Parade of Secrets by Kimberly Fish
PARADE OF SECRETS
A Lane Hayes Mystery
By Kimberly Fish
Historical Mystery / Female Sleuth
Publisher: Fish Tales Publishing
Publication Date: October 31, 2025
Pages: 341
SYNOPSIS
Layers of history, suspense, and emotion.
March, 1948. Lane Mercer Hayes, and her husband, Zeke, have that post-war life that everyone envies. His winning record as a prosecutor and a scratch golfer, teamed with her finesse in a bookshop puts them on the list of up and coming leaders in Longview, Texas. That is, until Lane is exposed by Senate candidate, Lyndon B. Johnson, for the clandestine role she plays in a Black-owned security agency. Forced to face the cracks in her marriage and the boredom in her life, she can no longer be that “teacup of whiskey” that former Big Inch pipeline associates nicknamed her. Though newspaper headlines tout prosperity and development, Lane can’t get past the emptiness in her soul after the adrenaline rush of working for the Office of Strategic Services during the war.
Longview, Texas, is changing—from LeTourneau Incorporated bringing big manufacturing to the construction of Lake Cherokee and even the massively celebrated Gregg County Diamond Jubilee and the return of the popular Founder’s Day parade. So when an unexpected interview with R.G. LeTourneau appears to give Lane the opportunity to dust off her former OSS skills; she grabs it. To end the vandalism turmoil for LeTourneau, Lane steps out as a private investigator and encounters more than one death befalling families with secrets to hide.
With the clock ticking, Lane grows increasingly unconvinced she has the know-how to discover the truth or make peace with the sheriff who questions her every step. Time and pressure work against her in unraveling the mystery and restoring the good name of those who learned too late that they were innocent. Thankfully, in the course of the investigation, she discovers an unlikely ensemble of residents she can rely on, even when the future looks grim.
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REVIEW
Kimberly Fish has written a cozy mystery rooted in 1948 Longview, Texas, but the heartbeat of the story is Lane Mercer Hayes, a woman trying to reconcile who she was during the war with who the world expects her to be now. And honestly? Her struggle feels just as relevant today.
Lane’s frustration with post-war womanhood is palpable, sometimes painfully so. She’s expected to be satisfied with a bookshop, a few friends, and the predictable rhythms of small-town life, but as Fish writes early on, that was “more than enough… most days. Today was not one of those days.” That tension between expectation and identity runs through every chapter, and Fish handles it with an authenticity that never feels heavy-handed. Lane isn’t simply “ahead of her time.” She’s a woman whose gifts bend in directions the 1940s didn’t exactly welcome, and the dissonance between her skills and her “proper place” rings with a startling modernity.
What I appreciated most is how Fish refuses to flatten Lane’s marriage into a trope. Lane and Zeke are both deeply, humanly flawed, and their back-and-forth feels real. There are moments when Zeke comes across as overbearing (more than once I found myself irritated on Lane’s behalf), yet the book steadily complicates that irritation. Fish lays out hints of Lane’s childhood scars—her mistrust of men, the way she learned to read actions instead of words—and suddenly Zeke’s protectiveness and her fierce independence start rubbing against each other in ways that feel layered rather than simple. At one point, Lane wonders if her perceptions of him are rooted more in her own past than his current behavior, and that question lingers through the rest of the story.
Fish also doesn’t shy away from the inequities of the era, whether in Lane’s marriage, in the expectations placed on women, or in the everyday realities faced by Black residents in Longview. These moments are woven in with a deft, steady touch—never preachy, but unmistakably present. They add a richness to the narrative, grounding the mystery in a world that feels lived-in and real.
As for the mystery itself? Complex, surprising, and so well-structured that even if you’re usually good at spotting culprits… you may not be this time. I’m often quick to call the villain in books like this, but Fish had me stumped. She threads together multiple storylines, each seemingly unrelated, and by the end you see just how carefully she’s laid the clues. It’s deeply satisfying without ever feeling predictable.
