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Patricia Raybon joins us for the very first time on the podcast, though she isn't a new author. We discuss her latest release, Truth Be Told, if writing a mystery is hard for her, what she'd like readers to take from the book, and what makes a good mystery. Patrons will find out what her current favorite movie is and why.

Truth Be Told by Patricia Raybon

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 Secret
• Third installment in the Annalee Spain series
• Includes discussion questions for book groups

Get your copy of Truth Be Told by Patricia Raybon.

Christy Award winner Patricia Raybon was reared near Denver, Colorado under big sky, bright sunshine, and the humbling mystery of Christ. A newspaper journalist who turned to historical fiction, she authors devotional writing for Our Daily Bread and writes the Annalee Spain Mystery series set in Colorado's dangerous 1920s Klan era.

Visit Patricia's website.

Christian Historical Fiction Talk is listener supported. When you buy things through this site, we may earn an affiliate commission.

Become a patron and enjoy special perks and bonus content.

Jennifer Mistmorgan joins us all the way from Australia to discuss her WWII novel, The Mapmaker's Secret. We discuss what inspired the book, why she is so passionate about WWII, and what her unique hobby is. Patrons will hear about her wonderful, quirky little dog.

The Mapmaker's Secret by Jennifer Mistmorgan

May 1943, Lincolnshire, England: Grace Deroy’s family estate is requisitioned by the Air Ministry, so she takes a job in the new cartography facility to protect what used to be her home, a small cog in the vast machinery of war. When the new American intelligence officer Jack Marsden arrives, she has no idea he’s been sent to spy on her.

Jack has little experience with espionage, but his real task is simple enough: get close to Grace and find out whether she’s leaking Air Ministry secrets to the enemy. It should be a dream assignment, but Jack finds himself tongue tied and awkward every time he comes in contact with his target––a sure sign he’s falling in love.

Grace isn’t the Nazi sympathizer that MI5 suspects, but that doesn’t mean she’s got nothing to hide. When compromising stories about her appear in the press, Grace fears someone she trusts––someone working in her own home––is trying to expose her. Can she find out who before all the shameful secrets from her past are laid bare? And can she trust this quiet new American to help her work out who the real traitor is?

Get The Mapmaker's Secret by Jennifer Mistmorgan.

Get Book 1 of "On Victory's Wings" series, Heart in the Clouds.

Australian author Jennifer Mistmorgan sometimes feels like she was born in the wrong era. So she writes romantic historical fiction set in the 1940s, against the backdrop of WWII and its aftermath. She infuses her sweet romances with wartime drama, gentle faith and a dash of intrigue. She lives in Canberra with her family and a wonky-eared West Highland terrier.

Visit Jennifer Mistmorgan's website.

Christian Historical Fiction Talk is listener supported. When you buy things through this site, we may earn an affiliate commission.

Become a patron and enjoy special perks and bonus content.

Kim Sawyer returns to the podcast this week to talk about her new book, The Songbird of Hope Hill. We discuss how she creates such fascinating characters, what led her to writ this book, and her love of renovating old houses. Be sure to listen to the end for a huge announcement from Kim!!! Patrons will hear about her most treasured antique find.

The Songbird of Hope Hill by Kim Sawyer

A young woman sings of God’s love—even if she doesn’t believe He can forgive her—in this heartwarming novel inspired by historical events, from the bestselling author of A Tapestry of Grace.

“An unforgettable story of God’s grace and redemption.”—Kathleen Y’Barbo, author of The Black Midnight

Driven by survival to a life at a house of ill repute, Birdie Clarkson now longs only for escape. So when Reverend Isaiah Overly and his son, Ephraim, appear and offer a better life, she jumps at the chance. Ignoring the furious raging of the madam, Birdie climbs into the back of the preacher’s wagon.

The men take her to Hope Hill, the haven the reverend and his wife, Ophelia, founded so women like Birdie can be taught skills to help them rise above their pasts. Soon a resistant Birdie finds herself singing in the choir Ephraim leads at revival meetings, even though she’s certain she’s the last person who should be representing God.

Reverend Overly teaches that no one is irredeemable, but even as Ephraim is falling in love with her, Birdie remains convinced that she’s past saving. After all she’s been through, can she ever believe that God’s redemption wipes every soul clean? And can Ephraim convince her that God loves her more than she can grasp—and that he does, too?

Get your copy of The Songbird of Hope Hill by Kim Sawyer.

Kim Vogel Sawyer grew up in Kansas. All over Kansas. Her dad, an educator by vocation and a house fixer-upper by design, had itchy feet. Consequently, Kim attended seven different schools in five cities before graduating from high school.

Although Kim dreamed of being a writer from her earliest memories—even recalls telling her kindergarten teacher that people would check out her book in libraries someday!—she chose to become an elementary school teacher. She used her degree first in an in-home daycare/preschool, then as a home visitor with Head Start, and finally in a fifth grade classroom. Kim loved the kids, but health challenges (a variety of auto-immune disorders) made it difficult to keep up the pace of full-time teaching.

In 2001, she dropped to part-time status and began using the morning hours at home to write. The characters and stories that had lived in the back of her brain for years found their way from her fingertips onto a computer screen. She made a promise: to never write anything that would embarrass her mother or to write anything she would be embarrassed for her daughters or former students to read.

When Kim isn’t writing, she enjoys traveling with her retired military hubby, quilting, antique-shopping, and spoiling her quiverful of granddarlings who are the joys of her life. She likes them even more than chocolate, and that’s saying something.

Visit Kim Sawyer's website.