Prompt – A Western. I have never read a western in my life, and to tell the truth, can’t stand them. This was as much of a western as I could deal with!
Medium – Audiobook
About the book – Written by Kate Hannigan, this is the story of Nell Warne, the fictional niece of the real life detective Kate Warne (who was the first ever female detective in Pinkerton’s Detective Agency). The story is set just before the American Civil War and explores some of the cases that Kate Warne was involved in, told through the eyes of her niece. Nell is orphaned just before the start of the book and goes to live with her Aunt Kitty in Chicago. She gets involved in her Aunt’s cases (much to Kate’s chagrin) but proves herself a worthy and useful ally. The story is also told through letters between Nell and her best friend Gemma, whose father is an ex-slave and who has fled to Canada with her mother and siblings.
My Rating – 7/10. I have been listening to this book as I have been doing housework and baking cookies – who knew there was so much to do in the house when you are stuck inside 24 hours a day? I really enjoyed the story-line, and it is a completely different part of history than I have read about or learned about before – I had vague notions of the American Civil War happening many years prior to 1861, so it was interesting to learn more about that. I really liked Nell as a character – she was the right mixture of precocious and likeable. Her adventures with her aunt were believable, although I think (at least at the beginning of the book), Kate as a character was much less likeable.
I also liked the fact that the book mixed a fictional story with non-fiction facts. I liked being able to place this story within a historical time line, and the fact that a lot of the characters (with the exception of Nell and Gemma) were ‘real life’ people. As someone who loves history, I really liked the mix that was used in this book. I think the things I didn’t like so much were based around the audio book format (it included the most terrible Scottish accent I have ever heard). Otherwise, the book was good and a great ‘starter’ for anyone wanting to learn about this part of American history.
Would I read/listen to it again? Probably not. I think it is a one time listen type of story! I would, however, read a sequel if one ever popped up (I don’t know if there is one in the works at the moment).
Jen's Book Blog 