3 stars
Publication date December 3, 2024


Thank you NetGalley and Thomas and Mercer for sending this eARC for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

This is the third book in a series featuring Detective Harriet Foster. Harri is back to work at the Chicago PD after the death of her partner, and before that, the murder of her son. While investigating a high profile murder of a billionaires son, the past is also coming back to haunt her.

While this book was well written and interesting, it was not my favorite of the three. It did not grab and hold my attention. There was some character development that I really enjoyed, I just did not find the story itself gripping.

Riveting. Clark's sharp suspense and profoundly keen prose held me me to the page. She has made me care deeply for Detective Harriet Foster. I won't soon forget this book.

Sadly, this author is not for me.
This was the third time I picked up a book by this author, and for the third time it didn't work for me.
Clark's writing style and protrait of characters just don't clique with me.
Well, I've tried.
I'm sure other readers will appreciate this book.

In her third outing, Detective Harriet “Harri” Foster is assigned to investigate the death of a student at the local college. He’s not just any student; he’s the son of the school’s zillionaire donor, Sebastian Collier. As Harri investigates the death of this kid and a possible connection with a similar death long ago in the same place, the college and the family prove less than helpful. Meanwhile, a mysterious person keeps calling and threatening Harri for reasons she can’t figure out. This is a solid police procedural with a ring of authenticity in the mocking but caring relationships among colleagues on the force, the deep bond of trust Harri has with her partner, Vera, the demands of the higher-ups, and the richly detailed accounting of the day-to-day details of life in the station. Harri, still grieving the loss of her son and shaken by the death of her partner, now faces the failure of internal affairs to investigate the false accusations tarnishing her partner’s memory. The author writes with sensitivity about loss and Harri’s sometimes ways of handling it. None of this gets in the way of the investigation and Harris’ secondary quest to clear her late partner’s name. I look forward to the next book in this excellent series.

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

When a young man’s body is found on the grounds next to Hardwicke House, home of the exclusive Beaverton College,it brought home reminders of a similar murder several years before.
Chicago Police Detective Harriet “Harri” Foster, one of the department's most demanding investigators, is sent to the scene to investigate. The victim, Bruce Collier, was the son of billionaire Sebastian, who owned Hardwicke and was a significant school benefactor. Harri’s investigation revealed that the mansion had a notorious past, and a hazing incident years before led to another student's death on the same grounds.
Harri and her partner Vera Li’ ran into a major roadblock in their investigation when nobody seemed to know how Bruce ended up dead on the grounds while a big party was going on at Hardwicke. It appeared that Bruce’s death could be connected to the hazing incident that occurred years before, but no charges were ever filed.
Determined to find the killer, Harri moves full speed ahead in the shadow of her grief for her partner's death a few years before at the hands of a killer who is now stalking her and threatening her life and the lives of her family.

"Tough job. Tough people doing it."

Detective Harriet "Harri" Foster is back again and hitting it hard on the streets of Chicago. It's February when the temperatures are still hovering around zero and the prime suspects rate about the same. Neither weather nor circumstances keep crime at bay,

Two young women attending Belverton College have come across a near frozen body in an empty lot in the wee hours. They huddle together claiming that they were just out for a walk when they noticed said corpse. Harriet and her partner, Detective Vera Li, are not quite buying what these two are selling. Facts float to the surface. There was a party next door at Harwicke House where the campus elite reside. Turns out that more unmentioned facts will thaw out over the coming days.

The deceased is Brice Collier whose billionaire father, Sebastian, has deep family connections to the college. What exactly happened to Brice at that party and how did it all lead to him being found dead next door? Add the coincidence of another body found in the same spot thirty years prior to this. Hazing gone wrong or something far more heinous than even that?

Tracy Clark knows Chicago. She's delivered time and time again with her stellar novels. I've particularly enjoyed this Harriet Foster Series with Hide #1 and Fall #2. Echo #3 reads as a perfect standalone, but get 'cha some crafty suspense with the prior two books as well. Harriet has the weight of her own personal life tiered up with someone who is stalking her in this one. Clark doesn't do middle-of-the-road boring. Her characters have depth and her storylines have bite. Check this one out. It publishes 12/5/24.

I received a copy of this book through NetGalley for an honest review. My thanks to Thomas & Mercer and to the talented Tracy Clark for the opportunity.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this eARC.

Tracy Clark’s Echo is the third installment in the Detective Harriet Foster series, and it delivers a taut, suspenseful narrative that keeps readers hooked from start to finish. Known for her ability to weave intricate plots with deep character development, Clark once again proves her mastery in the crime thriller genre.

