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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
hannahhbic's review against another edition
2.0
I tried really hard to get into this one and just couldn't.
kellynanne's review
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
suvata's review against another edition
5.0
In the summer of 1914, in Paterson, N.J. Henry Kaufman, the "party boy" son of a wealthy silk-dyeing plant owner, smashed his automobile into the horse-drawn buggy occupied by three sisters, Constance, Norma and Fleurette Kopp.
So begins this based-on-a-true-story novel. Constance demands that Kaufman pay $50 to compensate them for damages to the carriage. Not only does he refuse to pay, but he and his cohorts go out of their way to intimidate and harass the Kopp sisters.
I love this little mystery story. From the very beginning, I felt like I was reading something that was written in the 1950s. The language, the mood of the book all took me back to that time period. You'll definitely want to put this fun-filled mystery on your to-read list.
book_concierge's review
4.0
Book on CD read by Christina Moore.
Based on the true story of one of America’s first female detectives, Stewart gives us a wonderfully atmospheric historical crime novel set in 1914-1915, and with a great cast of characters.
Of course, the Kopp sisters are front and center. Constance is the eldest, and exceedingly tall; she is pragmatic and sensible, hard working and determined to keep the family farm, though everyone else, including their older brother, wonders how “three girls can manage alone out there.” Norma is the prickliest of the three; she prefers to stay away from town, tending to the animals on the farm, especially her carrier pigeons. And yet, she is equally devoted to her sisters, and especially to helping Constance as they try to protect their baby sister. Fleurette is that baby – now a young lady in her teens, and eager to go out into the world and experience all it has to offer.
Their nemesis is the rich and powerful owner of the local silk factory: Henry Kaufman, who runs his automobile into the Kopp’s buggy. The sisters demand payment for the damages he caused, which sets off an escalating war of intimidation, revenge and recrimination. Eventually, Constance goes to file a formal complaint, and this introduces her to Sheriff Robert Heath.
I loved Heath. He was principled, ethical, conscientious and straightforward. He never sugarcoated the possibilities and did his best to make certain the Kopp sisters were equipped to handle things on their own. Despite the obvious corruption in the system, and the power held in the hands of the factory owners, he persisted in seeking justice and punishing the wrongdoers, regardless of their wealth.
A side plot involving a factory worker whose child has been abducted, gives Constance a additional chance to prove her abilities as a detective. It also allows Stewart to give the reader a greater sense of the history of the time and the conditions faced by factory workers.
Christina Moore does a marvelous job narrating the audiobook. I particularly liked the way she acted Fleurette; she gave her an excited, breathy delivery that really made me believe this was a 16-year-old girl, long sheltered (isolated) on a family farm and eager to experiences the world.
Brava to the Kopp sisters, Ms Stewart and narrator Moore. I’ll keep reading this series.
Based on the true story of one of America’s first female detectives, Stewart gives us a wonderfully atmospheric historical crime novel set in 1914-1915, and with a great cast of characters.
Of course, the Kopp sisters are front and center. Constance is the eldest, and exceedingly tall; she is pragmatic and sensible, hard working and determined to keep the family farm, though everyone else, including their older brother, wonders how “three girls can manage alone out there.” Norma is the prickliest of the three; she prefers to stay away from town, tending to the animals on the farm, especially her carrier pigeons. And yet, she is equally devoted to her sisters, and especially to helping Constance as they try to protect their baby sister. Fleurette is that baby – now a young lady in her teens, and eager to go out into the world and experience all it has to offer.
Their nemesis is the rich and powerful owner of the local silk factory: Henry Kaufman, who runs his automobile into the Kopp’s buggy. The sisters demand payment for the damages he caused, which sets off an escalating war of intimidation, revenge and recrimination. Eventually, Constance goes to file a formal complaint, and this introduces her to Sheriff Robert Heath.
