Publication Date: April 9, 2024
Peter Driscoll, an underground investigator to the wealthy, has never met anyone like Lily Temple. The beautiful silent-film actress spins fairy tales and plays frivolous roles in front of the cine-camera, but beneath the costumes and stage makeup is a woman with a quick wit—and a murky past.
Peter has been tasked with locating the legendary Briarwood Teardrop, an exquisite sapphire, which Lily wears beneath her gown. In order to stay close to her and hopefully unravel the mystery of her story—and the sapphire—Peter employs Lily’s help on a case, which leads to a useful partnership. But as they are investigating together, Peter is also investigating Lily. The closer he gets to the truth, the more danger they face. And the closer he gets to Lily, the clearer it is that he needs her even more than she needs him.
Award-winning author Joanna Davidson Politano whisks you away to Edwardian England in 1903 for a whimsical and layered tale that treads the crooked line between real and make-believe.
Joanna Davidson Politano’s creative vision for The Elusive Truth of Lily Temple is enchanting, fully immersive, mystifying, and completely intriguing. Introduced into the magical world of cine-camera, the story a very special fairy seeking the enchantingly unique object of the Briarwood Teardrop is brought vividly to life on the screen. Behind the story’s beautifully choreographed cinema moments is a purpose filled with heartfelt meaning and deep-seated longing.
Lily Temple, the actress in the fairy tale unfolding on the screen, has a secret or two or three and probably even more. She’s lived so many stories, it’s not quite certain which is her true one. On the other hand, underground investigator to the elite, Peter Driscoll, is equally Lily’s opposite in just about every way in his honest, forthright and staid manner; but yet—there’s a mutual attraction that starts small but continues to blossom as the story progresses.
Peter has been hired to find the Briarwood Teardrop, a one-of-a-kind sapphire that Lily wears beneath her dress. She was told by the master storyteller she seeks that it is actually a piece snatched from the sky.
Carried along with Lily, searching, seeking throughout the story, the magical lens only leaves the readers’ eye for brief snatches told from Peter’s perspective, grounded more firmly in reality than Lily’s fanciful flights. Peter seeks to bring stories full circle, making them, and the people they’re about, complete. Lily’s case is different because Lily is different, and Peter is irresistibly drawn to her.
Cloaked in layers of imaginings, fairy tales, and fanciful descriptions, The Elusive Truth of Lily Temple is beautifully written with a fascinating storyline that twists and turns continually. With so many layers, the plot moves a bit slowly, but once the storylines start coming together, they move swiftly, carrying the reader along in their tumultuous wake, breathlessly hoping, but completely unsure, of a happily ever after ending.
Enchanting, whimsical, and with a surprising plot twist, The Elusive Truth of Lily Temple is perplexingly mysterious yet fully engrossing. 
Joanna Davidson Politano is the award-winning author of Lady Jayne Disappears, A Rumored Fortune, Finding Lady Enderly, The Love Note, A Midnight Dance, and The Lost Melody. She loves tales that capture the colorful, exquisite details in ordinary lives and is eager to hear anyone’s story. She lives with her husband and their children in a house in the woods near Lake Michigan.
