Truth be Told

Author: Patricia Raybon
Genre: Historical Mystery
Series: Annalee Spain Mystery #3
Pages: 416
Release Date: June 11, 2024
Publisher: Tyndale House Publishers

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.

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Reviewer: Rebecca Maney

"A lady! She's dead!"

Sure enough, while Cooper Coates' guests are being entertained with food and drink on the lawn of his Five Points mansion, the voice of his daughter Melody heralds the sort of alarm that no one expects to hear at such a swanky event: a lovely young woman's dead body has been discovered in the corner of the potting shed. Who is she, how did she die, and, most importantly, why is she dead? Annalee Spain, a party guest, immediately morphs into detective mode, noticing something that looks remarkably out of place: a gorgeous red, streaked with fuchsia, rose bud clasped in the deceased's hand.

"Somebody lured her, and used her, and stole her life, and tried to pretty it up with a covering of flowers."

As most murder investigations are prone to do, it takes a team of people and a wealth of information to untangle the truth. With the help of the good Lord above, a mighty fine pastor that Annalee is pretty sure represents her future, a posse of church women who are as loyal and helpful as any detective could ask for, and an energetic teen named Eddie whose eagerness is unmatched, Annalee is equipped to sniff out any and every crumb of information that comes her way. What is really going on? Is she way in over her head? And why won't her garden grow? There are life lessons in that dirt! The truth is just begging to be told.

Talk about putting my nose in a book! Once acclimating back into the setting and its characters, there was no slowing down around the curves, much less tapping the brakes. With her uncanny ability to pull clues in and out of thin air, the author delights her readers by including them in every aspect of the chase to find a dangerous, elusive killer who just might be hiding in plain sight, or not! An outstanding historical mystery!

"Because with murder, things get worse before they get better."

I received a copy of this book from the publisher through Interviews and Reviews. I also purchased a copy. The opinions stated above are entirely my own.

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Reviewer: Elizabeth Eckmeyer

This page-turning mystery is absolutely not to be missed! Annalee is a detective for hire and attends a party where a young girl is found murdered. Annalee immediately throws herself into the case, and one thing after the other, happens to find the killer. 

This story is so real and addresses historical issues that America can't forget. The treatment of black citizens in the 1920s was beyond horrific. Somehow, they woke up each day and lived the best life they could, even in an unfair society. 

The characters in this story worked so well with one another and brought the story to life. This story was an absolute page-turner. I didn't want to put the book down! I am definitely going to be looking into more stories from this author. 

I received a complimentary copy courtesy of Tyndale House Publishers through Interviews & Reviews for my honest opinion.

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