Fall

Clark's second Detective Harriet Foster title (after Hide) provides a compelling plot as well as significant character growth. Marin Shaw's release from prison draws attention from all sides--from the press, from her family, and from the other Chicago aldermen who let her take the fall for their corruption. For three years Shaw has stayed silent, claiming that all she wants is to fade into anonymity with her daughter, Zoe. Meanwhile, detectives Harri Foster and Vera Li are assigned to the murder of an alderman--one of Shaw's coconspirators. They sift through the evidence, trying to separate fact from fiction, and face their own struggles as women of color in a predominantly male profession. Foster also continues to have doubts about the recent suicide of her former partner. As new information about what her partner was working on comes to light, she must decide whom she can trust on both cases. VERDICT The lead detectives are new to each other and building trust, and readers will become invested in the fragile bond they currently have, as well as the mystery surrounding Foster and her former partner.--Jen Funk

Life goes on, and so does violent death, with equal penetration into the most exalted regions of Det. Harriet Foster's Chicago. Caught with her hand in the cookie jar, Marin Shaw put her head down and took her punishment without rolling over on any of the equally deserving members of the city council. Now released after serving three years, she looks forward to spending more time with Charlotte Moore as her friend and not her lawyer, two roles Moore keeps toggling between, and to mending fences with her family. Shaw's husband, real estate developer Will Barrett, is so resentful of her notoriety that he's probably beyond her reach, but she's hopeful that their 13-year-old daughter, Zoe, isn't. Unfortunately, the real problem is with Shaw's dirty work family: aldermen Deanna Leonard, George Valdez, Sylissa Franklin, and John "Cubby" Meehan, whose constant threats of exposure keep the others in line. Shaw promises Meehan once more that she's not about to blow the whistle on anybody, but that doesn't stop someone from declaring open season on her colleagues, killing them off and leaving each victim with $3.00 in dimes--30 pieces of silver. Foster, who's dealing with phone calls threatening her family if she doesn't cross over to the dark side, and her new partner, Det. Vera Li, naturally suspect Shaw of the murders, but she swears that this time she's innocent. Joined by members of their own professional family, they ask who could have produced so much evidence that incriminates Shaw, and why they would've wanted the only person who's copped to corruption to suffer still further. Another worm's-eye view of the city, short on surprises but marinated in savory civic misdeeds. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.