The story begins with the discovery of Brice Collier’s body in a field next to Hardwicke House, a mansion with a notorious past. Detective Harriet “Harri” Foster is called in to investigate, and she quickly realizes that this case is eerily similar to an unsolved death from thirty years ago. As Harri and her partner, Detective Vera Li, dig deeper, they uncover a web of secrets involving the victim’s billionaire father, Sebastian Collier, and the exclusive Minotaur Society at Belverton College.

Clark excels in portraying complex, relatable characters. Harri Foster is a standout protagonist, grappling with her grief over her former partner’s death while navigating the challenges of a high-stakes investigation. Her resilience and determination make her a compelling character to follow. Vera Li, Harri’s partner, provides a strong counterbalance with her analytical mind and unwavering support. The dynamic between the two detectives adds depth to the narrative, making their partnership one of the highlights of the book.

The author’s writing style is crisp and engaging, with a perfect balance of action and introspection. Clark’s ability to build suspense is evident throughout the novel, as she skillfully unveils twists and turns that keep readers guessing. The atmospheric descriptions of Chicago and the eerie setting of Hardwicke House enhance the overall sense of tension and mystery.

Echo explores themes of justice, power, and the long shadows cast by past actions. The novel delves into the impact of unresolved trauma and the lengths individuals will go to protect their secrets. Clark’s exploration of these themes adds a layer of psychological depth to the thriller, making it more than just a straightforward crime story.

Overall, Echo is a gripping and well-crafted addition to the Detective Harriet Foster series. Tracy Clark delivers a story that is thrilling and thought-provoking, with characters that stay with you.

Fans of crime thrillers and detective fiction will find much to enjoy in this latest offering.

Picking up where "Fall" leaves off, Detective Harriet Foster is on a mission to prove her deceased partner, Glynnis, wasn't a dirty cop when a billionaire's son is killed. As it becomes apparent that the crime echoes one from the past, the whole squad races to figure out who the killer is as bodies keep dropping. The voice on the phone keeps taunting Harri about Glynnis' death as she gets closer to his identity and motivation. Despite the intensity of the concurrent cases, Harriet discovers she's making emotional progress in grieving her son's death and gets a glimpse into a future where moving forward might be possible. One significant twist was fairly obvious early on, but a cliffhanger ending keeps the reader guessing until next time. One of my favorite series and I can't wait for book #4!

It's February in Chicago when Detective Harriet Foster is called to Hardwicke House, a private house on the edge of Belverton College. Two girls found a body in a field nearby, the body of Brice Collier, son of the house's owner. The autopsy shows Brice died when alcohol was forced down his throat, not a surprising death at a party house. What is a surprise is the connection to a body found in that same field thirty years earlier. Although Brice's father won't cooperate, Foster and her partner, Detective Vera Li, suspect Sebastian Collier was involved in the earlier death, but nothing was ever proven. Now, though, Brice's death is followed by two more that appear to be suicides. While Foster and her team investigate, she's also taunted by a voice on the phone. She suspects that voice is connected to the death of her earlier partner, G, a death written off as suicide, although Foster won't accept it. She's wearing herself down investigating two cases with echoes from the past. Clark follows Fall with the third in the series featuring a complex Black police officer haunted by multiple violent deaths in her life. Characters are well-developed in this hard-hitting police procedural that examines justice, and who metes it out.

Thanks Netgalley for allowing me to read this book. A college senior is found dead one morning. It will take everything Harriet has to solve the case. This book grabbed my attention from the start.

When a young student is found frozen to death near his on-campus home - which happens to be a mansion for members of an exclusive college society - Detective Harriet Foster gets the case. It soon appears to be the work of a pattern killer. In addition to trying to solve this mystery, Detective Foster is also trying to solve another mystery of sorts - the suicide of her partner and why she chose to end her life in the district parking lot. The seemingly separate storylines are woven together seamlessly at one point. I personally live for books with mansion settings, secret societies, and police department intrigue. I highly recommend this and the author’s previous books in this series. Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for providing this ARC for my review consideration.

"A body has turned up in the field next to a mansion ... and the scene looks chillingly familiar. "

Echo is quite a tale of renegade justice and long-awaited resolution! There are two different storylines and Detective Harriet Foster (Harri) is determined to solve the cases in both of them. Each was interesting, although I was most intrigued by the story involving the body in the field. The twists kept me on my toes!

I love the friendship and partnership Harri shares with Vera. Vera's personality has a way of making me chuckle. I'm sad this book is the end of the trilogy.

Echo can be read as a standalone.

Big thanks to both #ThomasAndMercer and #NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review an early copy of Echo. This book is book three in the Detective Harriet Foster series and it has an expected publication date of December 3, 2024.

#TracyClark #StrongFemaleProtagonist #Chicago #Trilogy

I love these books. I like both series by Tracy Clark.

