Tracy Clark is one of my favorite mystery/suspense authors working today and Echo is the third book in her Harriet Foster series. This is also the first book in the series that I don't think stands alone all that well, since there's a secondary plot thread that was first introduced in the previous book, Fall.
Detective Harriet Foster and her colleagues in the Chicago PD just recently wrapped up the case of the murdered aldermen (see previous book) when they catch another hot one. They're called to Hardwicke House, a fraternity-like house at Belverton College and home to the exclusive "Minotaur Society." Their victim is Brice Collier, a legacy and the son of Sebastian Collier, a billionaire and major benefactor of the school (more than one building is named after him).

The whole thing stinks from the jump. There was a party at Hardwicke House, a semi-regular occurrence that the university turned the other way on because of course they would. Brice was found dead in a field, often used as a campus shortcut, by two girls who seem to be hiding something, and it soon becomes apparent that Brice's death looks suspiciously like a hazing incident that happened 30 years ago at Hardwicke House - and who was at the center of that incident? Sebastian Collier - a man who is in Geneva and not rushing back to Chicago, never mind his only child is dead. Instead he's got a hired ghoul by the name of Lange (just Lange) lurking around.

On top of all this Harriet has her own troubles, namely a shadowy figure blackmailing her with threats against her former partner's widower and children. Harriet is a good cop, so naturally goes to Internal Affairs, only to get word through her chief that IA is sweeping the whole thing under the rug. That doesn't sit right with Harriet, not only because Glynnis's name is being dragged through the mud, but also because this bad guy isn't going away and his threats are escalating. Who is he, what does he want and what is his end game?

With this book Clark explores the idea of justice by any means necessary and vengeance. Raw, cold vengeance given the perfect backdrop of a Chicago winter. If nothing else Clark knows Chicago and she continues to nail the winter weather. The plot follows the old adage of the sins of the father being visited upon the son, and the thriller tagline on this series is intentional. There are a few instances where the reader is privy to information before Harriet and her colleagues are clued in.

The Collier homicide, the motive and the fallout are all compelling. Clark has given readers rich, privileged asshole victims in the last two books, partly because I think she's reading the room but also it allows her to spin interesting webs. The Collier storyline is pretty straight-forward, until it isn't, and the author throws in some twists and thrills for the final chapters.

The shadowy blackmailer plot is a little thinner. To say more about how it connects to the overall story would be a spoiler, and from that standpoint I understand what the author was shooting for, but it still read like she didn't have enough of either plot to write two books so she smooshed them both in here. It gave the book a disjointed feel at times, and while I do think the author tips her hand on the resolution to this thread, she doesn't spell it out in minute detail. I won't go so far as to say it's "unanswered" because I know what I think happens to the bad guy - but mileage may vary.

I didn't like this one quite as much as other books by Clark but it was still an entertaining read and I happily flipped the pages. Also, while I'm desperate for her to get back to her Cassandra Raines series, looks like Amazon is on board for more Harriet. There's already a placeholder for a Book 4, due out in December 2025.

Final Grade = B

This is a continuation of Detective Harriet Foster's story. Harriet finds out what happened to her previous partner Glyniss, but other problems prevent a tidy ending. It seems that there will be more mysteries for Harriet to solve with her new partner, Detective Li, and perhaps with a male friend as well.

#Echo, the third in the Detective Harriet Foster series, is an excellent police procedural. I was captivated by the two disparate threads woven - Harriet trying to solve two mysteries - who forced her former partner G to suicide and who killed a frat boy. Some thoroughly chilling moments and the villains surprised me.

P.S. Thanks to #netgalley for the ARC.

I’ve enjoyed the books in this series…thus far. This one didn’t work for me. It was too predictable and the suspense was missing. This felt very “surface” and laced depth.

