When I requested this book I thought I would be able to read it but at this time it is too dark for me.

I was really excited to read this book when I read the description! However this book was much, much less true crime/mystery and much more a Christian romance.

I really did enjoy the characters and the story was solid if you’re looking for a clean Christian romance. But the serial killer at the World’s Fair seemed more of an after thought part of the plot. I’ll be better prepared in my mindset when I read the other books in this True Colors “crime” series.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for allowing me to read and review this book.

This is not the book I thought it would be. There's not a lot of focus on the crimes, it's more a romance/cozy read. I liked the characters, they are cute and sometimes funny. I liked the quotes too. The rest of the plot is very status quo, predictable, but still, a fun read.

Because the book is based on a true crime, it drew my attention. I knew that Chicago was once known as the white city so I thought this would have a lot of history base to it. I also thought the author's last name is a very familiar one and she'd have lots of leeway with that last name. While it does have some history in it, read this book with an open mind that it's not going to fit the category you thought it was. It's still a good book to read, just not what I expected.

My copy came from Celebrate Lit. My review is my own left of my own free will.

This was a great start to the True Colors series. If this is how it starts, then I am in for a real treat!

The White City follows the mystery of H. H. Holmes during the 1893 World's Fair in Chicago. It follows avid mystery/romance reader Winifred Wylde, who is the daughter of a police investigator. After being at the Fair and seeing what she thinks is a kidnapping, Winifred's mind starts reeling, and she HAS to solve it. When she tells her father about what she saw, which he highly questions due to her reading of many novels, he allows her to investigate into this kidnapping, but only if she has a bodyguard, the newly transferred (and extremely handsome) Jude Thorpe. As with society she also had her melding aunt who tries to fix her up with every eligible bachelor in the area, this time her sites are on Percival Covington. Percival is dashing and charming, but it is his way of life that really catches Winifred's interest. Once Winifred is working for Mr. Holmes she does start to question some of his business dealings, which may or may not put her in harms way.

I loved the premise of this book. I love the mystery of H. H. Holmes. This brought it to life for me and added life to the mystery that may never be solved.

Thank you to Netgalley and Barbour Publishing for an advanced copy. I was not compensated for my review.

I love the old murder mysteries, so when I saw that this one was based on the H.H. Holmes case, I jumped on the opportunity to read it. Mix in the right amount of romance and The White Castle had me gripping the book in anticipation of what was next.

The romance was slow and stirring as the bodyguard struggled to remain professional in regards to his precocious charge. Her desire to dig deeper in an effort to save an unknown soul was harrowing. While Miss Wylde searched for clues, the dashing Mr. Thorpe stands guard just out of sight. Or, so he thought.

I couldn’t help but think, male or female, every hero needs someone to watch their back. She was no simpering female and he was perfectly galant in a way that any strong willed woman could appreciate.

There wasn’t a single thing I could find fault with in The White City and I look forward to more from Ms. Hitchcock (The correlation between the name and the genre did not go un noticed 😉)

I was provided a copy of this book so that I might leave an honest review

Love love love this series!!! It's managed to tie together several of my favorite things: true crime, historical fiction, and Christian fiction. Highly recommended!

A true crime story with suspense and romance mixed in. Every woman’s dream of a romance. A handsome forbidden man that will save and protect the woman from everything. This is a clean romance that I would recommend for any age. I love books written about a true historical event. This was a new author to me and I would definitely read her books again.

This is an amazing mystery!

I absolutely love both Winnifred Wylde and Jude Thorpe! They are incredible characters and I connected with both of them from the very beginning.

The plot of this book is fantastic! I was caught up in the mystery and kept trying to figure out all of the details. I lost track of how many times I readjusted my thinking about who the culprit was and how the crimes were being committed.

The details of the World’s Fair were great. I actually found myself looking for a book with pictures from it so that I could see what was being described.

I will definitely be looking for any future books by this author. I’m so glad that I started with her debut novel. I won’t have to be trying to catch up.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley. I was not required to write a positive review. All of the opinions expressed are my own.

The book was ok. I expected more suspense and tragedy and all I really got was a love story for a very spoiled young woman named Winnifred. Very little of it actually involves H.H. Holmes which is where I thought this book was going to go. She made stupid decisions, the men she was involved with made stupid decisions, and the most unrealistic part was her father, who is the chief of police, let her do these dumb decisions. The book was written well, just not my type of book as I didn't sucked into it like I thought I would have. Received this as an ARC and I am freely giving my opinion on it.

