Girl Waits With Gun

NATIONAL BESTSELLER. The first in the Kopps Sisters Novel Series, Girl Waits with Gun is an enthralling novel based on the forgotten true story of one of the nation’s first female deputy sheriffs. Constance Kopp doesn’t quite fit the mold. 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 into hiding fifteen years ago. One day a belligerent and powerful silk factory owner runs down their buggy, and a dispute over damages turns into a war of bricks, bullets, and threats as he unleashes his gang on their family farm. When the sheriff enlists her help in convicting the men, Constance is forced to confront her past and defend her family — and she does it in a way that few women of 1914 would have dared. A New York Times Editors' Choice “A smart, romping adventure, featuring some of the most memorable and powerful female characters I've seen in print for a long time. I loved every page as I followed the Kopp sisters through a too-good-to-be-true (but mostly true!) tale of violence, courage, stubbornness, and resourcefulness.”—Elizabeth Gilbert

“A colorful and inventive adventure tale.”—Washington Post “It’s True Grit, New York style.”—New York Post “One of the best mystery novels of the year: wonderful and very entertaining.” —New York Journal of Books “Stewart deftly combines the rough-and-tumble atmosphere of early twentieth-century New York City with the story of three women who want to live life on their own terms.” —Library Journal, starred review In 1915, lady cops were not expected to chase down fugitives on the streets of New York City. But Constance Kopp never did what anyone expected. Constance and her sisters aren’t living the quiet life anymore. They’ve made headlines fighting back against a ruthless silk factory owner and his gang of thugs. After Sheriff Heath sees Constance in action, he appoints her as one of the nation’s first female deputies. But when a German-speaking con man threatens her position—and puts the honorable sheriff at risk for being thrown in his own jail—Constance will be forced to prove herself again. Based on the Kopp sisters’ real-life adventures, Girl Waits with Gun introduced the sensational lives of Constance Kopp and her sisters to an army of enthusiastic readers. This second installment, also ripped from the headlines, takes us farther into the riveting story of a woman who defied expectations, forged her own path, and tackled crime along the way. “A fast-moving, craftily written novel.”—BookPage “[An] irresistible madcap adventure.”—PopSugar “Stewart leaves the reader wondering about one mystery still developing unsolved . . . Readers will just have to wait—impatiently, no doubt—for book No. 3.”—Boston Globe

Living in virtual isolation years after the revelation of a painful family secret, Constance Kopp is terrorized by a belligerent silk factory owner and fights back in ways outside the norm for early twentieth-century women.

Life after the war takes an unexpected turn for the Kopp sisters, but soon enough, they are putting their unique detective skills to use in new and daring ways. Winter 1919: Norma is summoned home from France, Constance is called back from Washington, and Fleurette puts her own plans on hold as the sisters rally around their recently widowed sister-in-law and her children. How are four women going to support themselves? A chance encounter offers Fleurette a solution: clandestine legal work for a former colleague of Constance’s. She becomes a “professional co-respondent,” posing as the “other woman” in divorce cases so that photographs can be entered as evidence to procure a divorce. While her late-night assignments are both exciting and lucrative, they put her on a collision course with her own family, who would never approve of such disreputable work. One client’s suspicious behavior leads Fleurette to uncover a much larger crime, putting her in the unlikely position of amateur detective. In Miss Kopp Investigates, Amy Stewart once again brilliantly captures the women of this era—their ambitions for the future as well as the ties that bind—at the start of a promising new decade.

The bestselling author of Girl Waits with Gun brings the real-life escapades of the famous crime-fighting Kopp sisters to life in this extraordinary novel that is "perfect for book groups" (Booklist). Deputy sheriff Constance Kopp stands up to the “morality” laws of 1916, defending the independent young women in her prison against dubious charges when no one else will. From the patriotic Edna Heustis, who left home to work in a munitions factory, to the sixteen-year-old runaway Minnie Davis, these and other publicly shamed women who were packed off to a state-run reformatory find an unlikely ally in Constance, who uses her authority — and occasionally exceeds it — to investigate and defend them at all costs. But it's Constance's sister Fleurette who forces her to reckon with her own ideas of how a young woman should and shouldn't behave. Set against the backdrop of World War I, and drawn from true characters and events, this novel is timeless in its themes of justice and equality, and is sure to delight fans of historical and detective fiction alike.