You can feel the deep cold of a Chicago winter wafting from the pages to chill your fingers to the bone as you read Echo. February is the cruelest month in the city, as it’s so cold you can see your breath, the pigeons huddle under the heat lamps at the ‘L’ stations, sunrise doesn’t happen until you get to work and sunset comes LONG before it’s time to go home. It feels like it’s been cold forever and that it’s going to be cold every bit as long – which it might, as winter holds onto the city with an icy grip that shows no signs of breaking.

Detective Harriet Foster of the Chicago Police Department has been breaking since we met her in the first book in this series, Hide. But she’s not quite broken – at least not yet – in spite of not letting herself find solace or even closure for the two hits that have left her reeling in badly suppressed agony; the senseless death of her son as he was playing in the front yard, and the staged suicide of her police partner.

Her son’s killers have been held to as much account as they ever will be, but the death of her partner is still an open case – or so Harri believes when this story opens. That hope is dashed when Internal Affairs closes the case, taking the evidence at a face value that Harri has called into question. Whoever killed Glynnis made it look like G. was a dirty cop, and IA would rather bury the case and Harri’s partner than open a can of worms that no one on the force wants to open. Justice be damned.

That G.’s killer has been calling Harri from a succession of burner phones to taunt her about the case and promise her that she’ll fall to his dirty tricks just as Glynnis did is just more black slush on top of the grey snow piled all over the city.

Just as Harri decides to pursue this very personal case very much on her own time and off the books – and her new partner, Vera Li is just as determined to join her in spite of the risks to both of their lives and careers – they get caught up in a very much on-the-books case that seems as far from Harri’s barely hanging on, hard-working, city employee life as it possible for it to get.

A young man has been found dead in a snow covered field on Chicago’s North Side, a stone’s throw away from the big house his ultra-wealthy father owns as a private ‘Animal House’ for the scions of the family as they attend the expensive private college nearby. A college where the family name is on half the buildings, and where once the father and now the son are rich and privileged legacy students – with all the power and indulgence that wealth can provide.

The only thing that hard-working CPD Detective Harriet Foster would normally have in common with a hard-partying rich boy skating through life on his father’s well-earned reputation would be that she’s the cop investigating his murder.

But it’s not.

Because it’s beginning to look a lot like Brice Collier wasn’t murdered for anything HE did – and not that he didn’t do plenty of things that no one dared to accuse him of. Just as Harri figures out that her partner’s murder – and it definitely was murder – had nothing to do with anything that G. might have EVER done.

Instead, the two cases ‘echo’ each other, as the sins of the fathers are being visited upon their children by perpetrators for whom revenge is a dish best served as cold as February in Chicago.

Escape Rating A+: This series has been awesome from the very first page of the very first book, Hide. The second book, Fall, managed to be even better. The blurb claims that this book is the conclusion to the trilogy, and I was so utterly bummed about that until I noticed that in spite of the blurb the series continues this time next year with Edge.

This story does conclude the initial story from Hide. In that first book, Harri was dealing, badly, with the death of her son and dealing equally badly with the death of her police partner and friend. Over the course of the series she has managed to both solve some really thorny – and very typically Chicago – murders while at the same time being very human and broken and not dealing with her own personal shit well at all.

And yet still putting one foot in front of the other.

The case here feels ripped from the headlines. The young scion of a rich and influential family, someone whose way has been repeatedly smoothed over by family money and power, who expects to skate through life and never face the consequences of his frequently scummy actions – is murdered. He could have been killed for some of his own misdeeds, but it goes deeper and darker than that as it’s clear from early in the case that his own actions hadn’t yet caught up with him. And that his death hasn’t had the effect that his murderers hoped for.

Meanwhile, Harri’s personal case goes down a parallel path. Her partner’s death wasn’t about anything G. did. It’s not even about anything Harri ever did. It’s all to get back at someone in the past who is just as unreachable as the Collier paterfamilias. Even though that unreachability is a parallel that shouldn’t have been part of the parallel.

The Collier case is riveting in the way that great police procedurals are riveting, as Harri and her team work through the evidence in spite of pressure from both the senior Collier and City Hall. They manage to work their way to a sticky and convoluted end through layers of facts and lies and long-buried secrets.

