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dempewolf's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.75
crystalstarrlight's review against another edition
2.0
Bullet Review:
Probably could have been 3-stars were it not for that effing boring ending, the fact the last two hours were about 1 hour and 50 min of padding and it ended with Sheriff Heath offering Constance a deputy job. I MEAN SERIOUSLY, that is one of the most exciting parts of this real life story and it's LITERALLY the last line of the book.
Boring. Padded. Cliched. Nothing extraordinary with the writing - won't be continuing this series and probably not the author's other works either (no offense - the real story is 170% more interesting than this book).
Full review:
Constance Kopp was a real life woman who also happened to be the first female deputy. Amy Stewart discovered this fascinating woman while researching Henry Kaufman for a different book and had to write about this woman and how Henry Kaufman harassed her and her sisters, until the Kopp sisters won their day in court.
Sounds fascinating, right? It sure as hell does, because that's the reason I bought the ebook and then the audible book when it was the daily deal. I love reading about extraordinary women in history - the innovators, the way-pavers, and so on.
The unfortunate thing is that this book was far too long and bloated for the story it had, and the characters and writing were not good enough to make me forgive it for being long and bloated and boring. And that's a crime right there - being a boring book. Crappy books, even silly dorky ones like [b:Tinker|47241|Tinker (Elfhome, #1)|Wen Spencer|http://images.gr-assets.com/books/1326314596s/47241.jpg|1105908] aren't so bad because at least they can amuse me with their silly dorkiness. Boring books just make me somnolent.
Although the book begins by immediately leaping into the altercation that starts off this series of events - Henry Kaufman colliding with the Kopp buggy - the book just wanders and piddles around until the bitter end of the trial. (It turns into Perry Mason for a bit at the end, in a weird turn of events.) And good lord, the kidnapped baby subplot! What a waste of time and a source of obvious padding! I got so infuriated that I considered skipping these pitiful sections every time Lucy and her dumb baby came up.
While all this is going on, we the readers learn the Kopp Sisters "Big Secret" - something I figured out by the 18% mark. I'll spoiler tag it because I'm nice, but really, if you can do simple math, you can figure it out. The problem with this "Big Secret" - it doesn't build Constance's character and is irrelevant in the end. Not to mention it relies on a bit of author witchery wherein characters act one way before the reader learns the "Big Secret" and suddenly change in demeanor to other characters when the reader learns it. There is no "big revelation" at the end, nor is there a "Come to Jesus" moment with all the sisters. Instead, it was just a way to pad things out - and once again showing sex happening to a woman instead of a woman being an active participant.
That's the other thing that bugs me about this book - so much of this book, I felt Constance just let stuff happen to her, or other people act instead of taking charge. Sure, she does pursue repayment despite Norma's insistence to "Let It Go" - but the way she talks about Eugene having sex with her is just so distant! I get women of the 1910's were women of a different era, but it was effing creepy! Also, I was SO UPSET when Norma tells Constance she should be a detective - why couldn't CONSTANCE have thought that and then discussed it with Norma?! Oh noooooo, we can't have women deciding things about their lives! It has to be handed to them! And then the final sentence of this book made me want to ragequit - if it wasn't the final sentence!
Constance isn't the only character I felt was tepid in this book. Norma and Fleurette, the other two major characters, felt like caricatures - Norma is a recluse who likes pigeons! Fleurette is a spoiled brat who acts like she's 12 instead of almost 17! (I read one reviewer who was confused about her age - how Constance says she's 13 and then Fleurette later turns 17. No wonder because Fleurette ACTS like a 12/13 year old!!) Henry Kaufman is EVIL! Lucy is a hardworking loving mom! Sheriff Heath works hard! His wife is a mean harpy (how dare she care about her husband and worry for him working so hard, the witch with a b!). No one really grows and changes. No one is beyond the couple of adjectives and attributes that are hastily attached to them. They were all flat, boring people whom I didn't care about and who wouldn't exist in real life.
Taking a step back, this isn't a horrible book. It certainly has better morals than many others and isn't egregiously bad. It's just the problems I found with it really pushed all my buttons in that bad way. I like female protagonists who actually take charge - don't call our protagonist "gutsy" if she basically takes a back seat and lets life happen to her all the time! I don't like unnecessary, cheesy plots meant only to pad the story. And why bother having a Big Family Secret when it does NOTHING to the characters or the story???
Moral of the Story: I got a refund for this through Audible. Thank you Audible, for being so kind and giving refunds, even for things I ordered some time ago. This makes me even more pleased that I signed up for your service. I wish I could do the same with my Kindle ebook but oh well.
That said, you may like the book. It seems like most of the reviews are overwhelmingly positive, and I've been called a Negative Nancy before, so you make the call. Take charge of your life and decide what you want to do - don't be like Constance and let life happen to you!
Probably could have been 3-stars were it not for that effing boring ending, the fact the last two hours were about 1 hour and 50 min of padding and it ended with Sheriff Heath offering Constance a deputy job. I MEAN SERIOUSLY, that is one of the most exciting parts of this real life story and it's LITERALLY the last line of the book.
Boring. Padded. Cliched. Nothing extraordinary with the writing - won't be continuing this series and probably not the author's other works either (no offense - the real story is 170% more interesting than this book).
Full review:
Constance Kopp was a real life woman who also happened to be the first female deputy. Amy Stewart discovered this fascinating woman while researching Henry Kaufman for a different book and had to write about this woman and how Henry Kaufman harassed her and her sisters, until the Kopp sisters won their day in court.
