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McAllister Files #1
Secrets, Lies & Alibis
A headline murder. A rookie investigator. A race against the clock—and against the past. With his newly minted detective badge, “Mac” McAllister reports for his first assignment with the Oregon State a particularly gruesome homicide. It’s a headline case, as the victim—Megan Tyson—was brutally murdered mere weeks before her wedding. The investigation turns up far too many suspects and too little hard evidence. Why would the beautiful Megan, engaged to a wealthy businessman, be involved with the likes of long line-up of questionable characters that seem connected to her in more ways than one? With more questions than answers, Mac tries to uncover the secrets Megan took to her grave. While the autopsy answers how Megan was killed, it doesn’t reveal a killer or a motive. Can Mac and his partner sort through the lies and alibis before Megan’s murderer strikes again? Not sure that he can trust his instincts, Mac depends heavily on the advice of his partner—a seasoned detective with a strong faith in God. A faith Mac has no use for until he must come to terms with his own past and the secrets that haunt him.
356 pages, Paperback
First published October 14, 2003
25 people are currently reading
220 people want to read
About the author
Patricia H. Rushford
64 books142 followersPatricia H. Rushford, an award winning author and speaker, has extensive experience in writing and has authored over sixty books, both fiction and non-fiction. In addition to having a nursing degree and masters in counseling, she is also an artist and quilter.
The Jennie McGrady Mysteries for young adults have sold well over 500,000 copies. Silent Witness won the Silver Angel Award for Excellence in Media and was nominated for an Edgar Allen Poe Award by Mystery Writers of America. She also wrote the Max & Me Mysteries for middle grade.
The various mystery series for adults continue to receive great reviews. Her series include, The Helen Bradley Mysteries, The Angel Delaney Mysteries, The McAllister Files and her latest, the Artisan Mysteries.
Her newest releases are: Watercolor Dreams, Deadly Deception and The Quiltmaker's Daughter, both are romantic suspense novels featuring artists.
She has been awarded the Golden Quill Award by RWA- Desert Rose Chapter and earned honorable mention in the Silver Angel Awards.
Patricia is a member of ACFW and a number of other writing organizations. She has participated in such mystery events such as Bouchercon--the World Mystery Convention, Left Coast Crime, and other conventions for lovers of mystery and suspense. She manages a website and blog and has a presence on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Goodreads and Linked-in and also generates a newsletter. Called Mysterious Musings.
Additional info at www.patriciarushfordbooks.com
The Jennie McGrady Mysteries for young adults have sold well over 500,000 copies. Silent Witness won the Silver Angel Award for Excellence in Media and was nominated for an Edgar Allen Poe Award by Mystery Writers of America. She also wrote the Max & Me Mysteries for middle grade.
The various mystery series for adults continue to receive great reviews. Her series include, The Helen Bradley Mysteries, The Angel Delaney Mysteries, The McAllister Files and her latest, the Artisan Mysteries.
Her newest releases are: Watercolor Dreams, Deadly Deception and The Quiltmaker's Daughter, both are romantic suspense novels featuring artists.
She has been awarded the Golden Quill Award by RWA- Desert Rose Chapter and earned honorable mention in the Silver Angel Awards.
Patricia is a member of ACFW and a number of other writing organizations. She has participated in such mystery events such as Bouchercon--the World Mystery Convention, Left Coast Crime, and other conventions for lovers of mystery and suspense. She manages a website and blog and has a presence on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Goodreads and Linked-in and also generates a newsletter. Called Mysterious Musings.
Additional info at www.patriciarushfordbooks.com
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Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews
February 12, 2024
4⭐️ (2024 reread: 4⭐️)
After Megan Tyson’s brutally murdered body is found in a ditch in the middle of nowhere, rookie detective Mac McAllister and his team must find the killer before he strikes again.
The beginning of this book grips you right away and you really feel for the victim.
One of the authors of this book is a irl detective and it shows! You get an in depth look at the process of finding clues, pinpointing people of interest, honing in on a couple solid potential suspects and ultimately finding enough evidence to prosecute without a doubt.
This is a page turner, for sure!
The author is a Christian, but she writes in a very real way in that there is a character near the beginning who misuses Jesus name (which I obviously don’t like, but it is reality). When anything God related does come up, it feels very natural and authentic, which I do appreciate. The grit & gore was not shied away from.
I’m a bit unsure, but there was possibly one racial slur as well...?