Harri’s personal case is compelling in the way that the best thrillers are compelling. She’s being taunted and threatened by someone who knows everything about her while she knows nothing about them or their motives. That case slowly unravels, bit by bit and step by step, even as Harri does an often poor job at keeping herself from unravelling along with it.

In the end, she emerges victorious, stronger in her broken places, and with friends at her back she hadn’t been willing to let in. Justice prevails for her, as the reader hopes that it will, even if the closest that the Collier case can reach is closure. But that’s right too.

I’m glad to see the trauma of Harri’s personal case get solved and resolved, and I’m equally glad that this is not the end of her story. She’s a dynamic, flawed and fascinating character and I can’t wait to ride along with her again next December in Edge.

I have read all the previous books in this series as audiobooks and have loved them! The narrator Chante McCormick was fabulous!

This book not only tied up the ends on a current mystery, but also on a mystery that Harry has been working on since the last book. Such a good series! I love the characters and I think about them long after finishing the story. I can't wait for the next book in this series, I hope Harry can get some peace in her personal life.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Thomas & Mercer for the opportunity to read and review this story. I also bought the audiobook of this book so that I could read and listen to it.

Echo is the 3rd book in the Detective Harriet Foster series by Tracy Clark. I had not read any of the previous books in the series, but had no problem following along with the story line. Harri fights to prove her former partner was not bad, and did not kill herself. While attempting to solve a murder of a wealthy young college student. Overall I found this to be a good read and would recommend it to others.

I received an ARC from NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer, and I am leaving my review voluntarily.

I have loved all 3 of the books from the Harriet Foster series! Keep them coming! Suspense, intrigue and keeps me guessing- everything I want in a book.

Detective Harriet Foster has some years under her belt working to solve crimes in the City of Chicago. In her latest case, a well-connected college student turns up dead in a field near his family’s campus mansion. The scene and evidence point to alcohol poisoning. But the moments that passed between the time of death, when the body was found, and when authorities were notified raises suspicions. When Harri and her partner Vera begin digging deeper, they connect the dots to a case from 30 years ago in which a student’s body was found in the same field. With no leads and uncooperative witnesses, Harri and Vera have their work cut out for them. But Harri is still mourning the death of her previous partner. And also trying to catch whoever has been harassing her about the past. Echo by Tracy Clark is the third installment in the Detective Harriet Foster Thriller series in which Harri must open up to her team if she wants to catch a killer, and her stalker, before it’s too late.

Tracy Clark reminds readers why she is one of the best at writing detective/crime fiction stories with Echo. I’ve read the author’s Cass Raines series and Hide (Detective Harriet Foster #1). So I knew that this one wouldn’t disappoint. The story is well-paced and engaging. I was hooked from the first chapter when we see the crime unfold and later watch Harri and her colleagues connect the dots. While this book can be read as a standalone, I encourage readers to start with Hide so that they can see the progression of Harri’s character development, career, and her relationship with her team.

The author delivers authenticity and relevance by keeping up with changing policies and politics of law enforcement. Even though the story has a gritty and serious vibe, I appreciated the witty dialogue and commentary from supporting characters. This one is a must-read for lovers of thriller, suspense, and crime fiction.

A complex story of revenge and justice, but not really a police procedural. It must be nice to just randomly enter properties without search warrants or exigencies justifying that entry. But if you’re not seeking an accurate procedural, there is a fast moving edge of the seat dual killer hunts driving the stories forward and character backstories that keep you turning pages to see what’s next.

This is the last book in the Detective Harriet Foster series and I've enjoyed all of them. Tracy Clark's writing is good making for quick, easy reads. The wealthy Collier family is a major donor to Belverton College. When Brice Collier, the son of billionaire Sebastian, is found dead on campus behind his fraternity house, Detective Harriet Foster is brought in to investigate. Thirty years ago, a student was found dead in the same field, the victim of a hazing incident. Sebastian Collier was a student at Belverton at that time. Is this just a coincidence? Harriet and her partner Vera Li need to get to the bottom of this. At the same time, Harriet is wrestling with the death of her former partner which she does not believe was suicide. This is a continuing story from the first two books and we finally learn the truth. Harriet is easy to like and root for and I recommend reading this series. Thanks to #netgalley and #Thomas&Mercer for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is the 3rd book about Detective Harriet Foster. In my opinion, you need to read the other books to know what's happening. There were multiple storylines that continued from previous books.

