Chicago in the dead of winter can be brutal, especially when you’re scouring the frigid streets for a missing girl. Fifteen-year-old Ramona Titus has run away from her foster home. Her biological mother, Leesa Evans, is a recovering addict who admits she failed Ramona often in the past. But now she’s clean. And she’s determined to make up for her mistakes—if Cass can only help her find her daughter.

Cass visits Ramona’s foster mother, Deloris Poole, who is also desperate to bring the girl home. Ramona came to Deloris six months ago, angry and distrustful, but was slowly opening up. The police are on the search, but Cass has sources closer to the streets, and a network of savvy allies. Yet it seems Ramona doesn’t want to be found. And Cass soon begins to understand why.

Ramona is holding secrets dark enough to kill for, and anyone who helps her may be fair game. And if Ramona can’t run fast enough and hide well enough to keep the truth safe, she and Cass may both be out of time.

Review:

Gritty, engaging, and propulsive!

In this engrossing fourth instalment in the Cass Raines series, Runner, Clark has written a fast-paced thrill ride that takes us into the life of the tenacious PI Cassandra Raines as she takes on a new case to find a fifteen-year-old foster care runaway who seems to have a lot of concerned people out on the icy Chicago streets looking for her, but as clues start to surface, and motivations don’t seem to be quite as altruistic as they first appeared, it will quickly become a race against time to find and protect Ramona from those who supposedly care.

The writing is tight and intense. The characters are raw, vulnerable, and resourceful. And the plot unravels quickly into a suspenseful mix of twists, turns, manipulation, familial drama, lies, secrets, corruption, coercion, violence, and murder.

Overall, Runner is a fast-paced, tortuous, complex tale by Clark that does an exceptional job of reminding us that money and greed can easily sway perspective and is, in fact, often the root of all evil.

This book is available now.

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