The White City lives up to its exciting description. It packed full of fun, excitement, danger, humor, and love. I loved seeing the relationship between Winnie and her father. It has a sweet, protective, strong quality that warms your heart. The romance between Winnifred and Jude is done so well it’s one of the best I’ve seen. They have this fun playfulness that comes through while also maintaining admiration and respect. The plot line makes you want to read it all in one sitting because you need to know what happens.. In true romance form, you can guess how it ends for the 2 love birds (which I personally love, because I came for the happy ending). Somehow though Grace manages balancing and marrying the predictability of “happily ever after” with the suspense that comes from the mystery running throughout the plot. You won’t really know what is happening till the end while both the mystery and romance hold the spotlight. The way Jude and Winnie interact and believe in each other makes you want more. And the humor Grace adds to her writing pushes any story of hers right over the top. Read it. You won’t be sorry.
**Thank you to the author and Barbour Publishing for a copy of this book via Net Galley. All opinions stated are entirely my of my own accord.**

This book is an incredibly blend of historical fiction and mystery fiction. This book is the EXACT kind of book I love to read. Especially since I had a weird fascination with HH Holmes and how he was able to commit such crimes amid the World Fair

The characters are compelling and there is a depth to them, however I will say that this book is at it's core a lot more of a romance than mystery and the author's intentions are not to create a mystery but rather a christian fiction, which is great, but not what was promised.

the story is GREAT and I want to read the sequel, however I feel it should be marketed to a different market, so as not to confuse readers with what the book actually IS rather than what it pretends to be.

I love reading true crime retellings, and it was interesting to see Winnifred and Jude's dynamic. While they are clearly attracted to each other from the beginning, this doesn't come across as instalove - their relationship grew as they learned more about each other, and I really appreciated that. Winnifred truly felt safe with Jude, and they wholeheartedly trust each other.

The only two "problems" I have with this book are:
1) I expected to see more of Holmes and his murder hotel, and while a lot is tied together in the end, I feel that the story focused mainly on Jude and Winnifred.

2) There is a scene where Jude and Winnifred are eating at the World Fair, Winnifred is given a bowl of gumbo and says that it looks like they gave her a bowl of mud, and why are there LEGS in her bowl? She continues to be disgusted by its appearance until Jude encourages her to try it, where she remarks that it is surprisingly delicious. This particular scene felt unnecessary for the story, and took me out of it for a long time. I fail to see the need for Winnifred to make negative remarks on another culture's food, especially when it has nothing to do with the problem at hand. I feel that the mention of what was actually being served (or Winnifred's disgust) should have been omitted, especially for POC readers.

Other than this, I enjoyed reading the story. Watching Jude and Winnifred's relationship grow was interesting, especially when meeting Percy and hearing Winnifred's dad discuss why he doesn't want his daughter to marry a cop made sense (which was refreshing considering the usual answer of "because I said so"). The characters in this book truly care for each other, and I was glad to see it.

My Thoughts:
The White City is a historical fiction piece. I love historical fiction but especially when some murder and mystery are included. This book gives me all three! It’s the World’s Fair in Chicago but women are missing, women are turning up dead! Who’s to blame? What’s to be done? Who will be the next victim?

I love how the author weaved in the truth with the fiction. This really is a crime that happened. I had no idea who H. H. Holmes was so I had to take a quick Google search of him. Yes, he really existed and he really did have a castle. And yes unfortunately the crimes really did happen. Okay. So we’ve established she took truth and made it into fiction.

Now let’s chat the fiction aspect of this book. It’s riveting! I could not put the book down. Which thankfully I had a feeling after the first chapter this was going to be the case and had my husband take our sleeping infant. You see, I read while I rock our little one to sleep while she nurses at night. Once she falls asleep I get a few hours where I can stay up and read before she wakes and needs me again. Power reading is what I call it! And I’m so glad for this session as I would have been loathe to put the book down!

The White City definitely keeps you reading on and wanting more. I cannot wait to see the rest of the series come out. Grace is a wonderful author and I’m going to have to search and see what else she has written so I can binge read them. I tend to do this with authors I enjoy.

Winnifred is now a best friend of mine and I’m so pleased with how the book ended though I shan’t tell you the ending. Let’s just say there is a good dose of nail biting and a good sigh at the end.

I have voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book which I received from Celebrate Lit. All views expressed are only my honest opinion. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way. All opinions expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the FTC regulations.

Chicago, 1893. The city is bustling with activity with the coming of the World's Fair.



Winnifred Wylde sees something suspicious while on an outing with one of the suitors that her aunt set her up with, her father who is the precinct inspector, brushes it off, but sends one of his officers to follow her home just in case. Winnie knows what she saw, and is determined to follow her hunch.



Young women are going missing all over town. With the help of Jude Thorpe, one her father's officers, Winnie goes undercover, taking a job working for Henry Holmes.



Will she be able to expose Holmes's dirty dealings before it's too late?



Winnie is a daring heroine, who stumbles into a case bigger and more terrifying than she could have ever imagined. Her father and aunt have high hopes for her to marry well, and her father has forbidden her from marrying a man on the force.



Slow to start at first, I was drawn to this book because of my interest in the Henry Holmes murders, and it did take time for small things to be uncovered and start to make sense. Part of the reason that it seemed slower to me was because I had some foreknowledge about Henry Holmes and kinda knew what she would be walking into. Her father is a good man, and loves his daughter, he wants the best for her.



