Girl Waits With Gun
Ratings22
Average rating3.5
15
Ratings22
Average rating3.5
From the New York Timesbest-selling author of The Drunken Botanistcomes an enthralling novel based on the forgotten, true story of one of the US's first female deputy sheriffs. Constance Kopp doesn't quite fit the mould. She towers over most men, has no interest in marriage or domestic affairs, and has been isolated from the world since a family secret sent her and her sisters from the city to the country fifteen years before. When a powerful, ruthless factory owner runs down their buggy, a dispute over damages turns into a war of bricks, bullets, and threats as he unleashes his gang on their farm. The sheriff enlists her help, and it turns out that Constance has a knack for outwitting (and disarming) the criminal element, which might just take her back out into the world and onto a new path in life. Through Amy Stewart's exuberant storytelling, Constance Kopp catapults from a forgotten historical anecdote to an unforgettable historical-fiction heroine -- an outsized woman not only ahead of her time, but sometimes even ahead of ours.
Featured Series
7 primary booksKopp Sisters is a 7-book series with 7 primary works first released in 2015 with contributions by Amy Stewart.
Reviews with the most likes.
This is a really charming book about a little known criminal case in Bergen country, NJ just after the turn of the 20th century. It was recommended on a podcast, though I've now forgotten which. The main character, Constance Kopp, was a real person and the retelling of the case is largely factual. This has the same, civilian turn deputy feel as The Alienist, and I'd recommend it if you enjoyed that. It's got a bit of cheeky humor too. 3.5 stars.
I didn't even know that I was craving this book until I started reading it.
Bonus points for the epilogue explaining the historical aspects in the book, and listing the original publication info for all the headlines and news items.
No gore, no death, very refreshing for a ‘mystery'. And it has 3 sisters with interesting personalities that live on their own terms, not those of the society of the age.
Putting the next in the series on my TBR list.
See my full review at The Emerald City Book Review. This is definitely a character-driven mystery, not one with an elaborate or twisty plot, and though there are lots of threats there's little on-stage violence. The pleasure is in getting to know tart-tongued Norma, flamboyant Fleurette, and especially Constance, whose search for a place and a purpose in life is tantalizingly given a direction at the very end. I've no doubt that readers will be begging for a sequel, and Stewart seems inclined to oblige us. I'll be eagerly waiting for another installment in the story of the Kopp sisters.
