Review by Booklist Review
The title gives a hint to the depth of this debut PI novel. The Chicago Police Department lost one of its best homicide detectives, African American Cass Raines, after a shootout in which two bullets lodged near her aorta, nearly killing her and definitely weakening her arm and breaking her spirit. Now she works as a private investigator where she lives, in the city's Hyde Park neighborhood, an area itself filled with broken places. A strong feature of this book is that Cass is fully embedded in her community, giving her extra insight into what goes down there. The focus here is on what's happened in a church, where Cass' longtime mentor and chess buddy, Father Ray Heaton, has asked her to investigate a fire and break-in. Then Cass finds the community-activist priest shot to death in the confessional, and the body of a teen lying before the altar. While Clark tends to be a bit overexpansive with her descriptive passages, this street-smart first mystery boasts great characterization and a terrific new protagonist. Get this writer on your radar now.--Fletcher, Connie Copyright 2018 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Cass Raines, the intelligent, perceptive narrator of Clark's unforgettable first novel and series launch, runs her own one-woman detective agency in Chicago. A former Chicago PD detective, Cass left the force after being shot during a confrontation with an armed suspect two years earlier. Soon after her old friend Fr. Ray "Pop" Heaton asks her to look into a vandalism incident at his church, she discovers him shot to death in the confessional. Near the altar lies the body of a young man wearing gang colors. The self-assured yet incompetent police detective assigned to the case sees this one as quickly closed. Since Cass owes so much to Pop, who helped her grandparents raise her after her mother died, she decides to investigate on her own. While Cass is busy fighting for justice in her neighborhood, she may also have a little time for a policeman she admires, a certain Detective Weber,who's separated from his wife. Distinctive, vividly written characters lift this promising debut. Readers will be eager for the sequel. Agent: Evan Marshall, Evan Marshall Agency. (June) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Library Journal Review
After taking a bullet in a tragic incident while on the Chicago PD, Cass Raines recovers, resigns, and sets up shop as a private detective. Two years later, she is successful but has unresolved issues with the incident and one of the officers involved. After her beloved mentor and a young man die in an apparent murder/suicide, Cass needs to learn the truth, calling on her former partner and others for help. Clark is preparing the stage for more entries in a series with her Chicago setting and characters that include members of the police department, Cass's long-lost father, and down-on-their-luck felons. There is nothing new about the plot, but the spirited Cass is a likable heroine in a genre that is slim on African American protagonists, especially women. The story line meanders a bit, but the ending will have listeners on the edge of their seats. Karen Chilton is excellent as the understated Cass. VERDICT This debut is a solid character-driven mystery with a sense of place. Recommend to fans of Sara Paretsky, Marcia Muller, Rachel Howzell Hall, and the incomparable Sue Grafton. ["Clark's compelling, suspenseful, and action-packed debut introduces a dogged, tough African American woman investigator who is complex and courageous and surrounded by a family of fascinating misfits": LJ 6/1/18 starred review of the Kensington pb.]-Sandra C. Clariday, Cleveland, TN © Copyright 2018. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Nothing can deflect a private investigator from finding the killer of her surrogate father.Cass Raines was a cop until she and her partner, Detective Ben Mickerson, were almost killed in an incident they had under control until James Farraday, a glory-seeking cop with a lot of clout in the Chicago PD, rushed in and precipitated a gunfight. Raised by her grandparents after her mother died and her father took off, Cass was one of the few African-American women on the force, and she has no tolerance for bullshit. After leaving the force, she hung out her shingle as a private eye. Still wracked with guilt over her inability to prevent Farraday from killing a kid who was about to surrender, she happily works small cases for small money. When Father Raymond Heaton, whom Cass calls Pop, and a gangbanger are found shot dead in St. Brendan's Church and Farraday catches the case, Cass is determined to find the truth instead of accepting Farraday's pat answer that Pop killed the kid in a struggle and then killed himself out of guilt. Pop, an activist priest who supported righteous people and causes, had made quite a few enemies but was always giving second chances to even the worst of them. Although his housekeeper, Thea Bey, is no gossip, she gives Cass the names of several people she knows have recently tangled with Pop. Ben Mickerson, who's also on the case, warns Cass to leave it to the police and then passes her information that may help her. Her search takes her deep into gang territory and off on a wild chase after a mentally disturbed homeless man she believes witnessed the murders. She knows she's getting close when she becomes a target of the killer, but will she survive to solve the mystery?Clark's kickoff to an exciting new character-driven series explores the dynamics between a black investigator and a white world in a story ripped from the headlines. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
