TRUE STORY: Andrew Lawler, author of THE SECRET TOKEN

It's one of the most enduring mysteries in American history. What happened to the lost colony of Roanoake?

The very first English settlement in the New World included more than 100 men, women, and children who arrived at Roanoake Island in North Carolina in 1587. They were never seen again. More than three years later, when a long-delayed re-supply ship returned to the island, the Roanoake colonists had disappeared.  The only clue to their fate?  A single word, CROATOAN, carved as a "secret token" into a tree.

For centuries, archaeologists, historians, and obsessed mystery lovers have tried to uncover the truth about Roanoake. In his new book THE SECRET TOKEN, Andrew Lawler sets America's first colony in the context of violent conflict with native populations and war on the high seas between European powers.  And he presents an enigmatic cast of characters from the past and present as he puzzles out the possible explanations -- and the most likely resolution -- of the Roanoake story.

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Brian Freeman, host of TRUE STORY, is an award-winning author of psychological thrillers. His novel THE NIGHT BIRD was one of the top 20 Kindle bestsellers of 2017. Find out more about him at bfreemanbooks.com.