Language: 1 ‘Jesus Christ’ as a swear, 2 other abuses of God’s name
After Megan Tyson’s brutally murdered body is found in a ditch in the middle of nowhere, rookie detective Mac McAllister and his team must find the killer before he strikes again.
The beginning of this book grips you right away and you really feel for the victim.
One of the authors of this book is a irl detective and it shows! You get an in depth look at the process of finding clues, pinpointing people of interest, honing in on a couple solid potential suspects and ultimately finding enough evidence to prosecute without a doubt.
This is a page turner, for sure!
The author is a Christian, but she writes in a very real way in that there is a character near the beginning who misuses Jesus name (which I obviously don’t like, but it is reality). When anything God related does come up, it feels very natural and authentic, which I do appreciate. The grit & gore was not shied away from.
I’m a bit unsure, but there was possibly one racial slur as well...?
Language: 1 ‘Jesus Christ’ as a swear, 2 other abuses of God’s name
November 20, 2012
Want to read a book that starts with the crime scene and works its way through the clues as if you are the detective? Then pick up this series. Yes, there is a story within the characters, but the day in... day out way the detectives solve the crime and follow the clues is as tedious as if you, the reader, were doing the job. I like the casual use of Christian thoughts that the older detective uses to train the new, younger recruit. The simple things... such as patience and how slow and steady gets the results. I can see myself checking out the rest of the series in the future.
Read
October 27, 2016Secrets, Lies and Alibis is an overall decent crime novel. One thing I like about this particular novel, in comparison to similar ones, is the plot starts with the crime scene, and as you read you follow the detectives and their leads only. There is no scene where we see the bad guy behind the scenes, or know something Antonio does not. On the other hand, there is a lot of unrealistic drama between the characters in the book, which just makes it seem overall a bit less life-like. Another thing that I liked about the book was that the crime itself was wildly disproportionate, by that I mean it was not the common "impossible to solve international terrorist" sort of crime. It was just your average complicated murder. Overall, the story makes for a mostly life-like, realistic crime story.
August 9, 2025
This book was pretty good. It was interesting to read this book since it was written in 2003. I always enjoyed reading, but I don't think I read one book between 2000-2008. Some of the references to way back then really took me back and 9/11 was still fresh on people's minds. And there were quite a bit of alarming thoughts in some people's heads in this book, which was probably very reminiscent of the time where men pretty much ruled everything and could say anything and no one batted an eye. Here are a few things that I thought were over the top:
On page 36, the police chief, Frank, was being peppered with questions from reporters. His thought here was, "the questions came at him like bullets, and Frank wished he could fire back with the real thing." - Can you imagine if a police chief thought that? Yikes.
On page 52, the autopsy was taking place on the missing girl, before they have her identity. The coroner's assistant, Henry, is telling the cops how much the unidentified body weighs, "I'd put her at, oh, the heavier side of one-fifteen, maybe a little more." - Um, in what world is 115 pounds anywhere near "heavy"????
On page 161, the cops are chatting back and forth. And one brings up how another cop left his GUN hanging from the hook in a Denny's bathroom. WTF? He should have been fired for that Sh!t.
On page 288, Kevin and Mac are talking and Kevin gets a page on his pager. Anyone remember those things? Anyways, both Kevin and Mac have cell phones at this time, but Kevin forgot his at the station. I know that even by 2003 not everyone had cell phones, but you would think that a cop would carry his 24/7. It's even more important than a pager.
On page 36, the police chief, Frank, was being peppered with questions from reporters. His thought here was, "the questions came at him like bullets, and Frank wished he could fire back with the real thing." - Can you imagine if a police chief thought that? Yikes.
On page 52, the autopsy was taking place on the missing girl, before they have her identity. The coroner's assistant, Henry, is telling the cops how much the unidentified body weighs, "I'd put her at, oh, the heavier side of one-fifteen, maybe a little more." - Um, in what world is 115 pounds anywhere near "heavy"????
On page 161, the cops are chatting back and forth. And one brings up how another cop left his GUN hanging from the hook in a Denny's bathroom. WTF? He should have been fired for that Sh!t.
On page 288, Kevin and Mac are talking and Kevin gets a page on his pager. Anyone remember those things? Anyways, both Kevin and Mac have cell phones at this time, but Kevin forgot his at the station. I know that even by 2003 not everyone had cell phones, but you would think that a cop would carry his 24/7. It's even more important than a pager.
January 5, 2021
Megan Tyson is murdered and dumped in an isolated location. Rookie Detective Mac McAllister joins the investigative team, under the tutelage of Det. Kevin Bledsoe, carrier of the Bible and prone to outbreaks of prayer and preaching to the yet to be converted.
