Kate Warne - I'm sure that name means nothing to you. On the other hand, you may have heard of the name Pinkerton. Today that name mostly brings to mind security services, like their armored cars. However, in the mid-19th century, Allan Pinkerton started a detective agency in Chicago, and in 1856, he hired Kate Warne as his first female detective. With the little information left about Warne and her escapades, Macallister weaves a story of intrigue and mystery in her latest historical fiction novel.

Having read Macallister's first novel "The Magician's Lie" I believed I already knew what kind of writing to expect with this novel. Mind you, sometimes a second work by an author whose debut gets quite a bit of hype, can be a disappointment. Thankfully, this was not the case with this novel. In fact, the things that prevented me from giving Macallister's first book five stars are found nowhere in this novel. There are no hints of magical realism, and the ending feels real and strong. What we do get is a impressively told story where Macallister pulls her readers into the story and leads them along just the right paths, which were exactly the things I loved about Macallister's previous book. Furthermore, Macallister once again draws a character in which we can immediately identify, and care about. That Warne was a real person must have made developing her character all the richer, even though many of the facts surrounding some of her Pinkerton cases were lost in the Chicago Fire. Of course, I assume Macallister felt something of an obligation to include those few, remaining well-documented jobs, such as the role (most historians believe) she played in assuring Abraham Lincoln reached Washington safely for his inauguration.

I've often thought that an over abundance of facts can sometimes constrict historical fiction writers and force them to incorporate too many of them in such novels. This also means that if an author takes too much poetic license with the truth, they risk the ire of purists. I'm sure then, that for Macallister in this case, the lack of facts about Warne must have been something of a blessing. She knew that Warne was a widow, but nothing about her husband. She knew that Warne wasn't unattractive, but she was hardly beautiful (from the pictures she found). Of course, she knew that Warne was a pioneer and because of that, Warne must have been exceptionally smart and fast witted. Obviously, how could Warne have been anything less to succeed as the first woman in this man's world of detecting? All this allowed Macallister to take this skeleton of facts, and add not only flesh and bones, but also a heart and a soul.

What I'm trying to say here is that this book is downright amazing, and I'm having a hard time calming my enthusiasm for this novel to write an objective review. With all those elements of the facts (and lack thereof) in place, together with Macallister's vivid imagination and compelling writing style, we get an adventure story that pulls you in and keeps you fascinated until the last word. In fact, the only thing that I found to be just the very slightest bit unlikely was when Pinkerton didn't want to use Warne as a spy during the Civil War. However, I am willing to overlook this, since it is possible Macallister added that to make Pinkerton look selfish and overprotective. Furthermore, Macallister gives us a character study that is undeniably realistic, containing all of Warne's most incredible qualities, while building her into a woman who is at the same time imperfect and vulnerable. It should therefore be no surprise that I'm giving this novel a full five stars (watch for this one to be included in my "best of 2017" list), and highly recommend it.

I found this to be a pretty interesting book. I had never heard about a Pinkerton saving the life of President Lincoln and while I was reading it, I wondered if it was fact or fiction. It's too bad that we lost a lot of information about the first Pinkerton woman during the big Chicago fire.

It sounds like her life was pretty interesting. I'm not sure that I could have done that. There were some pretty mean characters that she associated with. And those characters didn't really care about whether they shot you or not.

Kate Warne sounded like a pretty feisty character and not someone I would really like to meet in a dark alley or to be on her hit list. I know because of the fire, the author was able to find enough evidence to find out that Ms. Warne was one heck of a spitfire.

I immensely enjoyed reading this book and to know that this was a real woman and a real pioneer for women's rights. Thanks to Sourcebook Landmark for approving my request and to Net Galley for providing me with a free e-galley in exchange for an honest review.

Girl in Disguise is a fictional tale based on the real life historical figure, Kate Warne, who was the first female Pinkerton detective. Desperate for a way to support herself, Kate answers a classified job ad she knows was meant for a man, but she convinces Allan Pinkerton to hire her, as women can go where men cannot. Naturally, some of the male operatives in the Pinkerton Agency rail against working beside a female, but eventually, most of the men come to view Kate with respect, even if they still think she's having an affair with the boss.

