Broken Places Lib/E: (1 Chicago Mystery Series Lib/E)

Former cop Cass Raines has found the world of private investigation a less stressful way to eke out a living in the Windy City. But when she stumbles across the dead body of a respected member of the community, it's up to her to prove a murderer is on the loose . . . Cops can make mistakes, even when they're not rookies. If anyone knows that it's Cass Raines, who took a bullet two years ago after an incompetent colleague screwed up a tense confrontation with an armed suspect. Deeply traumatized by the incident, Cass resigned from the Chicago PD, leaving one less female African-American on the force. Now she's the head of a one-woman private investigation agency, taking on just enough work to pay the bills. She spends the rest of her time keeping an eye on the tenants in her little Hyde Park apartment building, biking along the lakefront, and playing chess with the only father figure she's ever known, Father Ray Heaton. When Father Ray asks Cass to look into a recent spate of vandalism at his church, she readily agrees to handle the case. But only hours later she's horrified to discover his murdered body in the church confessional, a dead gangbanger sprawled out nearby. She knew Pop, as she called him, had ticked off plenty of people, from slumlords to drug dealers and even some parishioners and politicians, with his uncompromising defense of the downtrodden. But a late-night random theft doesn't seem like much of a motive at a cash-strapped parish like Saint Brendan's. The lead detective assigned to the case is all too ready to dismiss it as an interrupted burglary gone awry, just another statistic in a violent city. But Cass's instincts tell her otherwise, and badge or no badge, she intends to see justice done . . .

About the Author :
Tracy Clark is the author of four novels in the Chicago Mystery series and three novels in the Detective Harriet Foster series. Broken Places was shortlisted for the American Library Association's RUSA Reading List and named a CrimeReads Best New PI Book of 2018, a Midwest Connections Pick, and a Library Journal Best Book of the Year. She received the 2020 and 2022 G. P. Putnam's Sons Sue Grafton Memorial Award. A Chicago native, she works as an editor in the challenging newspaper business. She is a proud member of Crime Writers of Color, Mystery Writers of America, and Sisters in Crime, and she sits on the boards of Bouchercon National and the Midwest Mystery Conference. Find her on Facebook (https: //facebook.com/tclarkbooks), Twitter (@tracypc6161), Instagram (@tpclark2000), or her website (https: //tracyclarkbooks.com). Karen Chilton is a New York-based actor and writer and an accomplished voice-over artist and narrator. She has narrated dozens of audiobooks, won three AudioFile Earphones Awards, and in 2020 won the prestigious Audie Award for Best Nonfiction Narration. Her voice can be heard on numerous national network television, radio, and Internet advertising campaigns. Shari Peele is an audiobook narrator whose readings include In the Doctor's Bed by Brenda Jackson, Man Enough for Me by Rhonda Bowen, When I Get Where I'm Going by Cheryl Robinson, and Give Me Fever by Niobia Bryant.

Review :

"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."

"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."

"Distinctive, vividly written characters lift this promising debut. Readers will be eager for the sequel."

"The first book in the new Chicago Mystery series is chock full of eccentric characters and a fierce PI who demands answers...The streets of Chicago provide enough fodder for a intense page-turning adventure."