I received this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. A different read for me, but very enjoyable. A good mix of crime story and historical romance. I do enjoy Miss Wylde. She is feisty and fiercely independent. I think this is a great start to this series.

An easy read, a love story, a mysterious bad guy, some detective work, and the Chicago World’s Fair, all make for an enjoyable book.
Probably would not purchase for my church library.

The White City by Grace Hitchcock is a difficult book to review. While the story itself is interesting, the characters are very predictable and a little bit silly. The story centers around Winnifred Rose Wylde and her love for romantic novels and detective work. Starting to see the problem? After “Winnie” witnesses a kidnapping during the Chicago World’s Fair, she convinces her father to let her go undercover to find and rescue the kidnapped girl. Winnie’s father is the chief of Detectives for the Chicago police department. This is the part that leaves believability. No way in the realm of possibility would a young woman be allowed to undertake this type of adventure in the 1890’s. Throw in a romantic, gorgeous detective as Winnie’s bodyguard and an author who thinks the entire assignment is a great plot for his next novel. I really enjoyed the plot and found myself trying to get through the silliness just to find out how the story ends. I’m giving the book three stars because it really is a good story. However the author needs to be more realistic in developing her characters and making them believable.
I voluntarily received a copy of this book from Netgalley.

I was pleased to be able to read and review this book through Netgalley. This is Grace Hitchcock's first novel and it is wonderful. I will not give a synopsis in this review, you can read that elsewhere. I will give you my personal opinion.
I really enjoyed this book. It is based on true events but is a wholly fictional book. It is part love story and part mystery. It flows well and kept my interest through the book. It was a book that you want to not put down. The characters were well developed and interesting. It is a Christian book but not at all preachy. It does show what it means to have faith in God.
I did not enjoy the quotes at the beginning of each chapter but just didn't read them after the first few. I also wish the ending was a bit different but that's just me. The author did give the real ending in an after story pages. When I read that, it explained why the ending was as it is.
I give this book 5 out of 5 stars. I do recommend this if you like historical, Christian fiction and/or love stories and mysteries.

GraceHitchcock's The White City was an entertaining read. This was the first book I have read by Grace Hitchcock and I really enjoyed it. The White City takes place in Chicago during the World's Fair. When Winnifred Wylde thinks she sees a woman kidnapped at the World's Fair she rushes to tell her father what she has seen. Her father is Inspector Wylde and this is not the first wild goose chase she has sent the police department on. He does not send an investigator to look into the case. However, he knows that she is headstrong and will not stop investigating this "kidnapping". He assigns a detective to follow her "just in case". Winnifred is also a voracious reader and her aunt is trying to find a suitable match for Winnie to marry. Good read and I would recommend it.

I enjoyed this book; however... I was enjoying it a lot more before I started doing some research on the Chicago World's Fair. When the song, "The Sweetest Story Ever Told" was introduced into the story, I was puzzled. It's been one of my favorites for years but didn't realize it was that old, so I did a search to learn what year the big fair took place. One thing that came up was an article about how the Chicago World's Fair harbored a murderer and mentioned HH Holmes.

At this point, I realized that this book wasn't merely fiction, and it rather ruined the rest of the plot for me. I am a fan of historical fiction, so I'm thinking had I only realized that, in advance, it wouldn't have bothered me. That said, this is a great endeavor for a first novel. I did find grammatical and spelling errors that bothered me, but since it hasn't been published yet (a Net Galley read), I can hope that those will be remedied.

Moral of the story: read it first; THEN research the story! 😃

PS I did appreciate the fact that it was a clean read with many mentions of prayer and scriptures!

The White City by Grace Hitchcock is a very different novel that I am used to reading. Taking place in the late 1800's and inspired by true criminal events, I didn't know quite what I was getting into. But after many positive reviews and many marking it as To-Read, I thought I would take the plunge and was very pleased with this book.