I enjoyed this one, but it felt a little too wordy. I wanted the author to get to the point without so much extra detail. Harri frustrated me a few times with her stubborn attitude. The case itself was interesting, even though I figured out some major twists early on. I look forward to reading more from this author. Thank you to Netgalley and Thomas & Mercer for my ARC. 3.5 stars rounded up.

I started this series when the first book, Hide, came out. It has been neat to see how Harriet has grown as a detective and person throughout these books. It’s interesting to see the way Harriet and Vera Li work together to solve crimes, along with the rest of their team. I am excited to see how the next book goes!

Tracy Clark’s latest book is Echo (Thomas & Mercer, December 2024). Set in a Chicago winter, her third story about police detective Harriet Foster has dual story lines of revenge and attempts to right long-ago wrongs.

Foster doesn’t have time to take her coat off one Sunday morning, she is called to a field on the edge of the Belverton College campus, where a student lies dead. Brice Collier is the only son of the fabulously wealthy Sebastian Collier, who owned the nearby house that Brice and some of his friends shared during the scholastic year. Brice was known for his over-the-top Saturday night parties. Because of his father’s money, the college took a hands-off stance on anything affecting Brice, giving him the illusion that he could do or say anything he wanted without repercussion. This time he seems to have gotten too drunk to realize he was outdoors and died of alcohol poisoning and hypothermia. The fact that another student living in the same house died in similar circumstances 30 years previously did not escape the police.

While Foster and her new partner, a certified badass named Vera Li, try to pin down the students that were at the party, all of whom are curiously evasive about who was where when, Foster is getting anonymous phone calls. The male caller is making vague threats about revenge for past misdeeds and claims the death of her former partner is a punishment for Foster. Her recently dead partner was determined to have committed suicide, Foster believes she was killed by this anonymous caller. That the police department refused to look into the calls and Foster’s suspicions noticeably strains her relationship with her manager.

Grieving for her dead partner, Foster works relentlessly on the Collier case, finding more and more parallels between the old case and the new, while she tries to identify her anonymous caller and his motives after hours. Her new partner confronts her on the brutal pace she is undertaking and insists on helping identify the anonymous tormentor to remove the distraction from Foster’s life.

Clark creates clear, well-defined, and credible characters. Even the background members of the Homicide group who don’t get much time on the page stand out distinctly from each other. The old school detective who antagonizes everyone but becomes an emotional basket case over his partner’s sick child is a perfect example. The cold distant Sebastian Collier and his troubleshooter Lange are two more. Vera Li is a fine invention, she and Foster make a powerhouse of a team. I look forward to seeing more of her. As always in Clark’s books, the city of Chicago is a powerful secondary character.

An inventive use of the revenge motive, a crisp narrative, and fine characters. This book made the Washington Post list of best 2024 mysteries for a good reason. Recommended.

An excellent, tense story. Harriet Foster is a really engaging detective to follow, with deep passion for and knowledge of her career. The crimes are effectively disturbing and there is a good balance between the one personal to her and professional in nature.

Each new book in this series is better than the last. We also continue to learn new things about Harriet and her family’s past. There are countless twists and turns that had me on the edge of my seat. I feverishly devoured the story until the very end and am excited for whatever comes next.

This book is being voluntarily reviewed after receiving a free copy courtesy of NetGalley, the Publisher, and Tracy Clark.

