all have depth and add to the story and this book will keep you guessing as to who is the murderer.

The Chicago PD is on high alert when two city aldermen are found dead: one by apparent suicide, one brutally stabbed in his office, and both with thirty dimes left on their bodies—a betrayer’s payment. With no other clues, the question is, Who else has a debt to pay? Detective Harriet Foster is on the case before the killer can strike again. But even with the help of her partner, Detective Vera Li, and the rest of their team, Harriet has little to go on and a lot at risk. There’s no telling who the killer’s next target is or how many will come next. To stop another murder, Harriet and her officers will have to examine what the victims had going on behind the scenes to determine who could be tangled up in this web of betrayal…and who could be out for revenge. This is second in the series and I found it even better than the first. While it is the second it reads well as a standalone.

In this second book in the series, Detective Harriet Foster is on the case before a killer can strike again but has little to go on and a lot at risk. When two aldermen are found dead, Foster is tasked with figuring out what happened, and to do it quickly.

Fall sets about further establishing the team of detectives working together on the case. Harriett and Vera are developing a strong and growing working friendship. I enjoyed the chemistry that has already built between the two of them.. The banter is great and there is solid teamwork at play. The pacing of the story is steady before ramping up to provide a thrilling (and chilling) finale. This is a police procedural crime novel that fans of the genre are going to be very comfortable with.

I just reviewed Fall by Tracy Clark. #Fall #NetGalley
The second book in the series, but does not need to follow it in order to enjoy this one.
Female detective lead, set in Chicago trying to catch a serial killer, decent plot twists and character development.
I will be on the lookout for the next in the series. Thanks to NetGalley for a complimentary ebook.

Former Chicago alderman Maren Shaw has completed her three-year prison sentence & is hoping to reunite with her young daughter Zoe. But soon after her release, two city aldermen are found dead. The first looks like suicide by gunshot in her car, the other was brutally stabbed in his office. But both had thirty dimes left on their bodies. What does this mean?

Detective Harriet Foster & her partner Detective Vera Li are under pressure to solve the murders. Was Maren out for revenge? Or is someone else's framing her for the deadly deeds?

Meanwhile, Harriet is also being targeted by an anonymous caller seeking "assistance" & threatening the children of her former partner.

This was another taut, thrilling read in this series.

I received a digital ARC from Netgalley and Thomas & Mercer. All opinions are my own.

strong>Another great story of detective Harriet foster.</strong>

Ok… first saying I loved the book! I caught on to the killer later than I should have but earlier than those detectives did that’s for sure. The story, the drama, all of it was so good. This was a great detective thriller for those who love crime stories, love detective stories, love a bit of political corruption, and love when all of that is set in the Chicago landscape (love of all not necessary to enjoy the book).

Starting with what I enjoyed:
- We saw so much more of Detective Foster’s background. I love learning more about main characters. We saw actual development here. Inside and outside the precinct. We saw what makes her tick. We saw more about why she is how she is. We got to read about how she reacted when finding her partner (first book) dead. All things that showed us more of who she is and what she stands for and THAT I enjoyed.

- I think I LOVE Detective Li so much more in this story. She’s so damn funny and just exactly what I would want in a partner and exactly the partner that Foster needs. I also love the girl power all throughout this book.

- While you can guess early who the killer is, I liked that Foster stood on gathering all the facts when others were pushing for an easy clean close.

Now questions that remained unanswered:
- Who’s on the phone? Like yes I was screaming COP early on but come on…. We coulda got a LITTLE more here. That part of the story seemed to end so abruptly.

- Something is definitely up with Tennent right? He and the partner just seemed too sketchy for me for them to not pop back up as crooked or have some negative involvement.

- And why is the damn plant mentioned so much? Seriously. At one point I thought it was a bug planted to get dirt on Foster.

But I’m assuming all will become clear in book 3 so I’ll just be impatiently waiting. Overall, 4.5-4.75 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. Tracy Clark is one helluva detective writer, I’ll give her that!

I loved Book 2 in the Detective Harriet Foster series. Harriet is a compelling character - a cop through and through, caring, dedicated, and driven to catch the wrongdoers. I love her police family and her partnership with Vera Li. What a dynamic duo! Can’t wait for the third book in this series!

