Over at my WordPress this week, I posted my book review of Girl In Disguise by Greer MacAllister. I
thought I would share here as well because it’s such a great story and I want
to get the word out about it!
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With no money and no husband, Kate Warne finds herself with
few choices. The streets of 1856 Chicago offer a desperate widow mostly trouble
and ruin―unless that widow has a knack for manipulation and an unusually quick
mind. In a bold move that no other woman has tried, Kate convinces the
legendary Allan Pinkerton to hire her as a detective.
Battling criminals and coworkers alike, Kate immerses
herself in the dangerous life of an operative, winning the right to tackle some
of the agency’s toughest investigations. But is the woman she’s
becoming―capable of any and all lies, swapping identities like dresses―the true
Kate? Or has the real disguise been the good girl she always thought she was?
My Thoughts:
The Pinkerton Agency is widely known for their pursuit of
Jesse James, the Dalton Brothers and Butch Cassidy’s Wild Bunch. What is not
commonly known is the agency hired the first female Detective-Kate Warne- in
the U.S. during the mid-1850’s. The founder Allan Pinkerton immigrated to
Chicago from Scotland in the early 1840’s and joined the Chicago police
department and soon after opened the first Pinkerton Agency. Before reading,
Girl in Disguise, I had not known about Kate, so I was delighted when I
discovered this book on NetGalley.
Kate Warne is an extraordinary woman-especially someone as
independent as she was in the 1800’s. During those times it was unheard of for
women to do what was considered a “Man’s job”. Allan Pinkerton was hesitant-if
you will-to hire her but in his knowledge of undercover work, he knew that
often times it was not easy for males to gain access to the people they were
pursuing. With strong intellect and determination, Kate quickly proves herself
to be invaluable and gains the trust of Pinkerton
Kate’s talent for gathering information is well displayed in
this story and gives you great insight into detective work and I found this
highly fascinating to read about. As the story developed further, the Pinkerton
Agency flourished and you really get a sense of the character’s will to fight
for justice.
The second half of the story focuses on the American Civil
War and the agencies role. This is where I learned some new things about the
agency I had not realized before. I did find a few scenes disjointed and there
is a brief romance that just seem to appear and I was not sure-at first- how
that would play out in the story. In the end I believe it worked and really
helped Kate’s motivation for the actions she took. I do question Kate’s ability
to travel freely on her own while the war was raging and I’m not sure that was
believable to me. Nonetheless it did not entirely distract me from enjoying the
story.
After finishing the story, I tuned to the author’s notes and
I was glad I did. I developed a deeper appreciation for the story from having
read it and I highly recommend that readers take the time to do so.
I have rated this story four stars and obtained a copy from
the publishers through NetGalley for an honest review.
Stephanie M. Hopkins
