Patricia Raybon—Writing at the Intersection of Faith and Race

On a cold spring night in 1924, Annalee Spain offers her new fancy lace handkerchief—a gift from her 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 snowy 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 and prayers plumb the depths of the human heart, including her own, exploring long-buried secrets, family lies, and the nature of deceit—all of which could cost the young detective her fledgling love . . . and perhaps even her life.