Hide

Hide is Tracy Clark's 5th novel. It is also the first book in a new series that takes place in Chicago, which is why I wanted to read it. Chicago is my hometown. It's a captivating, fast paced read which felt good to read after the past couple of dull books that I recently read.

The publisher's summary:

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.

This book is a perfect crime thriller. It also touches on current problems in policing such as racism, sexism, police power and female officers. With one character being a psychologist, we also read about the psychology of serial killers. Author Tracy Clark knows alot about police procedures and its culture. She is an editor in Chicago and must have learned alot about policing from her day job. 

The writing is crisp and this is what make it such a quick read. It's been awhile since I have read a novel written this good and I couldn't put it down. Even though the book is almost 400 pages, I finished it in one afternoon. The setting descriptions in the beginning of the story are spot on. As a Chicagoan myself, I recognized all of the street names and locales, including the lower level streets where are killers operate. Even the jogging path a character took was accurate. 

The main character is Harriet Foster. She has been a police officer for 15 years but is coming into a different police district for this story. Her first partner, Officer Lonergan, is a long-time officer who does not care for female or minority officers and uses slang terms from a bygone era. I found them amusing but only because I am old enough to know these phrases. Harriet has a soft side because her son died, her marriage fell apart and her former police partner commit suicide. She is still reeling from these events but is trying to put them out of her mind so that she can continue to work. Harriet, or Harri, is a great character to base a series on.  I can see that there is alot of room for character growth. Her second partner, Vera Li, connects with Harri better and I hope that they remain partners in future installments of the series.

Hide is a fantastic novel. I am rating it 5 out of 5 stars.