In the fifth installment of Amy Stewart's clever and original Kopp Sisters series, the sisters learn some military discipline--whether they're ready or not--as the U.S. prepares to enter World War I. It's the spring of 1917 and change is in the air. American women have done something remarkable: they've banded together to create military-style training camps for women who want to serve. These so-called National Service Schools prove irresistible to the Kopp sisters, who leave their farm in New Jersey to join up. When an accident befalls the matron, Constance reluctantly agrees to oversee the camp--much to the alarm of the Kopps' tent-mate, the real-life Beulah Binford, who is seeking refuge from her own scandalous past under the cover of a false identity. Will she be denied a second chance? And after notoriety, can a woman's life ever be her own again? InKopp Sisters on the March, the women of Camp Chevy Chase face down the skepticism of the War Department, the double standards of a scornful public, and the very real perils of war. Once again, Amy Stewart has brilliantly brought a little-known moment in history to light with her fearless and funny Kopp sisters novels.

Based on the Kopp sisters’ real-life adventures, the first three novels in best-selling author Amy Stewart’s sparkling series tell the riveting story of a woman who defied expectations, forged her own path, and tackled crime along the way. In Girl Waits with Gun, we meet Constance Kopp. Constance doesn’t quite fit the mold. 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 into hiding fifteen years ago. One day a belligerent and powerful silk factory owner runs down their buggy, and a dispute over damages turns into a war of bricks, bullets, and threats as he unleashes his gang on their family farm. When the sheriff enlists her help in convicting the men, Constance is forced to confront her past and defend her family — and she does it in a way that few women of 1914 would have dared. In Lady Cop Makes Trouble, Constance and her sisters aren’t living the quiet life anymore. After Sheriff Heath sees Constance in action, he appoints her as one of the nation’s first female deputies. But when a German-speaking con man threatens her position—and puts the honorable sheriff at risk for being thrown in his own jail—Constance will be forced to prove herself again. In Miss Kopp’s Midnight Confessions, Constance has finally earned her deputy sheriff’s badge and is ready to tackle a new kind of case: defending independent young women brought into the Hackensack jail on dubious charges of waywardness, incorrigibility, and moral depravity. Such were the laws—and morals—of 1916. Constance uses her authority as deputy sheriff, and occasionally exceeds it, to investigate and support these women when no one else will. But it’s her sister Fleurette—who runs away from their sleepy farm to join the glamorous world of vaudeville—who puts Constance’s beliefs to the test. This three-book collection also includes bonus content! Inside find cocktail recipes, discussion questions, Q&As with the author, a cast of characters, and more. Plus, schedule your own book club visit with author Amy Stewart!

Drake Ramsey is a successful author who has just moved to New Orleans to be with his love, the brilliant and now pregnant Zuri Manyika. While Zuri works as a professor at Loyola University, Drake spends his days in Treme Coffeehouse, contemplating a sequel without a clue his world is about to be turned upside down. Drakes horizons expand when his new friend, Adam Boateng, relays stories of life in early New Orleans that strangely hint he may have been there himself. After Drake invites his old buddy, Gerard Schleiermacher, to join them for Halloween, he looks forward to experiencing New Orleans at its most outrageous. But just as they learn that Zuris old Zimbabwean adversary has escaped from prison, Adam becomes a suspect in a murder. Now Drake is left to speculate if Adam is capable of killing, if the vengeful prisoner is guilty, or if a voodoo priest is responsible. As Drake, Zuri, and Gerard risk their lives in pursuit of the truth, bayous and beignets interweave with second lines and graveyards as a vampire lurks in the shadows. Will Drake ever find the killer? In this gripping mystery, a best-selling author transforms into an amateur sleuth intent on finding a murderer after a wild Halloween in New Orleans.