The White City: True Colors

In 1893 Chicago, the World’s Fair brings excitement to residents and visitors, and danger to a group of young ladies in this rousing solo debut novel from Hitchock (after the anthology The Southern Belle Brides Collection). Winnifred Wylde, the police inspector’s debutante daughter who yearns more for adventure than for matrimony, witnesses a woman’s abduction at the fair. In need of help with the case, her father allows her to discreetly investigate and assigns detective Jude Thorpe to tail her for protection. Winnie quickly discovers the undercover cop, and when she meets the man she believes is the criminal, Mr. Henry Howard Holmes, Jude partners with her in a sting operation. Winnie finds real-life danger much different from that in the novels she enjoys reading, but her fortitude and faith sustain her through several suspenseful moments. Will she find the evidence she needs to reveal Holmes’s perfidy, or will she become his next victim? The dangerous project draws Winnie and Jude closer together, but her father’s refusal to consider a lawman as his daughter’s husband thwarts their desires. Hitchcock keeps the pace quick and tension high as the characters face dangers both physical and emotional. Readers will enjoy the snappy dialogue, vivid depictions of the famous World’s Fair, and the surprising historical details. Agent: Tamela Hancock Murray, Steve Laube Agency. (Mar.)