This was a great book. I loved every paragraph, every sentence and every word of this masterpiece! I read it in 12 hours, which is a lot for me to do! It had everything and more laid out in the novel! I sure hope There is more to come from this author! I am totally hooked!

Marin Shaw is released from prison after three years. She’s met by her lawyer and friend, Charlotte Moore, and is eager to make things right with her young daughter Zoe.

A small group of Chicago aldermen are having a meeting in a restaurant’s back room, long reputed to be where the real deals for the city are made. The aldermen are there to discuss the release of their former colleague Marin, who, took the fall for them when her actions came to light. She never revealed the names of her fellow corrupt city employees.

Meanwhile, Harriet Foster gives a victim impact statement at her son’s killer’s parole hearing. She still holds tremendous pain and grief for Reg, and though she recognizes the many disadvantages the killer had from birth, wants the young man to rot in jail. And this is her frame of mind when the first of the corrupt aldermen is murdered.

Of course the police immediately suspect Marin, as she has the best motive, and potentially weakest alibi. Then another alderman is murdered. Harriet and her partner Vera Li (I love her!) and the rest of the team are working every lead they can, but nothing is pointing to anyone definitively.

And then, Harriet receives a shocking photograph showing her former Glynis in a potentially compromising position, and Harriet is contacted by the sender, who threatens Glynis' family, sening Harriet into overdrive trying to protect them and work the perplexing murder case.

This was really good. I was hooked from the beginning, and liked the complicated murder case with so many potential suspects. As well, it looks like we may finally get some resolution, in a future book in this series, to Glynis' sudden, shocking suicide.

And Harriet's and Vera's partnership is really what makes this book, which is already an absorbing mystery thriller. The two women are so different and complement each other so well professionally. Vera's constant efforts to get Harriet to open up are welcome, as it's clear that Harriet is still carrying too much pain and sorrow. And it's likely that it's Vera, rather than her loving and well-meaning family, who might actually break through Harriet's walls. I dearly hope this happens, and I hope these two brilliant women soon discover who hurt and frightened Glynis.

I am so on board with reading the next book in this series.

Thank you to Netgalley and to Thomas & Mercer for this ARC in exchange for my review.

This is the second book in the Detective Harriet Foster series, and I was so excited to get my hands on this after I finished the first one! I also love that you can read this book without reading the first (you are really just missing the backstory on the death of Harriets son and her former partner Glynnis).

In this story the police are trying to solve the death of two city alderman that are found dead (one by suicide and one stabbed in his office). However, both of the men have 30 dimes on their bodies when they are found. The police need to figure out who did it before they strike again. Who did it? Was it their former colleague who was just released from prison now seeking revenge on the men who let her take the fall by herself? That would be the easy guess but Harriet is not fully convinced. While she is on the case she receives mysterious phone calls that have to do with her previous partners apparent suicide.

I love the strong female lead characters! (Both Detective Harriet and Detective Vera) This book was thrilling, had fun twists, and kept you guessing. Cant wait for the next one in the series

Thanks to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for an ARC in exchange for a review. Book was released on 12/5/23

I absolutely loved Tracy Clarks first book. It lived rent free in my head for at least a week. Unfortunately this one wasn't the same for me. I'm not huge into politics when it comes to leisure reading. And unfortunately this was full of it.

I freaking love Tracy Clark, and I feel like I have been waiting FOREVER to see my friend Detective Harriet Foster again. This is book 2 of the series, and I couldn't remember a dang thing that happened in book 1, but I think Fall did really well as a standalone. I would have liked to do a reread of Hide first, but you are probably mostly just missing what happened with Foster's son. I think that when the third book comes out, I will do rereads, and I love the books so much that I want to anyway. Detective Foster is one of those female leads that you can really get behind, and I will forever be in love with her determination and cleverness.