They methodically work their way through the scant evidence, occasionally advancing the investigating through sheer determination and, sometimes, luck.
I was actually quite a long way in before it began to get annoying.
The constant reference to God, the Bible and how 'good triumphs over evil' is a problem for me, and not just because I am an atheist, it's because it is a cack-handed way of shoehorning your religion into a police procedural.
"God does not choose pain and suffering - they are part of the human tradition," - this is complete balderdash based on a Christian belief in original sin (or, to put it another way, Christians cheerfully nominate God for all the good things, but when bad things happen it is your fault!).
"There is no pain, for the Lord has brought her home" - yeah, right!
Leaving the religious aspect out of it 'Secrets, Lies and Alibis' is a very run of the mill police procedural marked by slow pacing.
It's not particularly good, just like it isn't very bad. Overall it just lacks the spark that's needed to lift it above the many better books in the genre.
I won't be reading further in the series.
They methodically work their way through the scant evidence, occasionally advancing the investigating through sheer determination and, sometimes, luck.
I was actually quite a long way in before it began to get annoying.
The constant reference to God, the Bible and how 'good triumphs over evil' is a problem for me, and not just because I am an atheist, it's because it is a cack-handed way of shoehorning your religion into a police procedural.
"God does not choose pain and suffering - they are part of the human tradition," - this is complete balderdash based on a Christian belief in original sin (or, to put it another way, Christians cheerfully nominate God for all the good things, but when bad things happen it is your fault!).
"There is no pain, for the Lord has brought her home" - yeah, right!
Leaving the religious aspect out of it 'Secrets, Lies and Alibis' is a very run of the mill police procedural marked by slow pacing.
It's not particularly good, just like it isn't very bad. Overall it just lacks the spark that's needed to lift it above the many better books in the genre.
I won't be reading further in the series.
May 9, 2018
This book was written from the detectives point of view and what they go through to solve a murder case. From starting at the crime scene to following through on any and all leads. Some of these leads are dead ends, but then some, are just the one that they “catch a break” with; pulling the case together and catching the “bad guy/murder”.
Detectives in law enforcement do a lot of leg work on a major crime scene, BUT is it really this way for just the “average” person? How many crimes go unsolved and are put in a cold case file? Some crimes are so old that the witnesses have died, the evidence has gotten misplaced, and the crime goes unsolved forever! How is this Justice?
Detectives in law enforcement do a lot of leg work on a major crime scene, BUT is it really this way for just the “average” person? How many crimes go unsolved and are put in a cold case file? Some crimes are so old that the witnesses have died, the evidence has gotten misplaced, and the crime goes unsolved forever! How is this Justice?
April 22, 2019
This book was very fast-paced and attention grabbing. Although, I was a little disappointed with the wrap up on characters at the end. It almost seemed like the author was close to a deadline and decided to sum everything up in a few paragraphs.
January 26, 2020
A detailed, procedural, CSI kind of series. It is realistic. If you're interested in the details of crime scene investigation, this book is for you. It gives the reader a sneak peek at what police and investigators deal with on a daily basis. This is the first in a series of 4 in the series.
October 9, 2020
Great book
Interesting and suspensful. A lot of action and mystery. I like how Kevin turned to prayer during the investigation. Looking forward to the next book.
Interesting and suspensful. A lot of action and mystery. I like how Kevin turned to prayer during the investigation. Looking forward to the next book.
October 26, 2020
Got book one for free and bought the others right after. That’s a good sign! I love mysteries. The most gruesome murder of the series and shortest intro to the crime. Love Kevins character.
Read
June 16, 2021Very gut and heart wrenching.
did-not-finish
October 21, 2021Got to Ch 10. Not my bag.
April 3, 2022
This started so drastically, but it definitely got my attention. I liked the characters, and it played out well. I went back and forth on who the bad guy was until it was revealed.
December 13, 2022
Very Well Written
I like how the author adds details to the the setting, events and characters so you feel like you really know the story!
I like how the author adds details to the the setting, events and characters so you feel like you really know the story!
August 16, 2024
Startling start and a bit of a dark ending. But very well-written and holds the reader's attention the whole way through.
October 4, 2016
WOW! HAD ME FROM FIRST PAGE
I really enjoyed reading Secrets, Lies and Alibis by Patricia Rushford. It had me from the very first page. I had to find out what happened to Megan Tyson; how did she get into this predicament?