History lovers will especially appreciate how Fish roots the story in real post-war shifts, from a voting-rights rally to workforce changes to the way women’s wartime roles clashed with the return to domesticity. Readers familiar with LeTourneau University will find even more to enjoy. Lane’s OSS past, her skill for reading human behavior, and her need to “right the wrongs of people who seemed to have no voice” all combine to create a protagonist who simply refuses to fade into the background—no matter how much her era wants her to.
And while this book ties up its mystery, Fish leaves a few threads very much open. I’ll be anxiously waiting for book two, both to see how Lane’s marriage continues to evolve and to watch her keep blowing past the low expectations of people who underestimate her—especially the sheriff, who may need to revise his opinion sooner rather than later.
Parade of Secrets is smart, engaging, warmly historical, and full of emotional depth. But more than anything, it’s a story about a woman trying to reclaim her place in a world that doesn’t quite know what to do with her. And watching Lane step back into her power is worth every page.
Kimberly Fish has written a cozy mystery rooted in 1948 Longview, Texas, but the heartbeat of the story is Lane Mercer Hayes, a woman trying to reconcile who she was during the war with who the world expects her to be now. And honestly? Her struggle feels just as relevant today.
Lane’s frustration with post-war womanhood is palpable, sometimes painfully so. She’s expected to be satisfied with a bookshop, a few friends, and the predictable rhythms of small-town life, but as Fish writes early on, that was “more than enough… most days. Today was not one of those days.” That tension between expectation and identity runs through every chapter, and Fish handles it with an authenticity that never feels heavy-handed. Lane isn’t simply “ahead of her time.” She’s a woman whose gifts bend in directions the 1940s didn’t exactly welcome, and the dissonance between her skills and her “proper place” rings with a startling modernity.
What I appreciated most is how Fish refuses to flatten Lane’s marriage into a trope. Lane and Zeke are both deeply, humanly flawed, and their back-and-forth feels real. There are moments when Zeke comes across as overbearing (more than once I found myself irritated on Lane’s behalf), yet the book steadily complicates that irritation. Fish lays out hints of Lane’s childhood scars—her mistrust of men, the way she learned to read actions instead of words—and suddenly Zeke’s protectiveness and her fierce independence start rubbing against each other in ways that feel layered rather than simple. At one point, Lane wonders if her perceptions of him are rooted more in her own past than his current behavior, and that question lingers through the rest of the story.
Fish also doesn’t shy away from the inequities of the era, whether in Lane’s marriage, in the expectations placed on women, or in the everyday realities faced by Black residents in Longview. These moments are woven in with a deft, steady touch—never preachy, but unmistakably present. They add a richness to the narrative, grounding the mystery in a world that feels lived-in and real.
As for the mystery itself? Complex, surprising, and so well-structured that even if you’re usually good at spotting culprits… you may not be this time. I’m often quick to call the villain in books like this, but Fish had me stumped. She threads together multiple storylines, each seemingly unrelated, and by the end you see just how carefully she’s laid the clues. It’s deeply satisfying without ever feeling predictable.
History lovers will especially appreciate how Fish roots the story in real post-war shifts, from a voting-rights rally to workforce changes to the way women’s wartime roles clashed with the return to domesticity. Readers familiar with LeTourneau University will find even more to enjoy. Lane’s OSS past, her skill for reading human behavior, and her need to “right the wrongs of people who seemed to have no voice” all combine to create a protagonist who simply refuses to fade into the background—no matter how much her era wants her to.
And while this book ties up its mystery, Fish leaves a few threads very much open. I’ll be anxiously waiting for book two, both to see how Lane’s marriage continues to evolve and to watch her keep blowing past the low expectations of people who underestimate her—especially the sheriff, who may need to revise his opinion sooner rather than later.
Parade of Secrets is smart, engaging, warmly historical, and full of emotional depth. But more than anything, it’s a story about a woman trying to reclaim her place in a world that doesn’t quite know what to do with her. And watching Lane step back into her power is worth every page.
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