Overall, an enjoyable read, though perhaps it would be best enjoyed by someone with less knowledge about the true story, mainly because I just didn't like knowing what she was walking into. Well written with good solid characters.



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

Net Galley gave me this book to read and so glad they did. Full of romance,adventure drama and what will happen next! To see and witness the events that she did is her own life in danager. Love the characters and come to find out is this true? It's a must read well written!

This tells a story from the 1893 Chicago World's Fair when mysterious disappearances occurred as well as a crime. This first book in the series is about H.H. Holmes and the activities he participated in within the White City. Winnifred Wylde feels she has seen a woman kidnapped and she tries to get her dad to believe her. He just happens to also be a Chicago police inspector too. She finally convinces him it might be related to the mysterious disappearances and she goes undercover as secretary of a suspect. But, will she become another victim? I was interested in reading this book as I have read a variety of books about this happening. It was nice to get the story from a different perspective for "The White City". It was well written and interesting, but I felt it did start a bit slowly. Stick with it though as the characters are well done and the story does pick up a little even with some cringe-worthy moments. If you are interested in the H.H. Holmes story you will enjoy this writer's take on the mystery and story of a historic serial killer -- actually the first. I feel it important to mention this is historical fiction. While the H.H. Holmes story is true and documented the Winnifred Wylde character is fictional to help create an imaginative story. Nevertheless, I would have liked more detail on the Holmes facts as I think if someone reading doesn't already know the history of this man and his acts the book will have less impact as well as be less fulfilling as a story. The reader might not stay with the story overall and be too overwhelmed negatively with other elements of the story. I suggest if you read this book then look into the true crime story of H.H. Holmes, but be reminded these are details of a serial killer.

The White City is Grace Hitchcock’s debut novel. It is also (I think) the first novel in Barbour Publishing’s new True Colors series, fictional accounts of some of America’s most infamous crimes. The White City is set around the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair, and the actions of the man considered America’s first serial killer, Doctor H. H. Holmes. Holmes owned a hotel not far from the fair.

A hotel filled with secret rooms that was later dubbed “Murder Castle”. Winnifred Wylde is a wonderful heroine. She’s clever and funny. She loves reading fiction, especially the thrilling romance novels by Percival Valentine. But she has an unfortunate habit of seeing crimes wherever she looks—possibly the result of being the daughter of a police inspector, but possibly the result of reading too many thrilling novels featuring the noble hero saving the heroine from the clutches of the evildoer.

Winnifred is convinced she saw a man kidnapping a woman from the fair at gunpoint. But even her police inspector father can’t arrest a man simply on his daughter’s say-so. He needs proof. So Winnie decides to get proof, by taking an undercover job as a secretary with the man she suspects is responsible for the kidnapping. Her father appoints Detective Jude Thorpe to watch over her and help in her investigation.

I will admit I was initially a little dubious about reading a novel with such a setting. It had the potential to be far too gruesome for my taste. However, it was not. The humour and light-hearted style were the perfect balance for the less savoury elements of the plot, especially as it became obvious that Winnie was right and her boss was up to no good.

There was also the romance aspect. Jude is attracted to Winnie and thinks she might return his regard, but her father has made it clear that Winnie is not to marry a policeman. Her aunt is trying to set her up with a Mr. Covington, who is a perfectly nice gentleman but who doesn’t make her heart race. As an aside, I’m not usually a fan of the other man/other woman plot, but it worked perfectly in The White City.

Overall, The White City is an excellent historical romantic suspense novel. The mix of fact and fiction reminded me of Elizabeth Camden’s historical fiction, while the light-hearted tone was more reminiscent of Jen Turano or Karen Witemeyer. Recommended.

Thanks to Barbour Publishing and NetGalley for providing a free ebook for review.

I thoroughly enjoyed this light-hearted historical detective story! It reads like a Hallmark mystery, compete with its fair share of danger, comedy, intrigue, and of course, romance. The author's detailed descriptions and historical research made me feel as if I were right there, experiencing the Chacago World Fair alongside the characters.
I'd recommend it to fans of Historical Romance, Hallmark Mysteries, and Cozy Mysteries.

(I received a complimentary copy of this book through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.)

I enjoyed this book so much! It was mysterious and funny and had some romance! What more could you want? I'm not sure what I was expecting when I started reading this book... I had hoped it would be entertaining! It far exceeded my expectations!


I can't wait to start reading the next book in the series! The Pink Bonnet and The Yellow Lantern!

I received a complimentary copy of this book from NetGalley on behalf of the Publisher and was under no obligation to post a favorable review.

I thoroughly enjoyed this read. I felt like the main female character, Winnie, is just a fun character to follow around. She was raised by her widowed policeman father and an aunt. She's quirky and very nosy when it comes to potential crimes.
I'd like to see another book with Percy. Now Jude...he's a great character and I enjoyed his attentiveness to Winnie.
The suspense or the actual murder mystery...I found it wasn't as satisfying.
The historical romantic side was just right though.
I think if you like historical romance, you'll find it a very good read.