Most of the book recounts various cases Kate works. Two notable cases involve Abraham Lincoln; one was while he was an attorney in Springfield and then later on his trip to Washington D.C. for his inauguration. Little hints of Kate's traumatic past are sprinkled throughout until the latter quarter of the book, where Kate's history comes back to haunt her.

In reality, very little is known about Kate Warne's life, but Macallister does a fantastic job of putting the reader in the historical locales where this book takes place and tying in factual historical events to Kate's cases. Macallister also excels at imagining the small details in Kate's day to day life and the difficulties she encounters being the first female private detective. Recommended for lovers of historical fiction and/or pioneering women, as well as anyone who appreciates an author who clearly does her research. Also noteworthy is Macallister's debut novel, The Magician's Lie.

Enjoyed reading about the Pinkertons and especially the main character. Good characters, fast read, and very interesting. Loved comments from author at the end of the book.

An exciting historical novel, based on the first female Pinkerton operative in the mid 19th century. Since the author had few real documents about Kate Warne's life, the author does a fine job conjuring up what a young woman at that time faced with her male colleagues and what her job would have entailed. It was a book hard to put down..

I enjoyed this book and have already ordered it for my library. I think the combination of historical fiction, mystery, and a dash of feminism will entice readers.

The only thing that keeps this book from five stars for me is that the style in which it is written made me as a reader feel removed from the action at times. It felt like a memoir, written sometime in the future from the events that occur in the book. Not only did this cut down on the suspense--because I knew the author would live through the event to later write the tale--but it also led to a lack of immediacy, if that makes sense. For example, there would be scenes where we saw details of events and read dialogue and everything was presented as it happens, and then there would be a passage where the author would say something like "things continued in this manner for some time," etc. Such passages really stopped the action for me and I felt they inhibited my emotional connection with the plot and the characters. Also, I had trouble gauging the passing of time within this book.

An imaginative story based on historical events based on the career of Kate Warne, the first female Pinkerton detective.

Perfect timing for a historical fiction that highlights a bad-ass woman, doing a man's job, and kicking ass. Oh...and it is based on the real woman. Many of us have heard of the famous Pinkerton Detective Agency, born in Chicago, and hired by presidents, railroads, and banks to recover stolen goods or track down criminals. However, did you know they hired women? Kate Warne, the main character and real-life widow, applied and was hired as the first woman detective, ultimately heading a department of women investigators. Macallister's story covers Kate's first cases, the discrimination of the men, the attempted assassination of Lincoln, and ultimately, the incredible system of Union spying the Pinkerton detectives did during the Civil War. This was an eye-opening saga into a little-known piece of American history. Yet, more than that, it is an incredibly engaging book with a stellar main character leading the charge into women's rights through her actions, her bravery, her sass, and her intelligence. This book is suitable for teens as well - no bad language, minimal sex, and an inspirational bit of history by which younger readers can be inspired. Greer Macallister knows how to write and make you turn pages; her first novel, The Magician's Lie, was a winner as well. Girl in Disguise is another hit - thanks Net Galley!

When I saw that this was a fictionalized account of the life of the first female Pinkerton agent, I was immediately intrigued. Kate Warne is a character that almost nothing is known about, so much can be imagined about her life as an operative with the best detective agency in America. The book did not disappoint, I found it very engaging and lively, and Kate Warne came to life between the pages. The novel took place over several years, however the story did not lag or even seem to really skip, it was very well-paced.
If I have any critique for this book, there were a few phrases that stuck out as not compatible with the period, such as, "You really screwed this up big time," and "The game," and a few others that I found to be amateur mistakes, along with a general sense of not being true to the civil war era. There was mention of eyeliner and lip color which should have of course been called kohl or similar, the term eyeliner was not coined yet, and the real Kate Warne doubtless would not have worn these products. I felt that Tim and Kate were thrown together haphazardly, like there almost had to be a romance aspect played out when I felt it detracted from the plot of the entire novel. The real Tim was married long before he became a Pink, and by forcing a romance on Kate you're making her into a weaker version of herself. She could easily of married someone that she could have depended on for all but the more intimate parts of the marriage, and been just as strong and happy for it. Romance is not the goal for everyone's life, and as Kate Warne died unmarried, a Pink to the end, I don't think having her be a heartbroken lonely woman did her story a true service.
With that being said, it is still, fiction. Your vision is still that, your vision, and it was wonderful. I loved it very much and wish that it would have been left open to another volume in the Kate Warne Detective Series. I know she died not too much later from Pneumonia but even a trilogy of her stories would be a fun little way to empower the girls and women of today. All in all, a great read and a great host of characters that left me reading the entire book in one sitting. Thank you for the opportunity!

