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A secret to kill for, and a truth to die for.

Jennica Ausdall enjoyed all the perks of being a wealthy widow in Chicago: an opulent home, lavish cars, and enough money to treat everyone around her like human garbage.

So, when she’s murdered in the parking lot of her son’s exclusive prep school, the list of suspects is long enough to paper over Wrigley Field. When Detective Shannon Rourke is called out to the scene, she catches a break. The murderer was careless. A series of clues clearly point to a specific person close to Jennica.

But after Shannon arrests her primary suspect, she begins to doubt her own evidence. Her open and shut case might go deeper than anyone is willing to believe.

Now, Shannon is left with a choice. She can go with the quiet, easy conviction, or risk the career she's given up everything for on the word of a lowlife two steps from a jail cell.

327 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 14, 2017

688 people are currently reading
252 people want to read

About the author

Stewart Matthews

21 books25 followers

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5 stars
219 (34%)
4 stars
222 (34%)
3 stars
138 (21%)
2 stars
51 (7%)
1 star
13 (2%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews
1,957 reviews9 followers
March 20, 2018
Shannon knows that she needs to get her life in order or else she will lose her job being a detective and that is all she really has except for her brother Michael. She is on a new case of a super rich mother been driven over in the school parking lot. It looks like a easy solve, the boyfriend did it simple if only. The more Shannon and her partner dig the more questions they have so how wanted Jennica dead? Can Shannon really find out the truth before everything turns against her. She has gotten her brother involved and she is scared that he will turn back to his old ways. She doesn't want to find him in the state that she did all those months ago but she knows that he can fall back in with the family and that can only mean bad things.
Michael knows that he has to be careful but he is stronger now and he needs to do this to help Shannon but things don't go well and he lands himself in trouble again. But will he go to Shannon for help or will he run?
Now that Shannon has found out who killed Jennica and why it makes more sense to her about their motives. She has solved the case but her brother is on the run and she has just kissed the one man that she has tried to avoid. A good solid read.
Profile Image for Melissa Dinwiddie.
268 reviews14 followers
December 4, 2017
Wow! An Emotionally Complex Page-Turner

Violent crime PD Shannon Rourke doesn’t always do the right thing. With a complicated family history (dad was in the Irish mob before committing suicide; brother got sucked in, too, and is now in recovery from heroin addiction; Uncle Ewan is still an Irish mob kingpin), doing the right thing is sometimes surprisingly hard.

What she does do is doggedly solve crimes. Even if she has to break a few laws here and there to make that happen.

As with the first book in this series, the plot is twisty, the characters rich and three-dimensional, and the dialogue snappy and real. This is good writing, folks!

Throw in a complicated relationship with her brother, who’s eager to get back into her good graces, and tension with her hottie coworker, and this series is nothing short of irresistible.

Watching Shannon wrestle with the tough decisions she deals with is part of what makes this series so compelling.

My only complaints are the usual grammatical errors I find—incorrect use of pronouns, as in: “every inch of space between he and they...” instead of: “between him and them...”
1,655 reviews1 follower
March 30, 2018
Even though this book was #2 in a series, I found it stood on it's own. It is a great story woven through the Irish Mafia and Chicago police. This story starts out fast with the murder of a wealthy widow socialite and imediately with the arrest of her boyfriend who had a fight with her the night before. As the story unwinds, the boyfriend proves his innocence and the search for the real killer begins. It is a very exciting and fast paced read.
Profile Image for Beverly Kay.
503 reviews10 followers
March 21, 2018
Explosive

Chicago Broken is the second Detective Shannon Rourke book of the Irish mob and their hand in the workings of Chicago.
It is written with a strong, warm hearted female detective that has had a rough life, but is on the side of the good guys.
Simply a great series of books!
Profile Image for michael pilgrim.
192 reviews2 followers
March 21, 2018
Real Chicago !

