Book cover of Broken Places

Book description

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…

When you buy books, we may earn a commission that helps keep our lights on (or join the rebellion as a member).

Why read it?

2 authors picked Broken Places as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

This book takes place in the windy city of Chicago and Clark is adept at making you feel like you are right there in the midst of the fast-paced, gritty city as you read.

The plotting helps by kicking off with a bang – a priest and a gang member found dead in church. Questions abound. But what really kept me turning the pages of this book (or technically swiping since I read it on my Kindle) was Cass Raines, retired cop turned PI.

Her last case on the police force left her reeling and she struggling to deal with…

From K.D.'s list on big city private eyes.

Tracy Clark’s reference to Hegewisch, the unheralded blue-collar Chicago neighborhood where I grew up, means that she knows her city well.

Add to that, her complex and fast-paced story featuring her sassy, smart protagonist Cass Raines in a debut novel confirms her talent as an author who knows how to fashion an engrossing mystery that gets the details right.

Not just about inner-city crime, but also about the Chicago Police Department that Cass once was a member of and the enduring pain of a child who watches her mother die of cancer and her father walk out of her life.…

From Patricia's list on protagonists who are haunted by the past.

If you love Broken Places...

Book cover of December on 5C4

December on 5C4 by Adam Strassberg,

Magical realism meets the magic of Christmas in this mix of Jewish, New Testament, and Santa stories–all reenacted in an urban psychiatric hospital!

On locked ward 5C4, Josh, a patient with many similarities to Jesus, is hospitalized concurrently with Nick, a patient with many similarities to Santa. The two argue…

Want books like Broken Places?

Our community of 12,000+ authors has personally recommended 39 books like Broken Places.

Browse books like Broken Places

Book cover of The Watchman
Book cover of Fast Track
Book cover of The Streel

Share your top 3 reads of 2025!

And get a beautiful page showing off your 3 favorite reads.

1,299

readers submitted
so far, will you?

📚 If you like Broken Places, you might also like...

Book cover of Karl's War

Karl's War by Neil Spark,

Karl's War is a coming-of-age-meets-thriller set in Germany on the eve of Hitler coming to power. Karl – a reluctant poster boy for the Nazis – meets Jewish Ben and his world is up-turned.

Ben and his family flee to France. Karl joins the German army but deserts and finds…

Book cover of Girl in the Ashes

Girl in the Ashes by Douglas Weissman,

Odette Lefebvre is a serial killer stalking the shadows of Nazi-occupied Paris and must confront both the evils of those she murders and the darkness of her own past.

This young woman's childhood trauma shapes her complex journey through World War II France, where she walks a razor's edge…

5 book lists we think you will like!