Patricia Raybon

It is no secret that I love historical books and suspense stories, too. This is the perfect blend that satisfies my mystery loving heart.
In this well-crafted book, Annalee Spain is savvy and smart but humble and full of faith. This story set, in 1924 Denver, Colorado, is full of the cultural mix of black and white and the clashes and harmony that occurred.
I love the quotes by Shelock Holmes at the beginning of each chapter. I love that Annalee is a Professor of Theology and is well read in literature, too. And I love that she sees her calling as a detective in order to help the ones who have no voice. Annalee seeks the will of God and knows He has the answers. Hard things may come her way but she has loyal friends from all walks of life. She treats all people with respect. She has the support of a pretty nice pastor boyfriend, too!
This is a fantastic story that takes a look at what life was like in 1924 Denver. Hope there are more stories in this series.
* I received a complimentary copy of this book from Tyndale via NetGalley. All opinions are mine alone.* .… (más)

The mother seems to think that because her daughter was raised in a Christian family, that automatically made her a Christian. Even referring to her as "my christian daughter who is a Muslim" which doesn't make any sense. She doesn't recognize that one's family or traditions can't make a person a Christian - only a personal surrender to Jesus as Lord can.

The daughter also doesn't understand Christianity, claiming that she "had always been a Christian." She wants her mom to be happy for her trying to follow God and finding peace in Islam, not acknowledging that of course her mom can't be happy, because by her own Christian understanding, her daughter is not following the true God.

They both take things too personally and have unreasonable expectations of one another.

I just wouldn't have reacted the same way in many of the situations they mention and so I couldn't always relate.

Some of the writing was a bit too flowery and "writerly" for my taste.

Overall, though, it was good to read of other perspectives and get a glimpse into their thought processes. There is some personal growth present in both of their lives as the book goes on.… (más)

I’m a fan of mysteries and really liked the idea of a Christian mystery story set in the 1920s. And the prologue was great, ending with such a bang, I was excited to keep going! Sadly, the rest of the book didn’t really hold up to the thrilling start. One of the biggest issues I had was with the protagonist herself. A young, black woman in a nation dominated by white men, Annalee had all the makings of a smart, compassionate, innovative sleuth. Except she told herself, while trying to solve the crime, to stop trying to solve it and let it solve itself…which is exactly what you want from the main character in a murder mystery.

There’s a romance sub-plot in this book, too, which fell pretty flat for me. For one thing, there was mention about falling in love after Annalee and Jack only knew each other for a day or two. There was also a cliched contrivance to push the romance forward, which seemed unnecessary. And I think they weren’t nearly as concerned about perceived propriety as they should have been for multiple reasons, not the least of which is the fact that he’s a pastor, living in the church’s parsonage.

What tipped the scale to the rating I gave is that some things happened in the story that didn’t really make a lot of sense and weren’t explained. One character shows up somewhere in a fairly bizarre scene, and for a while, I suspected she might simply be a figment of Annalee’s imagination. It’s partially explained, but not nearly enough, in my opinion. This looks to be the beginning of a series of books with this MC, and I really wanted to be right there at the start of it. However, while I’m sure many who enjoy mysteries and Christian fiction will like this book, it definitely isn’t for me.

Thank you to Netgalley and Tyndale House Publishers for providing me a copy of this book to review.… (más)