All That Is Secret - A Review

All That Is Secret

by
Patricia Raybon

A Review

“Because our gathering this morning,
my sisters and brothers, isn’t so much
about us —and why we’ve come here
—wearing our nice
clothes and our fancy
hats and our new shoes —”

...

“Instead,” Jack added, “we gather in this place
—this holy place—
to worship and praise our God.
So draw in the wanderings of your minds,
 turning from your concerns and worries,
and let’s turn our attentions solely on him.”

Yes! YEs! YES! Patricia Raybon has created a great piece of historical fiction that leaves the reader primed for more volumes in this series. Maybe not from the first line (as per the back cover) but certainly from the first page “readers will be hooked.” From the moment that Joe Spain finds the baby left on the frozen ground on a ranch outside the city of Denver CO, it is clear that somebody is up to no good.

A year later, in 1923, Joe’s daughter arrives in Denver to discover the truth about her father’s death. The home of the second largest KKK chapter in the USA, Colorado becomes a hotbed of anti-black activity and politics. It is in this environment that Professor Annalee Spain, Joe’s daughter, finds herself looking for his story. With the help of the help of the local AME Pastor, Rev. Jack Robert Blake, an orphaned white lad, Eddie Brown Jr,, and a retired Denver DA, Colonel Sidney Castle, she would seek the answers she sought. The KKK makes its presence known, but they are not the enemy that Annalee is really fighting. Families and politics are far bigger problems - holding secrets that even the best of people do not want revealed.

Intense at times, the book is one the reader will not be able to put down. I spent more than one night staying up to get it read. I give the book five-stars.
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This review is based on a free electronic copy provided by the publisher for the purpose of creating this review. The opinions expressed are mine alone.

The Silver Shadow - A Review

The Silver Shadow

by

Liz Tolsma

A woman’s place was
in the home, raising children,
caring for her husband, keeping house.
She had no business out working a job,

thinking she didn’t need a man.

That was the thug’s motivation for attacking the women of Denver CO in the ending months of 1900 and the beginning of 1901. The problem was that it was not only his thoughts, but also those of the Denver Post’s editor, Joseph Ward, and at least one rising star of its newsroom, Harry Gray. And the only woman assigned to the newsroom, an attempt to show that an early 20th century employer could be inclusive, Polly Blythe, had to work in that environment.. It also appeared to be the attitude of the Denver Police Department’s Chief of Detectives, Hamilton Armstrong.

And if that was the case, why should anyone, police or otherwise, investigate the brutal attacks on 11+ women on the streets of Denver. The attacks involved the use of a lead or copper pipe hitting the women over the head - three died, the others were injured with varying degrees of physical damage. None were robbed; none were sexually assaulted. Altogether, it did make a good story - except many of the facts and people were taken from Denver’s historical record. Borrowing from that historical record, the author has done a surprising job of weaving a believable, faith-based, tale from the known facts of the era. The remarkable story concludes with a brief epilog describing the actual events that provided a foundation for the plot. The book provides fictional answers to many of the unanswered questions that remained from the actual events that took place in early 20th-century Denver.

In the present book, Polly Blythe and Denver Detective Edwin Price would be the two characters with enough gumption and curiosity to continue to follow the story - though many city leaders thought it a less than worthwhile task. Their work and the creativity of the author merit this five-star review.
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This review is based on a free electronic copy provided by the publisher for the purpose of creating this review. The opinions expressed are mine alone.