I purposely downloaded this read looking for a 'Christian Mystery' and am so glad I did. I got so tired of the F word and was looking for a book I could read and simply enjoy the storyline. I was not disappointed and I look so forward to reading more Patricia Rushford.
I really enjoyed reading Secrets, Lies and Alibis by Patricia Rushford. It had me from the very first page. I had to find out what happened to Megan Tyson; how did she get into this predicament?
I purposely downloaded this read looking for a 'Christian Mystery' and am so glad I did. I got so tired of the F word and was looking for a book I could read and simply enjoy the storyline. I was not disappointed and I look so forward to reading more Patricia Rushford.
February 5, 2013
A review from my old blog...
I liked the book well enough. I've always loved Rushford's books... mostly her Young Adult series starring Jennie McGrady. I kept the rest of her adult books on my to be read list after reading a couple of the Angel Delaney seriesand enjoying them.
I'm not a big fan of this series though. While the story came together in a logical procedural crime story manner Rushford introduced far too many characters. By the end of the book I still didn't have a few of the minor characters sorted out. What with the multiple officers of the law as well as more suspects than I can count (almost) I found myself slightly overwhelmed by the information.
Hopefully other books in this series won't be as much of a let down.
I liked the book well enough. I've always loved Rushford's books... mostly her Young Adult series starring Jennie McGrady. I kept the rest of her adult books on my to be read list after reading a couple of the Angel Delaney seriesand enjoying them.
I'm not a big fan of this series though. While the story came together in a logical procedural crime story manner Rushford introduced far too many characters. By the end of the book I still didn't have a few of the minor characters sorted out. What with the multiple officers of the law as well as more suspects than I can count (almost) I found myself slightly overwhelmed by the information.
Hopefully other books in this series won't be as much of a let down.
June 19, 2016
I really liked this book. It kept things moving along at a quick enough pace, which is great for me because I get bored quickly.
I hadn't realized it was a Christian series, which would have given me pause before I decided to read it, had I known. I have faith, but I prefer not to read religious books. I was a little worried that some parts might be headed in the preachy direction, but they only touched on it briefly and quickly moved along. It wasn't enough of a deterrent from keeping me interested in the series, and I've picked up the next book and am looking forward to reading it.
I hadn't realized it was a Christian series, which would have given me pause before I decided to read it, had I known. I have faith, but I prefer not to read religious books. I was a little worried that some parts might be headed in the preachy direction, but they only touched on it briefly and quickly moved along. It wasn't enough of a deterrent from keeping me interested in the series, and I've picked up the next book and am looking forward to reading it.
January 5, 2017
I think it was overall a pretty good book. However I really enjoy books where the killer completely catches you off guard, and makes you want to re-read the book all over again. Without giving much away, we were only introduced to many of the suspects very late in the book, and weren't able to form an opinion on them, without the guise of being a suspect. So in that respect, the ending wasn't very surprising, and seemed to take awhile to get there.
July 13, 2021
3.5 Stars This story held your interest with the person or persons involved being revealed close to the end and lots of red herrings a long the way... The let down in this book for me was the relationship between Mac and Linda - still trying to figure that one out... maybe more details would be discovered in book 2...
After second read - Kevin is my favourite character, still confused with Linda and mac relationship...
After second read - Kevin is my favourite character, still confused with Linda and mac relationship...
April 1, 2013
Awesome Christian murder mystery... very well written and set in the Willamette Valley of Oregon which I know quite well being a life-long Oregonian... kept me up past bedtime to get to the end and find out what's gonna happen... enjoyed it a lot... appears to be book one in a new series and I am looking forward to the next one... recommend to one and all !!!
February 2, 2015
A good, solid mystery. Very detailed regarding the crime scene and the forensic evidence. Obviously written with someone extremely familiar with homicide procedures. Some of the banter between the detectives felt a bit forced to me, but having never worked with detectives, maybe that is how they talk with one another. Regardless, a quick read that keeps you guessing until the end.
December 11, 2014
This is the first book in the series, "The McAllister Files". This was a good mystery overall. The main detectives were believable and interesting to get to know. The supporting characters, though, lacked depth and I really didn't care at the end who murdered the victim.
August 9, 2012
Good story, more graphic than I prefer.
October 26, 2014
Very good police procedural following the investigation into a young woman in the woods of Oregon. The Oregon State Police are tasked to figure out this whodunit.
June 30, 2014
Interesting!
April 6, 2015
Really good book. Sadly my copy is messing the last 10 pages, but over all I enjoyed it.
Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews