The Harvey girls murders. A fierce redhead detective with a pain in her heart. A manly sheriff hiding the painful memories.
And a smart banter, as these two (unwillingly) join their forces to save the day.

Ms Brownley is my surefire thing when I think about really funny Christian fiction! Not everybody has the real sense of humour, but this lady does, and her books are a treat - while witty and light-hearted, they are never shallow.

Take Katie and Branch. She is a capable detective - and a girl who has never considered herself being beautiful and desirable. He is a tough boy, who is hiding the pain of thinking of himself never being enough.

While a mystery lover in me would love more true mystery here, I have enjoyed the Harvey House shenanigans and all the camaraderie there. Lighter and heavier topics are mixed here - and you leave the book with both the smile and the thought somewhere in your head that maybe its time to explore your hidden fears. And this is always a good thing.

I really enjoyed this third book in the undercover Pinkertons series. Very well written and I like that you can’t always figure out who the murderer is until the end.

Light-hearted Western. Good beach read. Would consider reading more from this author.

Calico Spy is the third book in Margaret Brownley's Undercover Ladies series. I've really enjoyed the series and this book was a great conclusion. The mystery was interesting and I liked that it wasn't obvious who was responsible for the murders.

The characters were fun and I liked Katie a lot. Her stubbornness was nice and I liked that she was confident in her detective skills. I found the romance to be sweet and I loved the ending.

All in all, Calico Spy was a very good read and I recommend it.

*I received a complimentary eBook copy of this book for my honest review. As always, all thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.*

Enjoyed this conclusion to the Undercover Ladies trilogy. The mystery plotline was good and I like the sweet romance between the main characters. Sub-plots were nice and it was a good wrap-up to a a fun, light, clean series.

About this book:

“Pinkerton operative Katie Madison’s newest case takes her to Calico, Kansas, where two Harvey House restaurant waitresses were murdered in mysterious circumstances. Calico’s sheriff, Branch Whitman, has never met a Pink he liked and is stunned to learn the pretty redhead’s true identity as she works undercover as a Harvey girl. A tornado hits town, and a past deception puts Branch’s eight-year-old-son in danger. Now the Sheriff has no choice but to work with Katie—or chance losing everything he holds dear.”


Series: Book #3 in “Undercover Ladies” series. {Review of Book #1 Here! and Book #2 Here!}


Spiritual Content- Nahum 1:7 at the beginning; A few Scriptures are mentioned; Many Prayers; Thanking & Praising the Lord; Many, many Talks about God, trusting Him, Him caring, faith, forgiveness, His will & His plans; ‘H’s are capital when referring to God; A mention of a revival; A couple mentions of the Lord’s prayer; Mentions of prayers; Mentions of Church & Sundays; Mentions of Bibles & Bible reading; Many mentions of & discussions about those in the Bible;
*Note: A couple mentions of religions; A place is called haunted; A mention of the gates of hell & a bucket of water.


Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘dang’, a ‘darn’, a ‘dash it all’, a ‘holy smokes’, a ‘what the—‘, a ‘witch’, two ‘blast it/blast it all’s, four ‘blasted’s, and seven ‘dumb’s; Mentions of curses (said, not written); All about two murders & killers (up to semi-detailed, nothing gruesome); Fighting, Bullets & Blood (up to semi-detailed); Prepping chickens & fish for cooking (semi-detailed); Mentions of other murders, thieves, murders, deaths, jail & hangings (up to semi-detailed); Mentions of faro, gambling & cheating; Mentions of cigars & cigarettes; Mentions of saloons, drinks, drinkers & alcohol; A few mentions of spousal abuse; A few mentions of a husband that left; A couple mentions of whippings; A couple mentions of the war & a man who died; A bit of prejudice towards African-American former slaves.


Sexual Content- a not-detailed kiss, an almost semi-detailed kiss, and two semi-detailed kisses; Imaging kisses (up to semi-detailed); Remembering kisses (up to semi-detailed); Mentions of kisses & kissing; Lots of Touches, Dancing & Warmth (up to semi-detailed); Lots of Nearness, Gazes & Smelling (up to semi-detailed); Noticing (up to semi-detailed); Wanting more & a couple mentions of manly needs; Mentions of soiled doves & prostitutes; Mentions of flirting & flirts; A few mentions of filmy nightgowns & petticoats; A couple mentions of reputations; A mention of trying to have a child; A mention of a newborn infant’s umbilical cord; Love, falling in love & the emotions.

-Katie Jones
-Branch Whitman, age 33
P.O.V. switches between them
Set in 1880
320 pages

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Pre Teens- One Star
New Teens- One Star
Early High School Teens- Two Stars
Older High School Teens- Three Stars (and a half)
My personal Rating- Three Stars (and a half)
Like the previous books in this series, I have mixed feelings on “Calico Spy”. While it had a character I enjoy (a female Pinkerton), some funny moments & lots of Spiritual Content, it got a little too much touchy-feely at some parts. This book seemed very familiar to me, and I just can’t figure out why! Maybe because it’s slightly similar to the prior books in this series…? I enjoy Pinkerton stories, so I do hope the author does a few more. On the cover, it’s not my favorite and seems a bit busy, but her dress is pretty. ;)


*BFCG may (Read the review to see) recommend this book by this author. It does not mean I recommend all the books by this author.
*I received this book for free from the Publisher for this honest review.