I was extremely excited to learn the narrator from Hide was back for this audiobook, and once again Chanté McCormick did a completely stellar job. She is the perfect person to give voice and life to Foster, and I hope she never leaves as the narrator for the audio. The mystery surrounding who was killing the aldermen was top-notch as well, and even with the different viewpoints I had no idea who the killer was until it was revealed. Fall is packed with plenty of action as well as some drama, and this is definitely one of my favorite police procedural series out there even though there are only two books so far. This would make an incredible mini-series, and one day I really hope to see Foster onscreen! You can find the audio on Kindle Unlimited, and I highly recommend!

When two Chicago Aldermen are murdered, each found with a bunch of dimes, suspicion naturally falls on their former colleague, Marin Shaw, who was just released from prison after serving a sentence for corruption. She had served her sentence quietly, without taking her apparently equally corrupt fellow aldermen down with her, but was she now out for revenge on these people who let her take the fall all by herself? Detective Harriet Foster and her new partner Vera Li take the case and investigate with competence and professionalism in the tradition of the best police procedurals. Harriet is still mourning the loss of her former partner, Glynnis, and a mysterious bad guy is threatening to harm Glynnis’s children unless Harriet does what he/she wants. This all makes for juicy and satisfying reading, even if this second book of the Harriet Foster series happens to be the first one your read. This excellent book was my introduction to the series, and I’ve already added the first to my reading list.

Thanks to Netgalley and Thomas & Mercer for a digital advance review copy.

The second book in the Detective Harriett Foster series continues following the exploits of the Chicago homicide cop who’s still mourning the murder of her son but is still prepared to throw herself completely into her job. This is a police procedural thriller that moves at a steady pace and will suit readers who enjoy a strong female protagonist.

Former Chicago City Council alderman, Marin Shaw has just been released from prison after serving a three year sentence for fraudulent behaviour in her job. It looks very bad for her, then, when first one and then a second alderman with whom she once worked are suddenly murdered. It looks even worse when it becomes apparent that it’s likely Shaw was left to take the fall for their own dodgy behaviour.

Taking the case of the initial murder is Detective Harriett Foster and her partner Detective Vera Li. It’s already been established during the first book in the series, Hide, that these two detectives work very well together as a team. They don’t miss much and their instincts are very good. But their curiosity is indeed piqued by the discovery of thirty pieces of silver on each of the murdered victims.

Marin Shaw is a suspect, but she’s by no means the only suspect.

Distracting Harri from the investigation is a caller who was clearly involved with the death of her previous partner, Glynnis. Up until this call she had always believed Glynnis had committed suicide because the job had gotten too much for her. Now, with the mysterious taunting voice in her ear, everything about her partner and friend's death is turned on its head. A new load of pressure is piled on Harri's shoulders.

Fall is a strong second book in the series and sets about further establishing the team of detectives working together on the case. There's plenty of banter to keep things light, but when things become desperate there's also some solid teamwork on display.

Much of the grunt work involves tedious interviews and reviewing of CCTV footage. All of this highlights the fact that nothing beats good old fashioned slog to get a result.

The pacing is steady before ramping up to provide a thrilling (and chilling) finale. This is a police procedural crime novel that fans of the genre are going to be very comfortable with.

Harriett and Vera are developing a strong and growing working friendship. Their relationship has clearly got some growing to do but I've enjoyed the chemistry that has already built between the two of them. It has led to some very entertaining scenes. I'm looking forward to the next in the series with some intriguing unfinished business still to be dealt with.

My thanks to Thomas and Mercer via Netgalley for a digital ARC to read and enjoy.

This is the second in the series. I did not read the first one and this one worked as a standalone. I liked Harriet Foster and even liked her partner Detective Li more. The mystery of dying alderman was good even if I felt like the motive of the killer could have been fleshed out some more. Overall a decent police procedural read but some of the dialogue is a bit cliched.

I was given a copy by NetGalley. Opinions are my own.

When we first catch back up with Detective Harriet Foster, she’s in the midst of a doomed attempt to get closure for the unclosable. She’s attending the sentencing hearing of the young man who murdered her son. As much as everyone in her family wants her to – not so much put it behind her because that’s impossible – start living in the present and the future she has rather than the past she can’t change and can’t return to.

But when we first met Harri back in Hide, she was also still grieving the suicide of her police partner Glynnis Thompson. While closure for that loss may still be elusive, Harri does get at least a reason for that seemingly unreasonable act. A reason that is clearly going to dog her footsteps for months if not years to come.