This story line had a real family touch! Two sibs trying to regain the harmony that existed in childhood, even though they lived in different worlds today! The cop had the persistence to keep up the chase, and solve the mysteries! She was ex-marine, which we know is an oxymoron! One a Marine, always a Marine! Very good read! Completely enjoyed by me!
39 reviews1 follower
April 2, 2018
I found this book very trying. There was so much superfluous dialogue and description, and the poor grammar (not a part of the dialogue) grated on me. Final solutions were not covered, and it left some parts of the story hanging as an enticement to read the next book. The characters weren’t compelling enough to make me concerned about their continuing story.
100 reviews3 followers
July 22, 2018
Good series

I'm hooked. Detective Shannon Rourke is an interesting and complex character haunted by the demons in her past, as is her brother, Michael. The books are well written and fast paced. This is the second book in the series and I liked it even more than the first. I look forward to reading the rest.
Profile Image for Barbara.
15 reviews
March 26, 2018
Interesting. At times suspenseful. I originally selected the book because I was interested in Chicago so I could relate to that part of the book. I wouldn’t classify this as a mystery, rather a novel.
289 reviews2 followers
April 7, 2018
Good read

I would have liked a little more completion on things like why Jamaica killed her husband and the story behind her murder. Seemed a little shallow but overall a good story.
Profile Image for See.
634 reviews4 followers
April 25, 2018
A good book with some turns you don't expect.

This book was not as good the first one in this series. It took a little longer to get the story going. It did hook me into the third book in the series in the last two chapters.
1,507 reviews7 followers
April 27, 2018
Chicago Broken

Love this series . This is the second in this series and may I say this one was better than the first book in the series. I cannot wait to read book three. I recommend this series.
Profile Image for Debra H. Wruble.
419 reviews8 followers
February 19, 2019
Strange and Suspenseful

Great idea and interesting storyline. Very imaginative and likeable characters and very entertaining. Siblings on opposite sides of the law working together to solve a murder.
Profile Image for Lee Gordon.
46 reviews1 follower
October 29, 2019
Loved it!

Using this winter to enjoy all the Chicago...books. Keep them coming! Tnen I'll enjoy the movie version. The Irish mob, complicated cops, flawed civilians and a dog. What more could I want?
Profile Image for Barbara L. Plummer.
8 reviews
June 13, 2017
Good Read

Hard to put the book down. Can't wait to read the next book. lots of twists and turns. keeps moving.
Profile Image for Stanley Price.
48 reviews
January 16, 2018
Excellent

Well written book about how things move in the Chicago Police Department. The characters keep you wondering what will happen next.
Profile Image for Shannon.
283 reviews4 followers
February 15, 2018
this so far is a good series. keeps me guessing. I like books like that
Profile Image for PWA Allen .
423 reviews6 followers
March 19, 2018
The 2nd book I've read by this author and I really enjoyed this one too. Twists and turns to keep you interested, murders, corruption, and alittle romance. Fast paced and interesting.
354 reviews3 followers
March 19, 2018
A great story

I enjoyed this book immensely, it was very entertaining and I read it one sitting. This author has great merit and I look forward to the next book.
189 reviews
March 22, 2018
Good easy detective reading

Liked the story plot and characters. Story was easy reading without taking so many twists and turns with the plot
220 reviews
March 23, 2018
It's ok

I think some writing styles don't cross the Atlantic so well. Sorry, but I won't be reading the next part of the story.
Profile Image for Edward Smith.
931 reviews14 followers
March 26, 2018
Story Broken

Too much of this book didn't ring true for me. It fell somewhere between cutesy and gritty never pulling me into the story.
48 reviews
April 2, 2018
Worst than the first book. Plot is even more unbelievable and I can't figure out where this guy gets his ideas for characters. I will not read #3
4,374 reviews28 followers
April 3, 2018
Good

the story is one about how the moffa in Chicago are so evil that they are constantly ruining people and families.
29 reviews
May 15, 2018
Brilliant

Will definitely try another one of these books. Haven't read one before and it was really good. Kept me gripped from the first page.
26 reviews
May 19, 2018
This books starts slow, picks up steam in the middle then ends with a thud.
165 reviews
June 2, 2018
A true thriller

Two detectives, a brother and a disfunctional crime family make for a riveting page turner. Love crime solving tales - then this is for you!
Profile Image for gwen graves.
1,227 reviews3 followers
January 8, 2020
Great

This is the second book in the series and though I liked the first one, this story was much better. Can’t wait to read more.
22 reviews
July 31, 2020
Continues not to finish the story. Makes you buy another book. Second book better than first. Maybe by the third book h will start to become readable. So far very disappointing on many levels.
Profile Image for Monta.
533 reviews11 followers
January 2, 2021
This is one of those bookbub books that I thought might be interesting...and maybe it was? Totally forgetable, and I don't remember anything about it.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews

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