First off, Winnie Wylde was an enjoyable heroine, full of spunk and imagination. She was a believable character and one that I could understand attracting the attention of various would-be-courters! And the secondary characters were almost great...Jude the detective, Percival the author, Danielle the silly friend, and HH Holmes (who was based on a real character). I found the setting top-notch, the dialogue sounded believable to the times, and the writing was definitely stellar.

My only complaints that kept it from being a 5-star was that it ran a little slow at times, the mystery aspects could have given a little more misdirection.

And for fun, try and count how many times Winnie blushes/face turns read throughout the course of the novel :)

I received this book free from Netgalley and publisher Barbour in exchange for an honest review.

What an adventure! I loved this. I am so happy to see a new series in the works, written by different authors, but all based in real history. And, SUPER excited to see Christian Fiction based on true crime.
Winnifred and Jude were just wonderful. Winnifred is a spunky and independent bookworm, daughter of a prominent Police Detective, determined (against the wishes of her Aunt Lillian and her father) that she shares more with her father's humble beginnings and dangerous work than with her Aunt's socialite society.
Jude is an intelligent and ambitious detective transferred from New York with his own secret agenda, but quickly finds himself fighting the distraction of the beautiful and charming Winnifred.
I loved their banter, I loved the mystery, and I enjoyed the historical research that obviously went into creating this story. I could almost taste and see the delights of the World's Fair.
This was such a good mystery. I did not know much about the history of the World's Fair murders, so this was all new to me, but I'm sure it would still be enjoyable for those with some knowledge of H.H. Holmes. The romance is sweet without being syrupy, and the addition of a rival certainly made it that much better. The plot kept me reading, and I would certainly read more of Jude & Winnifred if their story continues.

I enjoy books that are fiction based on fact. Here, the author created a book with romance, suspense and history that is well researched and well written. I’ll be eager to read more of her work as it’s released.

This book takes you on an intriguing adventure behind the scenes of Dr Holmes an infamous serial killer, following his activities during the 1893 World Fair. Get ready for suspense and a journey that will keep you turning the next page.
The only disappointment I had, was that the book ended before Mr. Holmes is taken into custody. More historical information is included at the very end of the book, however, I was anticipating Holmes capture by the end of the story.

The White City by Grace Hitchcock is a mystery story set during the Chicago World’s Fair of 1893. The World’s Fair and all its excitement has come to Chicago. Along with the displays and foods to try comes the inevitable rise in crime from pickpockets to more dangerous criminals preying on those enjoying their days at the fair. Winnifred Wylde, the daughter of Inspector Wylde observes a kidnapping in progress or least that is what she believes. He hurries to inform her father who is not convinced as she often believes a crime has been committed after reading the latest novel by Percy Valentine. While not convinced a crime has taken place, her father assigns his best detective to follow Winifred and protect her as he is sure she will try to get evidence. She quickly spots the detective and they decide to team up to solve the crime. Is there really a case to solve or is it Winifred’s very active imagination? Meanwhile her Aunt is trying to find her a husband as Winifred is almost an old maid at twenty. She is set up with Percival Covington who is the perfect match on paper but will he steal her heart? She is also wanting to uncover the mystery of who Percy Valentine really is. Will she be able to learn his true identity?
I enjoyed this book a great deal and anxiously await the next one. The characters were so realistic and did silly things, worried and forgot to pray like most of us do. The book is based on Christian principles but does not push Christianity onto every character or come across as preachy. The characters routinely read scripture, attend church services and pray, especially when in a bind. I give this book 5 of 5 stars and believe it will appeal to a wide audience. It has a bit of romance intertwined with the mystery as well as plenty of action to keep the reader’s attention. I found it difficult to put down and read it over two days.
I received an advance copy of this book through Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

The story is based on a real serial killer—H.H. Holmes—who terrorized Chicago at the time of the Chicago World’s Fair. Winnifred, the heroine, fancies herself an observer of mankind and voraciously reads romance novels written by her favorite author—Percy Vallentine. Jude, the hero and a perfect gentleman, is a police detective assigned to protect Winnifred when she says she witnesses an abduction. The novel moves along at a good pace with Winnie & Jude’s romance entwined with Winnie’s sleuthing. This is my first book from Grace Hitchcock and I look forward to the next novel in the “True Colors” series. I recommend this one!