Sounds fascinating, right? It sure as hell does, because that's the reason I bought the ebook and then the audible book when it was the daily deal. I love reading about extraordinary women in history - the innovators, the way-pavers, and so on.
The unfortunate thing is that this book was far too long and bloated for the story it had, and the characters and writing were not good enough to make me forgive it for being long and bloated and boring. And that's a crime right there - being a boring book. Crappy books, even silly dorky ones like [b:Tinker|47241|Tinker (Elfhome, #1)|Wen Spencer|http://images.gr-assets.com/books/1326314596s/47241.jpg|1105908] aren't so bad because at least they can amuse me with their silly dorkiness. Boring books just make me somnolent.
Although the book begins by immediately leaping into the altercation that starts off this series of events - Henry Kaufman colliding with the Kopp buggy - the book just wanders and piddles around until the bitter end of the trial. (It turns into Perry Mason for a bit at the end, in a weird turn of events.) And good lord, the kidnapped baby subplot! What a waste of time and a source of obvious padding! I got so infuriated that I considered skipping these pitiful sections every time Lucy and her dumb baby came up.
While all this is going on, we the readers learn the Kopp Sisters "Big Secret" - something I figured out by the 18% mark. I'll spoiler tag it because I'm nice, but really, if you can do simple math, you can figure it out.
Spoiler
Fleurette isn't Constance's sister - she's her daughter.That's the other thing that bugs me about this book - so much of this book, I felt Constance just let stuff happen to her, or other people act instead of taking charge. Sure, she does pursue repayment despite Norma's insistence to "Let It Go" - but the way she talks about Eugene having sex with her is just so distant! I get women of the 1910's were women of a different era, but it was effing creepy! Also, I was SO UPSET when Norma tells Constance she should be a detective - why couldn't CONSTANCE have thought that and then discussed it with Norma?! Oh noooooo, we can't have women deciding things about their lives! It has to be handed to them! And then the final sentence of this book made me want to ragequit - if it wasn't the final sentence!
Spoiler
Sheriff Heath asks Constance to be a deputy - not necessarily bad, but geesh, again with the whole being an active participant in your life thing!Constance isn't the only character I felt was tepid in this book. Norma and Fleurette, the other two major characters, felt like caricatures - Norma is a recluse who likes pigeons! Fleurette is a spoiled brat who acts like she's 12 instead of almost 17! (I read one reviewer who was confused about her age - how Constance says she's 13 and then Fleurette later turns 17. No wonder because Fleurette ACTS like a 12/13 year old!!) Henry Kaufman is EVIL! Lucy is a hardworking loving mom! Sheriff Heath works hard! His wife is a mean harpy (how dare she care about her husband and worry for him working so hard, the witch with a b!). No one really grows and changes. No one is beyond the couple of adjectives and attributes that are hastily attached to them. They were all flat, boring people whom I didn't care about and who wouldn't exist in real life.
Taking a step back, this isn't a horrible book. It certainly has better morals than many others and isn't egregiously bad. It's just the problems I found with it really pushed all my buttons in that bad way. I like female protagonists who actually take charge - don't call our protagonist "gutsy" if she basically takes a back seat and lets life happen to her all the time! I don't like unnecessary, cheesy plots meant only to pad the story. And why bother having a Big Family Secret when it does NOTHING to the characters or the story???
Moral of the Story: I got a refund for this through Audible. Thank you Audible, for being so kind and giving refunds, even for things I ordered some time ago. This makes me even more pleased that I signed up for your service. I wish I could do the same with my Kindle ebook but oh well.
That said, you may like the book. It seems like most of the reviews are overwhelmingly positive, and I've been called a Negative Nancy before, so you make the call. Take charge of your life and decide what you want to do - don't be like Constance and let life happen to you!
avatarslayoshi's review
funny
inspiring
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
mirandamacfar's review
adventurous
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
kivt's review
4.0
Really good! Amy Stewart is a multitalented author. Solid writing, good characterization, fun & suspenseful story that never goes off the rails into unbelievable nonsense. If you like a good historical mystery novel, this is a great read. I don't even like historical mystery novels and I loved this.
jrmarr's review
4.0
A really enjoyable read, written with moments of great humour but also quite chilling and suspenseful at times. I was pleasantly surprised that it is based on the story of a real woman. I’m really glad I read it, and am even more pleased that it’s the first of a series. Let’s hope the follow ups are just as good.
vyhurz's review
4.0
This book is a great work of historical fiction. The characters are what move the story along, and I enjoyed the somewhat mundane details of the sisters' lives on a farm in New Jersey in 1914. I think when this book first came out, we didn't know it'd be part of a series. But I'm glad that there is a second book! I can't wait to pick it up. While the book is classified a mystery, that is a rather small element of this story. This is the story of Constance and her sisters, Norma and Fleurette, and how they're getting on when they're unlucky enough to run in to a rather pathetic gangster. I did thoroughly enjoy this book, and I read it quickly, but sometimes it felt a bit too slow. Some bits could have been left out to make the plot move along a bit faster. The one other con I have against this book is that Constance, our protagonist, is almost the weakest character. I have a good sense of who Norma and Fleurette are - what interests them and what their personalities are like - but with Constance, she sometimes seems like a doormat and at other times she jumps up and manhandles people. Maybe Constance is uncertain of herself, her life, and her own wants, but I still think that, by the time she's in her mid-thirties, she'd have more personality traits.
laurenexploresbooks's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
This work features a strong female character and her sisters fighting against injustice and harm in the early 1900s. She is determined to protect her family and reunite a woman with her missing child, and soon comes in contact with dangerous individuals, but she is unwilling to back down.
mrst's review against another edition
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5