By 
Rachel Alexander and her dog Dashiell are a team of private detectives. Yes, Dashiell is a very important part of Rachel’s job. Most of us who have dogs realize how much a part of our lives they are and treat them like the “children” they are to us. When businessman Garner Redstone is pushed from the platform to the front of a subway train to his death, Rachel receives a call from Redstone’s daughter asking her to find out who committed this terrible act. It seems there were some homeless people among those standing on the subway platform and could they have pushed Redstone? They were suspected and accused by many on the platform.
Watching a large fire break out among a group of people, some of whom are homeless people who had lived in the burning building, Rachel wonders who could have started such a fire and taken so many people out of a living area. Seeing all the homeless people, she decided that the best way to get information about this murder was to go underground and become homeless herself. Using “Eunice” as her name for the homeless and “Lookout” for Dashiell, she began touring the homeless areas near where the fire occurred. She was accepted by a few but rejected by the majority. Eunice didn’t have the looks or movements of a tramp. She had to learn, and fast! Some of the homeless people took her under her wing and trusted her.
Rachel was in and out of the underground life as she tried to find the stories of those on the subway platform at the time of the murder. With her wife’s knowledge, she took an undercover job at the exclusive store owned by the deceased and his wife. This store catered only to the upper class sector selling ultra special designer jackets, coats, bags and dog coats! Rachel went through the files of all current and former employees trying to find someone who had a reason to kill Garner Redstone. Her investigation led her to various employees and others who had a reason to kill Redstone. Rachel made several trips to interview most of the people who could be suspected killers, including some homeless people.
Rachel had friends at the police department who got her information that she couldn’t find on her own. Dashiell was the talk and attention of everyone he met, but she didn’t like some of those she met and she let them know even though she wouldn’t hurt them.
The Hard Way is a very good suspenseful read and has some humor to lighten things up along the way. Rachel learns how extremely difficult it is for the homeless in their daily attempt to exist. She ends up helping some of them in different ways. She has many surprises along the way, including the ending as she concludes the murder. A good read.