Double the Lies

By Patricia Raybon

Book Overview

Winner of the Christianity Today Book Award for Fiction

In the spring of 1924, amateur detective Annalee Spain races the clock to solve the murder of a young trick pilot before she's framed for the crime by the ruthless Colorado Klan.

As this second installment of Patricia Raybon's award-winning historical mystery series opens, Annalee Spain offers her fancy lace handkerchief―a gift from her complicated pastor boyfriend, Jack Blake―to a young woman crying in a Denver public library. But later that night, when police find the handkerchief next to the body of the young woman's murdered husband, Annalee becomes the number one suspect, and her panic doubles when she learns that Jack has gone missing.

With just days to solve the murder before the city's Klan-run police frame her for the crime, Annalee finds herself hunting for clues in the Colorado mountain town of Estes Park. She questions the victim's wife and her uncle, a wealthy Denver banker, at their mountain lodge, desperate for leads. Instead, she finds a household full of suspects and even more burning questions. Who keeps threatening her, why can't she find Jack, and will a dangerous flirtation be her undoing? Her answers plumb the depths of the human heart, including her own, exploring long-buried secrets, family lies, even city politics―all of which could cost the young detective her fledgling love . . . and perhaps even her life.

A suspenseful historical fiction novel with a resourceful heroineThe sequel to All That is SecretFeatures a glamorous 1920s settingIncludes discussion questions for book clubs"A fast-moving mystery....This mix of history and intrigue will captivate readers." ― Publishers Weekly

"A well-paced gripping story tailor-made for mystery lovers." ― Christianity Today

" An] engrossing plot...is driven by its first-rate heroine....She's surrounded by a diverse and surprising team of helpers and an array of suspects who ensure that the killer's identity stays secret until the end." ― Foreword Reviews

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1496458435
• ISBN13: 9781496458438
• Release Date: February 2023
• Publisher: Tyndale Fiction
• Length: 416 Pages
• Weight: 0.80 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 5.5" x 8.2"

Customer Reviews

Patricia Raybon's bk2 in the Annalee Spain mysteries is awesome!!

This is a review of a great book called "Double the Lies" by Patricia Raybon that will be released on February 7, 2023. It is the sequel to her previous amazing book "All that is Secret", and you really should read that book to understand the story and history of this book. This is a mystery, and I really enjoyed this story so much that I read it in 2 days, because I couldn't put it down! It was so exciting, and I kept turning the pages because I had to see what happened! The author is a Sherlock Holmes fan, and each chapter started with a quote from one of his stories, and it really set the stage for the chapter. I learned some events in history that i didnt know about, plus got a small glimpse of what life was like for a you, African American in Colorado, a free state & after slavery had been abolished, because the story takes place in the 1920's, and how hard it was if you weren't white! It made me sad!! I rate this 5 out of 5 and I highly recommend you read it! It is unpredictable, exciting, and an incredible story that keeps you guessing, and as the climax came, I was completely blown away by who had done it! What a great mystery!!! The story begins with Annalee Spain, a young African American woman, who left a life as a professor to move to Denver, Colorado to solve her father's murder in the first book, and decides to become a detective, and ends up being asked to on another case of murder that she literally stumbled upon after helping a woman named Rebekah, who she met at the public library, who was crying her eyes out because she and her husband had a fight. Annalee sees her crying, introduces herself, offers to help comfort her, walks her home, and as they walk thru this lady's door, there is her husband dead on the floor. Annalee decides to use her skills to help this lady find out who murdered hee husband, but doesn't bargain on being accused of the murder herself, but that's exactly what happens! This story takes place in a time when racism was rampant in our nation in the 1920s, and so Annalee has to follow the rules and laws of society which is dangerous for her, but she is not the only one interested in finding Rebekah's husband, and she is secretly contacted by Sargent Ames, a policeman, who know Annalee's reputation for solving murders, and tell her that she must clandestinely help him solve this, because some of his colleagues in the police force are on the payroll of the KKK, and would like to see Annalee go down for this murder because Rebekah told the police Annalee was with her when they found her husband's body. So Annalee is forced to find this killer or be charged with the murder herself. She accepts the challenge, and will follow a rocky road, with many dangers along the way, but she will be helped by a few old friends, and meet some new ones, but you'll have to read it to find out what happens! Like I said, this was a great mystery, and you will understand it more if you read book 1, "All that is Secret", but I really enjoyed this story a lot!! I couldn't figure out who murdered the guy till it was revealed at the end, and that's the kind of mystery I enjoy, and this was definitely one of those mysteries! I really liked how the character Annalee was not going to let the rules of society, nor the racism due to her skin color, stop her from doing what she felt she was called to do, which was be a detective! She obeyed the laws, but during that time the laws were so unfair to minorities, and when many didnt see Annalee as a person, but judged her by her skin color, all those struggles didn't stop her one bit! I also liked how Annalee didn't use underhanded methods or unlawful methods to solve the crime, and how she relied on the Lord for guidance, and how there were also people in the story who became her friends & helped her solve the case, and they did that because of who she was, not because of her skin color! I thought Annalee's character was very brave, courageous, intelligent, a