Echo, the third and newly released book ( December 3, 2024) in Tracy Clark's Detective Harriet Foster series is an excellent and captivating read. I read the previous books in the series, and each one is intriguing and more than satisfying. Each may be read as a stand-alone, however reading them in order does provide the background and more insights into the motivation and actions of Harri. She is a Chicago detective, still struggling to understand the deaths of her beloved son Reg, and her former partner's suicide, separated, and overly focused on her work, thinking it will drive her emptiness and sadness away.
In Echo Harri and her team are investigating the death of a young and very wealthy student, Brice Collier, at Belverton College. Was the death a suicide or was it murder? Ironically Brice's father, the very powerful Sebastian Collier, an alumni of Belverton, appeared to be involved in a similar death of a scholarship student, Michael Paget, 30 years prior to Brice' death, although he was never charged. Coincidence?
At the same time Harri is extremely upset that the Chicago PD did not conduct a full and intensive investigation into the suicide of Glynnis Thompson, her partner and friend. Despite being told to stand down, Harri is determined to uncover what really happened. This investigation opens a kettle of worms that puts Harri, her team and her family in danger. Echo is definitely a page turner! Harri and her team represent to me what and how police work in spite of personal challenges; they come alive on the pages. In closing, and with no spoilers, I think and hope that there may well be another book forthcoming. Thank you to NetGalley, Thomas and Mercer Publishing and Tracy Clark for the opportunity to read and review an ARC of Echo; my review reflects my honest opinion. 4.5 stars.

I’m really glad that I have been introduced to the character of Detective Harriet “Harri” Foster. Echo is Book 3 in Tracy Clark’s series featuring the detective and her partner, Detective Vera Li, tough Chicago police officers in this novel working a murder case with revenge as the motive. The setting is a mansion, Hardwicke House, exclusive home to the Minotaur Society, on the grounds of Belverton College. The body of a student is discovered in the field outside the mansion, the son of a billionaire who is owner of the house and whose family members were major contributors to the college and were members of the society. It was thirty years ago when another body of a student was found in the same field and whose death was attributed to alcohol and hazing. The two detectives must determine if there is a connection to the two deaths and find the killer, or possibly, the killers.
Detective Foster, Detective Li, Sergeant Sharon Griffin, and Detectives Lonergan, Bigelow, Kelley and Symansky make up a strong team with affection and loyalty toward each other. Chicago serves well as the backdrop with its tough streets as well as its affluent neighborhoods. Li is forthright, often telling her partner what she really doesn’t want to be told but always caring for her. Harri, with 15 years as a cop starting as a patrol officer, is strong willed with an ex-husband who is also a detective and the haunting memory of a former police partner whose death was determined a suicide. Her past also includes a 14 year old son who was murdered.
A second storyline develops around Foster’s stalker and the connection that she is able to make between him and her deceased father, also a cop, her deceased son and the death of her former partner.
Tracy Clark delivers a suspenseful, interesting plot that deals with the elite and privileged, settling old scores, family loyalty, and the question of how justice should be meted out. I always enjoy reading books with a complex female protagonist, especially in a police procedural and Detective Foster fits the bill. It was a good read even though I was disappointed and let down by not having the murderer in the subplot named. I do not know if that storyline will be continued in the next book in the series but I am not the detective in the story and would have appreciated closure.
I would like to thank Thomas & Mercer, Publisher, and NetGalley for an advance copy of Echo. This is my honest review of the book.

A secret society that opens doors unatainable for the majority of people who were not born with money and therefore is one of the most coveted fraternities on campus. A crime in the past that comes back to haunt them in the present. A detective apparently commits suicide but her partner, Harri, does not accept it and as she starts to dig into the case she realizes that the motive is rather unexpected and she is one of the targets. Echo is an engaging and entertaining story that had all my attention from the beginning. It's well-written, fast-paced, and explores well how greed, desire for power, avarice takes hold of people.
I thank the author, her publisher, and NetGalley for this ARC.

Echo is book 3 in the Detective Harriet Foster series by Tracy Clark.
I’m a big fan of detective Harriet Foster. And this title was just as great as the previous two.
A tense and engrossing police procedural that had me hooked from the very beginning.
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.