I loved Heath. He was principled, ethical, conscientious and straightforward. He never sugarcoated the possibilities and did his best to make certain the Kopp sisters were equipped to handle things on their own. Despite the obvious corruption in the system, and the power held in the hands of the factory owners, he persisted in seeking justice and punishing the wrongdoers, regardless of their wealth.
A side plot involving a factory worker whose child has been abducted, gives Constance a additional chance to prove her abilities as a detective. It also allows Stewart to give the reader a greater sense of the history of the time and the conditions faced by factory workers.
Christina Moore does a marvelous job narrating the audiobook. I particularly liked the way she acted Fleurette; she gave her an excited, breathy delivery that really made me believe this was a 16-year-old girl, long sheltered (isolated) on a family farm and eager to experiences the world.
Brava to the Kopp sisters, Ms Stewart and narrator Moore. I’ll keep reading this series.
angorarabbit's review
3.0
The story of Constance Kopp is an important but not widely known part of United States' and women's history. Amy Stewart has been quoted as writing that she wrote the story as a novel due to so few facts being known. However that statement is belied by the fact that the series is now 7 novels.
Ms Stewart does have a have a section at the end of the book detailing what was fact and what she invented in the novelisation. There was a lot invented. As Ms. Stewart says that given the time the events took place (1914 New Jersey) something like this could have happened, but it seems like it is a jump from could have to did. And those inventions make a difference to how you feel about the characters..
Also I am unsure why Ms Stewart chose the for the Kopp sister's mother to have already passed away before the book started. Knowing that Constance Clementine Kopp (died 1922) lived to seen one of her daughters become a deputy sherif is inconsistent with Ms Stewart's characterisation of her in the novel.
I have few complaints as to how the novel was written. It kept my interest and moved as a good pace. I'm glad to have learned about Constance Amelie Kopp's story. However I was bemused by some characters motivations. There were a few scenes where I think the author could have become more familiar with life on a farm in 1914 before writing about it. Mostly I was uncomfortable with the "based on a true story feel". Maybe some day there will be a biography that is longer and perhaps more accurate than Constance's very short Wikipedia page.
All in all a solid 3, fun fast read with some interesting facts sprinkled in.
Ms Stewart does have a have a section at the end of the book detailing what was fact and what she invented in the novelisation. There was a lot invented. As Ms. Stewart says that given the time the events took place (1914 New Jersey) something like this could have happened, but it seems like it is a jump from could have to did. And those inventions make a difference to how you feel about the characters..
Also I am unsure why Ms Stewart chose the for the Kopp sister's mother to have already passed away before the book started. Knowing that Constance Clementine Kopp (died 1922) lived to seen one of her daughters become a deputy sherif is inconsistent with Ms Stewart's characterisation of her in the novel.
I have few complaints as to how the novel was written. It kept my interest and moved as a good pace. I'm glad to have learned about Constance Amelie Kopp's story. However I was bemused by some characters motivations. There were a few scenes where I think the author could have become more familiar with life on a farm in 1914 before writing about it. Mostly I was uncomfortable with the "based on a true story feel". Maybe some day there will be a biography that is longer and perhaps more accurate than Constance's very short Wikipedia page.
All in all a solid 3, fun fast read with some interesting facts sprinkled in.
butterscotch_doodles's review
4.0
A nice easy read 3.5 stars. I picked up the book because it was giving me Miss Fisher's murder mystery vibes with Constance being the closest to Miss Fisher and Sheriff Heath a kind of the Detective Jack Robinson. It wasn't the same in many ways but it still had themes you might enjoy if you liked that series. I enjoyed reading about the three sisters with their different quirks, how they fought back against those who were threatening them and tried to get justice for themselves. I like that the three of them were just doing their own thing living on their farm in a time when women typically didn't have as much fredom to do so. I'm curious to see what the next book will be like with Constance in her new role and what will happen next.
willbefunorelse's review
3.0
For the full review - such as it is, my word document of notes either didn't save or got erased - follow the link to That's What She Read.