When a young man is found dead, frozen to death in a field near his home on campus, Chicago PD is called in. The death is eerily similar to a death that happened in the smae place years before. While investigating this murder, Harriet is also still trying to figure out why her partner committed suicide in her car in the PD parking lot.

The book is excellent. Well written. The 2 plots run parallel to each other, both involve the past and how it affects the future. So good.

Thank you to Netgalley and Thomas and Mercer for this opportunity. It will be available 12/3/24!

This was a hard hitting thriller. It had a secret society vibe even though it is a hard nosed crime thriller with a competent female detective on the case. I rather liked it.

I found it more difficult to get involved in the storyline with this sequel, BUT I felt that it raised more thought-provoking questions. The narrative and its message have certainly stayed with me longer than the previous two installments.

The primary focus of this novel is echoes and the secondary focus follows an intense journey of revenge, secrets, and uncovering the truth. The same way an echo repeats itself across time and barriers, so do the events in Chicago PD Detective Harriet ‘Harri’ Foster’s personal and public life. Harri is struggling with the loss of her partner and is haunted by the possibility that the investigation into her death has been tampered with. The title is perfect for this novel!

One of the secondary focuses is justice, vigilante justice in particular, and how, despite it being born from a deep desire to do something after feeling like the system has failed, it spiraled and threatened the rule of law. The vigilante group in this novel is looking for someone to pay for an act of violence from 30 years ago and is willing to go to any lengths to enforce their skewed idea of justice. Harri herself is looking for justice; justice for her partner and for the person who still taunts her.

Closely tied into this theme is that of effective policing. There’s one point in the book when it makes sense for the officers to pursue those running from the scene and there’s discussion about how proactive policing is no longer possible and not a directive. As a reader, I felt the restraints of the establishment in the narrative and thought they were a timely insertion. The reality of a life of service comes through loud and clear in this sequel.

I was captured by the coins on headstones, The Minotaur Society, and the fallout from making a wrong choice.

If you love a slower-paced read with lots of time to consider issues raised, need justice to be served, are curious about secret societies, and like a good murder investigation, this one’s for you!

I was gifted this copy by Thomas & Mercer and NetGalley and was under no obligation to provide a review.

Detective Harriet Foster has a new case that involves a long-established male society on a college campus. She is called to the scene of a suspicious death at a house at the edge of a college campus that is owned by a distant billionaire involving his son found in a field after being forced to drink too much alcohol. The two female college students who found the body had been at a big party in the house the night before. As Harriet and her team investigate, they discover an old case involving another resident of the house decades earlier. Working the murder as a situation of revenge, Harriet seeks the killer/s. Meanwhile, Harriet is still looking for evidence that her former partner did not commit suicide but was murdered. Risking her own life, she pursues the perp and finally lets her team know about her personal quest. Will Harriet ever find the answers she needs and maybe find a bit of peace? It's a great read!

Echo (Detective Harriet Foster Book 3) by Tracy Clark is a bit slow in the beginning. I’m trying to keep all the characters correct, too. Lots to sift through in this book.

Echo was not my favorite of the series. I have read the other two books and really enjoyed them, but I struggled with Echo. I think the content/plot and mystery of this book were not my style and didn’t hold my attention. I didn’t really care about the young man who was killed, so it was hard to care about the investigation.

I do like the author’s writing style and I like the Harriet Foster character, so I will read more in this series. I just think, for me, this plotline didn't capture my interest as much as the first 2 books.

I rate Echo a 3.5 out of 5 stars (rounded to 4).

#EchoDetectiveHarrietFoster #NetGalley @AmazonPub

This is easily my favorite detective series. The first two books were so good and this one was just the same! The author does an incredible job of releasing just enough information to the reader to make the book impossible to put down! I’m always on the edge of my seat the whole time.

Thank you to the publisher, author, and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest rating and review.

Like the previous books in the series, you are continually guessing the next twist. Great series. Thank you Netgalley for the chance to read the next installment in the series.

The third and final entry in the Harriet Foster series finds Harri and her partner Vera Li investigating an apparent accidental death on a college campus. The victim is Brice Collier, a son of a wealthy benefactor of Beaverton College. His death happens in a similar manner to a death thirty years ago at the same college, a hazing prank gone wrong. Could someone from the past be trying to get revenge? Harri, Vera and the rest of their squad have to dig deep into the past to try and make sense of the current crime. Harri also has to contend with the mysterious person who keeps taunting her about her former partner's death. Tracy Clark's writing is always enjoyable because she crafts complex characters whose triumphs and struggles keep the readers engaged in the story as much as the action does. I loved the Cass Raines series and the Harriet Foster series has also been great. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.