What makes this second entry in the series so compelling is its deep dive into the seemingly baked in ways and means that the sausage of Chicago city government gets made. And seemingly always has been.

That a former alderman, convicted of corruption, gets out of prison after serving her time may be newsworthy as it happens – just as her trial and conviction three years before was – but it isn’t at all unusual. It’s just part of the way that ‘business’ in the City of Chicago has always been done.

Howsomever, that the aldermen who should have gone to prison with her – but whose names seem to have been barely whispered during the course of the investigation – start dropping like flies the minute she gets out is not only newsworthy, it’s juicy news at that. The kind of news that he newsies are all over like a bad rash.

Because that former alderman, Marin Shaw, should be the prime suspect for the killings. And in some people’s minds, she is. But not to Detective Foster and her current partner Vera Li. Because down in the dirt of Chicago politics and power, there are simply too many motives for killing an alderman or two, or even three.

Especially when one of the victims is the kingpin of a whole network of dirty City dealing not done remotely dirt cheap.

To the two experienced cops, it looks like a frame that someone is trying to make former alderman Marin Shaw fit into. But it doesn’t, quite, because the motives are as elusive as the killer has been, and they’ve been looking in the wrong direction all along. As they were intended to.

Escape Rating A++: I finished this at 3 in the morning because I simply could not put it down. I mean, I tried, but I just couldn’t let this one go until the end. An ending like black coffee, tasty but bitter, with a solid kick at the finish.

In other words, there are plenty of reasons why this book has ended up on so many “Best of the Year” lists – and quite possibly will mine as well. It is even better than the first book in the series, Hide, and provides an even more in-depth look at a damaged person doing her best in a broken system to make each day count for others – even if she can’t make them count for herself.

Detective Harriet Foster is compelling in her brokenness. I want to say that she’s strong in the broken places, but she’s not there yet. She’s putting one foot forward, one day at a time, and giving what of herself she feels she has left to her job of saving somebody else’s son because she couldn’t save her own.

She isn’t ready to put her own life together, but she’s reaching for the point where she can at least put her work life back together, when someone tries to pull that rug out from under her. The questions that get raised about her partner’s death do not get resolved in this entry in the series, leading to a fascinating ending of a cliffhanger that isn’t a cliffhanger. This case is resolved, Harri’s problems are just beginning.

At the heart of this one, however, is the mystery. And not so much for the mystery itself, as much as I enjoyed getting caught up in the clues and in Harri and Li’s investigation. But it’s what she’s investigating that adds the compulsive factor. Because that investigation creates a portrait of Chicago politics that manages to read both as the corruption the way that popular imagination has painted it AND as the way that the city’s newspapers cover it, all at the same time. And that feels entirely too true to life.

What gave the case a very nice twist at the end was that, as much fun as the dive into the political muck was to read, the motive for the murders wasn’t part of that muck. Not that it wasn’t mucky and murky in its own right, but it wasn’t the usual muck when it comes to Chicago politics which made for a more satisfying resolution – at least for this reader.

Anytime that a story keeps me up until 3 in the morning, I want more than I have. Not more of this particular book, because it was the right story at the right length at the right time, but more like this or more of these characters or both. Definitely both.

If you have that same impulse after you finish Hide and Fall (and do read both because the series just keeps getting awesomer as it goes), if Detective Harriet Foster, with her damage and her dangerous investigations into the broken places and people of Chicago grab your attention, you might also want to check out Inspector Anjelica Henley and the dark and dirty parts of her London, because the two are very much sisters under the skin with their respective city’s grit under their nails. The first book in the Henley series by Nadine Matheson is The Jigsaw Man.

As I’ve already read the Henley series, I’ll have to look for something else to tide me over until the next book in one or the other appears. (That’s The Kill List for Anjelica Henley in September and Echo for Harriet Foster next December. Tracy Clark has another Chicago-set mystery series, the Cass Raines series, that begins with Broken Places. I always enjoy a trip to Chicago, so I’ll be giving that a look while I wait for Harriet Foster’s next investigation.