This was an extremely interesting look into the life of the first female Pinkerton agent, Mrs. Kate Warne. Well-written with truly fleshed-out characters, you follow Kate through her decision to become the first female operative ("Someone HAS to be the first"), through her training, and into her professional life. Regular investigative case-work turns to war-time intelligence gathering, and there are both triumphs and tragedies aplenty.

I really enjoyed this book. Both the time-period (just pre-Civil War) and the subject matter (the Pinkerton Agency) are favorites of mine, and they are both treated very deftly here.

Highly recommended for fans of both historical crime, and kick-ass female protagonists.

Girl in Disguise, a book about the first the first female Pinkerton detective did sound like a fantastic book idea and I was thrilled to read it. I especially liked that the book is inspired by the real life on Kate Warne, a female Pinkerton detective who sadly we don't know much about.

I think the book started off good, with Kate Warne getting a chance at Pinkerton to prove that she has what it takes to be a Pinkerton detective. Her trials and tribulations you could say to prove that, despite being a woman, or actually because she is a woman that she could be a detective since she clearly demonstrated that some roles, well sometimes it takes a woman to do some jobs. However, I saw right from the start the obvious romance that would without any doubt occur later on in the book and to be totally honest that made me not that happy. I'm not against romance in books, well, not always, but in this case, it just didn't rub me the right way. Probably because I've seen it so many time before, man meets a woman, they dislike each other, but then they feel that they can't deny their growing attraction and wham bam thank you, mam!

Girl in Disguise is just not my kind of book, I even took a month long break from it and had a hard time getting inspired to return to it. It was not totally bad, I just felt that the characters never really came to life and that the storyline was too predictable in certain aspects. When the obvious romance part happened towards the end did my interested in the book fizzle out. I mean it's Civil War going on, and it should be a dangerous and intensive time for Kate and the rest of the Pinkerton, but I never felt that. Even when the story did take a surprise turn towards the end of the book did I feel anything for the characters. I was just bored.

This book caught my attention because I loved the idea of a novel about Kate Warne, the first female Pinkerton agent, and I just hoped the writing, plot, and characters would be as good as the premise. I knew from the first few pages they would be.

Excellently written with great characters, fictional and historic alike, the plot takes the reader into the spy world of the Civil War. I did feel as though the romance was a little superficial, but otherwise I felt the character development was very good, especially Kate's. Told in first person, we really get to see and feel Kate's thoughts and emotions, how she deals with the moral questions of lying, deceiving, and hurting people for the greater good, and how she deals with knowing she'll never have a normal, family life.

The plot is what really drives this though, and I frequently found it hard to put down, always wanting to know what would happen next. Lot's of action and adventure.

I'm interested in the author's first novel now. Though it wasn't a premise I was previously interested in, knowing how much I enjoyed this one, I have to give it a try.

Advanced review copy from publisher via NetGalley. My opinions are my own.

Little may be known about the real life of the first female Pinkerton agent but Macallister draws on what agency files are available as well as historical events and social history to create a credible character and to inform us about the origins of one of the most famous names in detecting.
Worth reading if you are interested in US history, the Pinkerton agency and crime writing

I have to buy several copies of this book for family and friends who love historical fiction. This book is engrossing and well-written and the characters seem nearly moving and speaking in real life. The last third of the book cost me sleep, as an unexpected plot-twist threw my curiosity into overdrive.

I finished the book too quickly and went into a "NOW what will I read?!" moment of panic. Kate Warne is an interesting, worthy subject, and Greer Macallister is an author from which I wish to see new titles, no matter the topic.