Truth Be Told

By Patricia Raybon

Book Overview

"... M]ystery novels that incorporate religion in a significant way aren't all that common. Thankfully, the inspiring Patricia Raybon, a veteran nonfiction writer and novelist, has been threading the needle in just the right way with her Annalee Spain series, set in 1920s Denver." Sarah Weinman, The New York Times

Denver's newest detective. A garden's deadly secrets.

On a lovely June night in 1924, amateur detective Annalee Spain is mingling bravely at a high-class political fundraiser in the lush backyard garden of famed political fixer Cooper Coates, one of the wealthiest men in Denver's Black neighborhood of Five Points. When Coates's young daughter discovers a pretty stranger dead in her father's garden shed, Annalee is thrust onto the baffling new case just as she's reeling from another recent discovery--a handwritten letter, found buried in her own garden, that reveals the identity of her mother.

Not ready to face the truth about her hidden past, Annalee throws herself into solving the mystery of the young woman's demise. With the help of her pastor boyfriend Jack Blake, her orphaned buddy Eddie, and her trustworthy church friends, Annalee follows the clues to three seemingly disconnected settings--a traveling carnival set up downtown, a Black civic club, and a prestigious white seminary on the outskirts of Denver. Intriguing advice also comes from a famous, real-life Denver visitor. But is Annalee on the right track or just running in circles, fleeing from conflicts racing in her heart?

In a taut, heart-gripping narrative driven by secrets, romance, and lies, Annalee must unravel a case with higher stakes than she imagined--one where answers about a lovely woman's death point to truths and tensions still throbbing today.

A clean historical mystery featuring an amateur female detective, from the Christy Award-winning author of All That Is SecretThird installment in the Annalee Spain seriesIncludes discussion questions for book groups

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1496458486
• ISBN13: 9781496458483
• Release Date: June 2024
• Publisher: Tyndale Fiction
• Length: 416 Pages
• Weight: 0.80 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 5.5" x 8.1"

Customer Reviews

Page-turning historical fiction of faith and race

Thanks to NetGalley and Tyndale House Publishers for a digital advance reader's copy. All comments and opinions are my own. This is the third in the Annalee Spain Mystery series, and I have read the other two. You could easily start with this one. But you’ll also want to go back and read the first two because they’re all great, as “Raybon writes at the daring intersection of faith and race.” The murder mysteries feature Annalee Spain, a young Black woman in the racially hostile environment of 1920s Denver, CO. She tries to fight crime and solve murders “because victims deserve it.” She feels responsible to expose “misadventures so wronged people wouldn’t be simply dead and gone, and then forgotten.” In addition to a variety of expressive characters that help to create the circumstances with realistic emotions, award-winning author Raybon delivers a well-researched historical setting that made me feel I was right in the middle of 1920s Denver. The racial tension reminded me of “The Invention of Wings” and “The Help,” even though all three novels take place in different time periods. In this novel each chapter begins with a quote from Sherlock Holmes, Annalee’s role model. And the themes of flowers and missing mothers are woven into the story along with secrets, romance, and lies. One aspect that takes this mystery a notch above is the theme of faith. Many of the characters have an authentic spiritual belief that brings a satisfying depth to the story. This was a real page-turner for me, and I was sorry when the story came to an end. I’m looking forward to Annalee’s next adventure.