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Barbour through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

I didn't know what to expect when I began to read The White City, but it's basically Christian historical romantic suspense. While the heroine, Winnie, investigates a kidnapping she witnessed at the Chicago World's Fair, she has to chose between two men--one her father approves of and one he does not. Some historical romance heroines annoy me, but I liked Winnie: she is brave but not stupidly so, and she has other interests than her love interests. I really enjoyed The White City, and I'm looking forward to the next book in the True Colors series.

As this book has not been released yet, this is not a real review but I absolutely loved this story. Plenty of action, suspense and romance!!

What a lovely debut!

Winnifred Wylde is the daughter of a police inspector and avid reader of romantic suspense novels. She fancies herself as observant and longs to catch someone in a crime. However, she has cried wolf one too many times and no one at the police station believes her crime leads.

The White City is based upon the serial killer at the World's Fair in Chicago in 1893. The author does a fabulous job of blending fact and fiction. Both Jude and Percival are wonderful male characters.

This novel reminded me a bit of A Proper Pursuit by Lynn Austin. I absolutely look forward to what this author writes next.

has a good balance between romance and crime, theres romance but not annoyingly so. well written and an overall good historical fiction. eagerly awaiting to read the next book!!

The White City is a well written story with characters who feel so real that I cared about what was happening to them as I was reading. The setting is Chicago during the World's Fair in 1893. Winifred Wylde is a beautiful young woman who would rather read than spend time with suitors who bored her. She is captivated by mysteries and crime stories and is sure she saw a woman being kidnapped by a man with a gun during a visit to the Fair. When she reports this to her Father, the newly appointed Captain of Police, he is skeptical but without telling Winnie he assigns Detective Jude Thorpe, a new transfer from New York, to follow her.

This book is proof it's possible to produce an exciting and interesting book without graphic sex, language or violence.
My thanks to Barbour Publishing for an Advanced Reader's Copy of this novel. The opinions expressed are completely my own.
This book will be available in stores and on line March 1, 2019.
#TheWhiteCity #NetGalley

THE WHITE CITY ....Grave Hitchcock
Winifred life for her in 1893 during the White City Fair. Her adventure comes with her father being a police inspector, not in the books she reads. To her aunt’s dismay she is not interested in suitors either. Though she does have one and they share love of novels, the other one wants is adventure. After putting herself in danger after seeing a woman being mishandled, to prove she was more than someone waiting on a suitor. to her father. Interesting of that time period and these based on true crimes. Given ARC for my voluntary review and my honest opinion by Net Galley andBarbour .

The White City is by a new to me author. I really enjoy getting to read a new author and I enjoyed this book very much. This story is based on real crimes by a man dubbed as the first serial killer in America. Now, this may sound like the book may be gritty or gory. It is not. This is a romantic mystery that has light hearted moments as well as page turning action. This is set during the World's Fair in Chicago. I enjoyed all of the characters and fell in love with the hero, Jude. He showed himself to be a very heroic detective. Especially, at the end of the book. Wowser! The heroine, Winnie is an avid reader and enjoys adventure, while being very prim and proper at the same time. I enjoy a heroine who is feminine but doesn't mind taking risks and to help others. (I wouldn't let my daughter do it, but hey, it's fiction)
The book is easy to read and I read it at a steady pace. 4.5 stars!
*I was given a copy of this book by Barbour Publishing. I was not under any obligation to leave a review. This is my honest opinion.

Fiction and non-fiction collide in this stunning debut novel! Romance, missing women and crime all intermingled among the Worlds Fair in Chicago. Great characters, interesting storyline and enough intrigue to keep me wanting more!! Highly recommend!