I just loved Winnifred Wylde in this wonderful book that Grace Hitchcock wrote! She is a very likeable, strong willed woman who knows what she wants and does not want to settle. And the amazing protector Jude Thorpe is absolutely adorable as well! This is a definite page turner, especially at the end! I was late putting my kids to bed because I couldn't stop until I was finished!

Clean historical romance. I was aware of the "Murder Castle" as I had seen stories on TV about the events. The book contains many facts about the incidents of the past but is primarily focused on the spirited Winnie's escapades and romance. The details of the courtship of the time are fun and interesting. There are no gory details and it gives a glimpse of life during that time period. There are Biblical quotations and references throughout the book. It would be quite suitable for a young innocent pre- teen to read. Takes you back in time to customs of old, much like an episode of the TV show, 'Murdoch's Mysteries'. The author has done a lot of work in capturing the customs and conversation of the time period. Fun easy read.
Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the ARC. I received this book as a complimentary copy for an honest review. The opinions expressed are my own.

This is one of those books it is really hard to rate. The story is very good, it is romance with some thriller/suspense with that old-fashioned detective work thrown in. However, the detective work is rather slapdash, and the back cover blurb gives a totally wrong impression. This is only based, or rather, inspired by true crime. Some writers and make true suspense and true romance work well together. This one fails on the suspense "promise" but delivers on the romance promise.

The serial murders were committed by the person depicted in this story, but I'm quite sure they were more heinous than depicted here. Frankly, if one wants to read Christian romance then that's what one picks up to read. If one wants to read true crime, then that is what one picks up to read. This was hyped as true crime and wound up being romance with a little mystery thrown in. There was no build up to the very real danger faced by our little heroine.

Winnefred is a fun leading lady... a rather plucky well-developed character. Jude, the police detective assigned to protect her is only slightly less well developed. However, I do believe the writer character, Percy, was well done. Percival is a defined character that has some excellent quirks, but on the whole, some of the situations in this story feel/read a bit contrived.

However, I did enjoy the story and because of that I give it four stars.

This review has been Facebooked, Twitted, and blogged.

I am not ashamed to admit that I enjoy a well-written romance. There are those who would say that most of them are predictable and formulaic and there are times I would agree. But they are still a frequent guilty pleasure on my "to be read" list.

Just last year, I read a book titled "The Devil in the White City" which is a non-fiction re-telling of the infamous serial killer H. H, Holmes, his infamous murder house, and the Chicago World's Fair so when I read the synopsis and discovered that the author wrote the romance around Holmes' crimes? I was MORE than intrigued. Winnifred is endearing and believable and her romantic complications progress in a way that feels very natural.

The thing I appreciated the most was how well the author describes Holmes, his bizarre hotel, and Winnifred's experiences while working for him. Even a reader with no prior knowledge of Holmes and his crimes would get an accurate picture of him and his schemes. The author used the names of real women who were believed to be victims of Holmes and simply inserted a fictional character into the story - Winnifred - who was secretly working with the police to find evidence of Holmes crimes.

Hitchcock beautifully blended real-life crime with a fictional romance to create a story I enjoyed reading. This title is due to debut in March of this year (2019) with a sequel due out in 2020. I look forward to reading that title as well!

The White City by Grace Hitchcock (love the last name), is a crime story that will keep you on your seat. Set against the background of the Chicago World Fair and staring infamous H. H. Holmes, you will quickly fall in love with the hero's, Winnifred and Jude. Winnifred's father is an inspector for Chicago Police, and is convinced his daughter has an overactive imagination due to all of the romance stories she reads. Winnifred is convinced of what she saw, and wants to "live" before her aunt settles her life for her. As she rushes to solve this crime, she also has to deal with interested suitors. It is an enjoyable read, and you quickly find yourself rooting for Winnifred. Highly recommended.

It took a bit for me to get into this story but once I did, I was hooked. I had never heard of the infamous serial killer, H. H. Holmes. Was interesting to learn about him in the book and then google him afterward and see some pictures of him and his hotel, which is described in the book.

The White City by Grace Hitchcock leads off a new multi-author series from Barbour Books that, at least in this first outing, weaves together a fictional historical romance with notorious American crimes.

Set mainly at the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair and in a building that became notorious as the “murder castle” of America’s first serial killer, H.H. Holmes, this short novel centers around a would-be female detective and the police officer assigned to keeping her out of trouble. This novel mixes the fun of a historical romance between a spunky and determined Winifred Wylde and the stalwart, handsome Jude Thorpe with a true tale of a monstrous man whose criminal career almost reads like an unlikely work of fiction.

The premise intrigued me, as I could not imagine wrapping a historical romance around the horrible crimes of H.H. Holmes. And this story itself is a bit implausible at times, but this does not detract from it’s odd mix of entertainment and horror.

This is a novel, and perhaps a series, that will appeal to those who enjoy historical romance with a faith element and for fans of true crime mixed with fiction. An interesting choice for Barbour Books, and I find I’m curious to see what true American crimes this series will tackle next.

This review refers to a digital galley read courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher. All opinions expressed are my own.

Very interesting characters in an unusual murder mystery. Definitely historically fairly accurate, I think!

I thoroughly enjoyed this debut novel from Grace Hitchcock. It was all the more fascinating as it was based on the true story of America’s first serial killer. Winnie Wylde is at the World’s Fair in Chicago when she witnesses a woman being abducted. However, her inspector father isn’t sure if it really happened or if it’s a product of her overly active imagination. He reluctantly lets her go undercover to see what she can find out if she is shadowed by one of his detectives.
Winnie is a great character. She is ready for an adventure and is willing to do whatever it takes to save lives. She doesn’t want to settle into a gentlewoman’s life of receiving callers and attending balls. She is courageous. She finds herself in a love triangle when her aunt wants her to marry one man but she finds herself always thrown together with another. I liked both Jude and Percy. They are both so passionate about their very different callings. It made for a great read.
Thank you to Barbour Books and Netgalley for providing me an e-copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

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.

This reads like a Regency romance, and perhaps that is the intention. A love triangle with two men who pursue a young, smart woman who enjoys a good romance novel and real-life mystery is a typical formula. But when this formula is applied to a real-life mystery – the disappearances of women in the Chicago World’s Fair of 1893 and the man who is called America’s first serial killer, H.H. Holmes, things get more interesting. Hitchcock seems to stick to the facts closely in terms of H.H. Holmes’ crimes and antics- he takes out insurance policies and buys real estate in other peoples’ names, tries to charm his way through life, juggles lovers, and murders people in his hotel. But, it was very obvious when she deviated from the facts. One scene in the very beginning of the book displays H.H. Holmes in a way that is incongruent to the rest of his behavior. That stuck in my craw throughout the rest of the story. Overall, I did think this was as cute as a romance mixed with murder mystery could get.

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.